Development of "Traveling Wave" Air Bearing which Exceeds Limitation of Traditional Principles

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A high-performance fluid bearing which utilizes traveling waves has been proposed and evaluated in this research. First, ideal performance of the bearing is calcula ted by utilizing the finite element model at appropriate driving conditions and device dimensions. Next, a new device with higher rigidity and accuracy is proposed, where many thin piezoelectric plates support the bearing plate directly in the supporting direction. In addition, modular actuators which generate the traveling waves aredeveloped to attain steady performance. As a result, it is verified that the developed device can generate bearing force of 68.8 N and has rigidity of 27.4 N/ μm at floating displacement of 4 μm. Furthermore, a new type of traveling-wave bearing is proposed which utilizes liquid as the bearing medium. It is clarified analytically that the liquid bearing has considerably higher performance .