Mechanical Solutions Inc. Testing & Troubleshooting products

Foil bearings offer levels of performance and efficiency unmatched by conventional bearings for high-speed machinery. Ideally suited for use in hostile environments or oil-free systems, these bearings are more resilient and tolerant to misalignment than solid-pad gas bearings. MSI`s hydrodynamic (self-acting) compliant foil bearing generates its own load-carrying film from the rotation of the shaft it supports. A smooth top foil forms the bearing surface, and a flexible `bump` foil provides this surface with controlled, resilient support. This proprietary design ensures a `self-adjusting` bearing with inherent internal damping. It adapts to shaft misalignment, variations due to tolerance buildups, centrifugal and thermal shaft growth, and differential thermal expansion. Air-cycle machines, high-speed motors, and oil-free cryogenic compressors are among the many types of machinery that can benefit from foil bearings.

Mechanical Solutions, Inc. (MSI) performs “virtual testing” of electronic systems by applying advanced techniques of mechanical analysis.

MSI performs design and comprehensive analysis of centrifugal and axial compressors of all sizes and horsepower. Markets served include process, petrochemical, aerospace & defense, and automotive, among others. MSI performs 3-D finite element analysis of stress, deflection, and vibration. The best modern CFD codes are used to perform aerodynamics evaluation from meanline performance analysis to complex CFD of primary and secondary flow fields through all stationary and rotating components. MSI`s aerodynamics team is led by Dr. Edward Bennett. Detailed experimental evaluations can also be performed in the field or in MSI`s laboratory test rigs. Testing capabilities include performance and efficiency quantification, nozzle load stresses, rotor pressure and stress oscillation as reported by multi-channel telemetry, vibration modal testing and vibration operating deflection shapes (ODS) testing.