Principles and Applications of Hydrodynamic—Type Gas Lubricated Bearings

The following extracts are from a paper presented at a General Meeting of The Institution of Mechanical Engineers last month, arranged in conjunction with the Applied Mechanics and Lubrication Groups. The authors were G. W. K. Ford, M.B.E., M.A., D. M. Harris, B.Sc., and D. Pantall, all of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell. Copies of the full paper are available from the Institution and written communications on it should reach them by 7th December. The pumping of molten metals, used as coolants in nuclear reactors cause lubrication problems which eliminate any possibility of employing conventional mineral or known synthetic lubricants. The authors have experimented with a molten bismuth pump and have used an inert gas for lubrication of the self‐acting bearings.