ABSTRACT
The aim of research activities is to develop a strategy for a thrust bearing design leading to significant benefits in real operating conditions while maintaining the existing bearing production technology. The genetic algorithms and efficient hydrodynamic solver are key elements throughout the strategy to find the design parameters of the thrust bearing. The new design of the thrust bearing and the whole chain of computational tools are verified by technical experiments in real turbocharger operating states. The applicability of the strategy is demonstrated by the new bearing design leading to savings in friction losses of approximately 20%.
