Calculation and Analysis of Groove Elastic Support’s Radial Stiffness (RESEARCH NOTE)

In this paper, an analytical formula to calculate the radial stiffness of groove elastic support is presented. The influence of structure parameters on radial stiffness and homogeneity of radial stiffness is investigated as well. The accuracy and calculating speed of the analysis formula are compared to that of finite element method (FEM). Findings are as following: The calculating speed of analysis formula is more efficient than that of finite element method (FEM). When the number of groove is less than 20, the maximum relative error of two methods is less than 10%. The radial stiffness of groove elastic support increases with the groove number, thickness of arc beam and transition angle, but decreases with the groove gap. The radial stiffness changes slightly and periodically with the azimuth angle of radial load, and the greater groove number and the thinner thickness of arc beam, the more homogeneous radial stiffness of groove elastic support.