h0: A high axial bearing stiffness, self-aligning capability and the minimal flow is obtained with small film thickness. The minimal value of the film thickness is limited by bearing deflections and flatness of the bearing surface and is usually related to the bearing size.

δ, h2: The volume of the pocket must be as small as possible to make the bearing less sensitive to instability. The pocket however is needed to get a smooth pressure distribution in the circumference and secondly to realize simple orifice compensation. The pressure distribution in the groove is assumed to be homogenous which is a good approximation for a large groove depth. Numerical calculations are required to calculate the effect of the pressure drop in shallow grooves.

Ac: The restrictor can become inherent with shallow grooves and Ac must therefore be checked. The pressure drop over passage A1 of the simple orifice restrictor is more than four times higher than that over the annulus area A2 when Ac>1 (Fig 12.2 of the book).