a bump foil for a compliant foil gas bearing having parallel rows of corrugations or bumps , a first series of bumps of equal height spaced equidistant from one another and a second series of bumps of a lesser height with each bump of the second series disposed between bumps of said first series . the bump foil can be fabricated from metals having a thickness greater than that of conventional bump foils to increase load capacity of the gas bearing without sacrificing compliance required for coulomb damping .