Stiffness and damping characteristics of finite width journal bearings with a non-newtonian film and their application to instability prediction

Starting from the most general fluid flow equation of the power law type expressing rate of shear in terms of powers of shear stress for non-Newtonian lubricants a modified form of Reynolds'equation is derived for dynamically loaded finite width journal bearings. The finite difference technique with successive over relaxation is used incorporating Reynolds' boundary conditions for pressure to obtain the pressure distribution. From the equations of fluid film forces, the values of stiffness and damping coefficients are obtained for a linearised case. The shear thinning effect of non-Newtonian lubricants at higher shear rates is shown to decrease the stiffness and damping values. Finally, the stability limit for such a bearing is obtained for different values of the nonlinear factor.