Thermohydrodynamic analysis of journal bearings lubricated with couple stress fluids

Thermohydrodynamic analysis of journal bearings is extended to include couple stress effects in lubricants blended with high polymer additives. Based on the micro-continuum theory, a modified energy equation is derived and then is simultaneously solved with the heat transfer equation as well as the modified Reynolds equation. The effects of couple stress on the key performance of a finite journal bearing, such as maximum temperature, shaft temperature, load capacity, friction force, friction coefficient, and side leakage flow, are presented. The results have shown that lubricants with couple stresses, compared with Newtonian lubricants, not only yield an obvious increase in load capacity and decrease in friction coefficient, but also produce a lower bearing temperature field. Thus it can be concluded that the lubricant with couple stress does improve the performance of journal bearings.     

CFD analysis of journal bearing hydrodynamic lubrication by Bingham lubricant

Design of smart journal-bearing systems is an important issue that opens up the possibility for semi-active dynamic control of bearing behavior. Recent studies show that there is an increasing interest in designing hydrodynamically lubricated bearings using electro-rheological fluids (ERFs) or magneto-rheological fluids (MRFs). Both smart fluids behave like Bingham fluids, and thus the Bingham plastic model is used to describe the grease and the electro-rheological (ER) and magneto-rheological (MR) fluids behavior of the non-Newtonian fluid flow. The performance characteristics of a hydrodynamic journal bearing lubricated with a Bingham fluid are derived by means of three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (3-D CFD) analysis. The FLUENT software package is used to calculate the hydrodynamic balance of the journal using the so-called “dynamic mesh” technique. The results obtained from the developed 3-D CFD model are found to be in very good agreement with experimental and analytical data from previous investigations on Bingham fluids.Journal-bearing performance characteristics, such as relative eccentricity, attitude angle, pressure distribution, friction coefficient, lubricant flow rate, and the angle of maximum pressure, are derived and presented for several length over diameter (L/D) bearing ratios and dimensionless shear numbers T₀ of the Bingham fluid. The above diagrams are presented in the form of Raimondi and Boyd charts, and can easily be used in the design and analysis of journal bearings lubricated with Bingham fluids. The core profile formed in the bearing is also calculated and presented for various bearing eccentricities, L/D ratios, and shear numbers T₀, and found to be in very good agreement with previous experimental and theoretical investigations. The analysis presented here leads to charts that could be used by the designer engineer to design smart journal bearings.     

动载荷下径向轴承的非牛顿介质润滑

为分析动载荷条件下非牛顿介质的流变特性对径向轴承润滑效果的影响，推导了相应的雷诺方程。在方程中用差分粘度和第一正应力差函数表征非牛顿介质的流变特性，用挤压项表示动载荷作用。轴承润滑的数值计算结果表明，差分粘度的变化是影响承载力的主要因素，它取决于非牛顿介质的动态参数和剪切频率范围，使得非牛顿介质润滑的承载力并不总是高于或低于牛顿介质。在动载荷条件下，第一正应力差效应明显增强了油膜压力和承载力，并对轴心轨迹产生影响。     

Influence of lubricants on the performance of journal bearings – a review

ABSTRACT

The lubricant properties have a significant influence on the static and dynamic performance characteristics of journal bearing such as load-carrying capability, minimum fluid film thickness, maximum pressure, lubricant flow rate, damping coefficients, stiffness coefficients, etc. The present document reviews the behaviour of various lubricants such as power-law lubricants, couple stress lubricants, micropolar lubricants, ionic liquid lubricants and space lubricants. The influence of these lubricants on the performance of hydrostatic, hydrodynamic and hybrid journal bearings is discussed. An effort is made to develop the understanding to choose the suitable lubricant for journal bearings for different journal bearing configurations. Journal bearings operated with non-Newtonian lubricants have shown better performance compared to Newtonian lubricants. Ionic liquid lubricants have shown high potential in vacuum applications and extreme temperature environment such as in bearings of spacecraft moving mechanical assemblies.     

Properties and Performance of Gas-Expanded Lubricants in Tilting Pad Journal Bearings

Lubricants enable proper function and reduce friction in rotating machinery, but they can also contribute to power loss and heat buildup. Gas-expanded lubricants (GELs) have been proposed as tunable mixtures of lubricant and CO₂ under pressure with properties such as viscosity that can be controlled directly in response to changing environmental or rotordynamic conditions. In this work, experimental results of GEL viscosity, gas diffusivity, and thermal conductivity were combined with high-pressure phase equilibrium data to understand how these mixtures will behave in tilting pad journal bearings under a range of industry-relevant high-speed conditions. Simulations were carried out using the experimental data as inputs to a thermoelastohydrodynamic model of tilting pad journal bearing performance. Viscosity could be easily tuned by controlling the composition of the GEL and the effect on bearing efficiency was appreciable, with 14–46% improvements in power loss. This trend held for a range of lubricant chemistries with polyalkylene glycols, polyalpha olefins, and a polyol ester tested in this work. Diffusivity, which drives how readily CO₂ and lubricants form homogenous mixtures, was found to be a function of the viscosity of the synthetic lubricant, with more viscous lubricants having a lower diffusivity than less viscous formulations. Model results for a bearing in a pressurized housing suggested that cavitation would be minimal for a range of speed conditions. Other bearing parameters, such as eccentricity, temperature, and minimum film thickness were relatively unchanged between conventionally lubricated and GEL-lubricated bearings, suggesting that the efficiency improvements could be achieved with few performance tradeoffs.     

固体颗粒对低黏度介质润滑特性的影响

基于水-固两相单流体模型,研究润滑过程中的固体颗粒对低黏度润滑介质的影响。以无限宽楔形滑块为计算模型,推导出特定假设条件下考虑惯性力和界面滑移的低黏度介质润滑的雷诺方程,并通过不同条件下雷诺方程的求解,探讨固体颗粒含量对低黏度介质润滑特性的影响。结果表明:在对低黏度介质润滑特性进行研究时,需考虑其惯性力和界面滑移影响;固体颗粒的存在一定程度上增大润滑膜的压力和承载能力,颗粒含量越大,承载能力越大,但颗粒含量对润滑膜整体的压力分布状态几乎不会产生影响;惯性力增大固体颗粒对润滑介质的影响程度,而界面滑移减小固体颗粒对润滑介质承载能力的影响,发生滑移时,颗粒基本不影响润滑膜的承载能力。     

Effects of couple stresses in the cyclic squeeze films of finite partial journal bearings

Based upon the microcontinuum theory, the present paper is to theoretically study the pure squeeze-film behavior of a finite partial journal bearing with non-Newtonian couple-stress lubricants operating under a time-dependent cyclic load. To take into account the couple stress effects resulting from the lubricant blended with various additives, the modified Reynolds equation governing the film pressure is obtained from Stokes equations of motion. The film pressure is numerically solved by using the Conjugate Gradient Method. Bearing characteristics are then calculated from the nonlinear motion equation of the journal. According to the results obtained, the effects of couple stresses result in a decrease in the value of eccentricity of the journal center. The finite partial bearing with a couple stress fluid as the lubricant yields an increase in the minimum permissible clearance and provides a longer time to prevent the journal-bearing contact.     

Magnetic fluids in sealing and lubrication – a state of the art review

The paper is a review of the properties and functions of magnetic fluids and their potential use in tribological applications, such as seals and bearings. They offer new possibilities for achieving low friction, low wear, and no leak- age. Magnetic fluids or ferrofluids consist of magnetic particles suspended in a carrier fluid and a coating on the particles. The coating prevents the agglomeration of the particles through magnetic and molecular attraction by keeping the distance between them sufficiently large. The magnetic fluids have the basic properties of liquids and they act like ferromagnetic materials in the presence of an external magnetic field. Shaft sealing is the most promising potential application for ferrofluids. Magnetic seals have zero-leakage and low friction, they are non-stick and they have high-performance properties. Lubrication is another important application of ferrofluids. The advantage over conventional lubricants is the possibility of keeping the lubricant exactly and only where it is needed. They provide the possibility of increasing the life of components. Furthermore, because they do not contaminate, ferrofluids are also used as lubricants in clean environments.     

A Simulation Study on the Behavior of Magnetorheological Fluid on Herringbone-Grooved Hybrid Slot-Entry Bearing

Abstract

In recent years, extensive use of smart lubricants has been made in order to control the tribological performance of fluid film bearings. The grooved surfaces of the journal bearing greatly influence the performance of bearings. In the present work, various geometric shapes of herringbone grooves (rectangular, triangular, and parabolic) with groove angles (30° and 60°) have been considered to numerically simulate the performance of slot-entry bearings. The work reported in this article deals with the numerical simulation of magnetorheological (MR) fluid–lubricated slot-entry herringbone-grooved hybrid journal bearings. Dave equation, a constitutive relation of the Bingham model, was employed to simulate the flow behavior of MR fluid. Using the finite element method (FEM), the governing Reynolds equation for a hybrid slot-entry bearing model was solved. The result shows that the use of a herringbone-grooved surface and application of MR fluid in a slot-entry bearing offers better stability and higher fluid film stiffness and minimizes frictional torque.     

Effects of lubricant additives on the performance of hydrodynamically lubricated journal bearings

A non-Newtonian rheological model to investigate theoretically the effects of lubricant additives on the steady state performance of hydrodynamically lubricated finite journal bearings is introduced. In this model, the non-Newtonian behavior resulting from blending the lubricant with polymer additives is simulated by Stokes couple stress fluid model. The formed boundary layer at the bearing surface is described through the use of a hypothetical porous medium layer that adheres to the bearing surface. The Brinkman-extended Darcy equations are utilized to model the flow in the porous region. A stress jump boundary condition is applied at the porous media/fluid film interface. A modified form of the Reynolds equation is derived and solved numerically using a finite difference scheme. The effects of bearing geometry, and non-Newtonian behavior of the lubricant on the steady-state performance characteristics such as pressure distribution, load carrying capacity, side leakage flow, and coefficient of friction are presented and discussed. The results showed that lubricant additives significantly increase the load carrying capacity and reduce both the coefficient of friction and the side leakage as compared to the Newtonian lubricants.     

Comparison of friction and lubrication of different hip prostheses

It is well documented that an important cause of osteolysis and subsequent loosening of replacement hip joints is polyethylene wear debris. To avoid this, interest has been renewed in metal-on-metal and ceramic-on-ceramic prostheses. Various workers have assessed the lubrication modes of different joints by measuring the friction at the bearing surfaces, using different lubricants. Measurements of friction factors of a series of hip prostheses were undertaken using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) fluids, silicone fluids, synovial fluid and different concentrations of bovine serum as the lubricant. The experimental results were compared with theoretical predictions of film thicknesses and lubrication modes. A strong correlation was observed between experiment and theory when employing CMC fluids or silicone fluids as the lubricant. Mixed lubrication was found to occur in the metal-on-metal (CoCrMo/CoCrMo) joints with all lubricants at a viscosity within the physiological range. This was also the case for the metal-on-plastic (CoCrMo/ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene) joints. The ceramic-on-ceramic (Al2O3/Al2O3) joints, however, exhibited full fluid film lubrication with the synthetic lubricants but mixed lubrication with the biological lubricants. Employing a biological fluid as the lubricant affected the friction to varying degrees when compared with the synthetic lubricants. In the case of the ceramic-on-ceramic joints it acted to increase the friction factor tenfold; however, for the metal-on-metal joints, biological fluids gave slightly lower friction than the synthetic lubricants did. This suggests that, when measuring friction and wear of artificial joints, a standard lubricant should be used.     

Influence of micropolar lubricants on the performance of slot-entry hybrid journal bearing

A theoretical study concerning the slot-entry hybrid journal bearing lubricated with micropolar lubricants is presented. The modified Reynolds equation for micropolar lubricant is solved using finite element method along with equation of lubricant flow through slot-entry restrictors as a constraint together with appropriate boundary conditions. It has been observed that a slot-entry hybrid journal bearing operating with micropolar lubricant shows an increase in the value of minimum fluid film thickness and a reduction in the value of coefficient of friction as compared to a corresponding similar slot-entry hybrid journal bearing operating with Newtonian lubricant.     

Influence of micropolar lubricants on the performance of slot-entry hybrid journal bearing

A theoretical study concerning the slot-entry hybrid journal bearing lubricated with micropolar lubricants is presented. The modified Reynolds equation for micropolar lubricant is solved using finite element method along with equation of lubricant flow through slot-entry restrictors as a constraint together with appropriate boundary conditions. It has been observed that a slot-entry hybrid journal bearing operating with micropolar lubricant shows an increase in the value of minimum fluid film thickness and a reduction in the value of coefficient of friction as compared to a corresponding similar slot-entry hybrid journal bearing operating with Newtonian lubricant.     

一种改进型的磁流变液制备工艺研究

分别以传统的磁流变液制备工艺和改进的磁流变液制备工艺,以羰基铁粉为软磁性颗粒,以专用减振液为母液,制备了2种磁流变液,并对其零场粘度、悬浮稳定性和剪切屈服强度进行了测试和分析。试验结果表明,改进型工艺制备的磁流变液零场粘度比传统工艺制备的磁流变液稍高,但其沉降稳定性和剪切屈服强度均优于以传统工艺制备的磁流变液。     

Performance of flexible shell journal bearings with variable viscosity lubricants

In heavily loaded rotating machines, both the deformation of the elastic bearing shell and the dependence of lubricant viscosity on pressure become significant and may result in an appreciable change in the performance of the journal bearing system. In this paper, stable solutions for bearing deformation and the lubricant flow field are obtained which combine the effects of the elastic deformation of the bearing shell with the pressure-viscosity dependence of the lubricant. Two elastic models were tried for deformation calculations in the bearing. One which was computationally economical and consistent in accuracy was adopted for the detailed computation. The effects of bearing deformation on the performance characteristics of the journal bearing system are reported for both isoviscous and variable viscosity lubricants.     

Squeeze film lubrication of a short porous journal bearing with couple stress fluids

This paper presents the theoretical investigations of the rheological effects of the couple stress fluids on the static and dynamic behaviour of the pure squeeze films in the porous journal bearings. The present study predicts the effects of percolation of the polar additives (microstructures) into the porous matrix on the performance of squeeze films in the porous journal bearings. The most general modified Reynolds-type equation is derived for a porous journal bearing with no journal rotation. The analysis takes into account of the tangential velocity slip at the porous interface by using the BJ-slip condition. The cases of a short porous journal bearing under a constant applied load and that under an alternating load are analyzed. As compared to the Newtonian lubricants, the lubricants which sustain the couple stresses yield an increase in the load carrying capacity. Under a cyclic load the couple stress fluids provide a reduction in the journal velocity and an increase in the minimum permissible height of squeeze films.     

Determination of the Bingham parameters of an electrorheological fluid in an axial flow concentric-cylinder rheometer

Electrorheological (ER) fluids are fluids that undergo changes in their rheological properties in the presence of an applied electrical field. The change in the flow properties with an applied electrical field has led to their being investigated for use as ‘smart’ lubricants. The Bingham model is currently used to describe the behaviour of these fluids. In this work, the Bingham model parameters of a commercially available ER fluid are obtained using an axial flow concentric-cylinder rheometer. Two methods are used to determine these parameters. One is the Weissenberg (—Rabinowitsch) method applied to thin annular slits, to obtain corrected stress—strain rate information. The other method involves directly fitting the velocity—pressure curve data to the axial flow rate equation of a Bingham fluid through concentric cylinders. The results obtained by these two methods differ by as much as 49.4 and 63.5% for the yield stress and viscosity, respectively. It is observed for this ER fluid that the yield stress increases according to a power law relationship with the applied electrical field. The viscosity appears to decrease linearly with an increase in the applied electrical field.     

Analysis of hydrodynamic journal bearings having non-Newtonian lubricants

Commercial lubricants, due to the presence of different types of additives, behave like non-Newtonian fluids. The effect of this nonlinear behaviour on the performance characteristics of finite-width journal bearings is investigated using the Eyring model for the shear stress and shear strain rate. the finite element method using Galerkin's technique has been used to solve the momentum equations and the continuity equation in cylindrical coordinates, representing the flow field in the clearance space of a journal bearing system using Newtonian fluids; the non-Newtonian effect is introduced by modifying the viscosity term for the model in each iteration. The results of static performance characteristics for finite-width journal bearings having non-Newtonian lubricants have been obtained.     

Rheological measurement of redispersibility and settling to analyze the effect of surfactants on MR particles

The smart materials such as magnetorheological (MR) fluids are gaining wide popularity due to their superior control abilities. These abilities are strongly dependent about the stability of the MR fluid which needs to be sustained for the useful life of the system. In the present research work, experimental studies focusing on aggregation, redispersibility and settling of carbonyl iron-based MR fluids have been conducted to analyze the effect of surfactants on controlling settling and redispersibility. The experimental investigations were conducted by preparation of nine MR fluids samples using three types of surfactants (oleic acid, citric acid and tetramethylammonium hydroxide) and three different carrier fluids (water, silicone oil and DTE light mineral oil). The samples were prepared by mixing on rotational machine for 24 h and the homogeneity of the samples was visually inspected. The shear stress and viscosity variation of the homogenous mixture with respect to shear rate was obtained using magnetic rheometer. A new method is presented for measuring the settling of homogenous mixtures by measurement of the change in the magnetic field strength due to settlement of particles. The effect of surfactant type and its quantity on the stability of MR fluid is explored and the results of settling and redispersibility have been presented.     

Finite element analysis of elliptical bearings lubricated by a non-newtonian fluid

Additive-fortified lubricants behave as non-newtonian fluids (shear thinning or shear thickening). The effect of this non-linear behaviour on the performance characteristics of finite-width elliptical hydrodynamic journal bearings was investigated using the cubic shear stress law. The finite element method with Galerkin's technique was used to solve in cylindrical coordinates the Navier-Stokes equations that represent the flow field in the clearance space of a bearing using newtonian fluids and the non-newtonian effect was then introduced by modifying the viscosity term for the model in each iteration. The results for non-newtonian lubricants are compared with those for newtonian lubricants.