Calculated journal bearing lubrication of non-Newtonian medium with surface roughness effects

To analyze the effects of non-Newtonian lubricants and surface roughness in journal bearing lubrication, a modified Reynolds equation is derived. In the equation, differential viscosity and the first normal stress function are defined to specify the rheological properties of non-Newtonian medium. Flow factors are used to specify the effect of surface roughness. The modified Reynolds equation is numerically calculated using super over relaxation method. Numerical results of the lubrication show that the differential viscosity is the principal non-Newtonian property affecting the lubrication, it is determined by the material parameters of the lubricant and is affected by the shearing rate. Under its effect, the load capacity of non-Newtonian lubricants is not always higher or lower than that of Newtonian lubricants’. The effect of the first normal stress difference increases under the conditions of dynamic loading. Surface roughness shows an obvious effect on load capacity when it is greater than one-tenth of the film thickness, and the surface with longitudinal pattern affects the load capacity most. However, surface roughness has less effect on lubrication results than lubricants’ non-Newtonian property. __________ Translated from Tribology, 2005, 25(6) (in Chinese)     

Lubrication performance of finite journal bearings considering effects of couple stresses and surface roughness

To inspect the performance characteristics of finite journal-bearing systems, the combined effects of couple stress due to a Newtonian lubricant blended with additives and the presence of roughness on journal-bearing surfaces are studied in this article. Basing on the Stokes theory and Christensen’s stochastic model, the stochastic generalized Reynolds equation is deduced. The film pressure distribution equation is numerically solved by using the conjugate gradient method of iterations. According to the results, the couple stress effects can raise the film pressure of the lubricant fluid, improve the load-carrying capacity and reduce the friction parameter, especially at high eccentricity ratio. The surface roughness effect is dominant in long bearing approximation and the influence of transverse or longitudinal roughness to the journal bearing is in reverse trend. In general, the critical value of length-to-diameter is 1.1.     

Performance of worn non-recessed hole-entry hybrid journal bearings

Non-recessed journal bearings have been successfully used in various engineering applications because of their good performance over a wide range of speed and load, besides their relative simplicity in manufacturing. Due to many starts and stops in its lifespan, the bearing bush wears progressively on account of rubbing, which affects bearing performance. The present work is an attempt to analytically study the performance of a worn non-recessed (hole-entry) capillary-compensated hybrid journal-bearing system. FEM has been used to solve the Reynolds equation, governing the flow of lubricant in the bearing clearance space along with the restrictor flow equation using suitable iterative technique. A study is conducted for two configurations, i.e., symmetrical and asymmetrical hole-entry journal-bearing system. The simulated results of bearing characteristics parameters in terms of maximum fluid-film pressure, minimum fluid-film thickness, flow rate, frictional torque, rotor dynamic coefficients, stability threshold speed and whirl frequency ratio, etc. have been presented for the wide range of various values of load and speed. The results indicate that the wear affects the bearing performance considerably; therefore, a due consideration of wear defect should be given for an accurate prediction of the bearing performance over a number of cycles. The computed results further indicate that the influence of wear defect on journal bearing performance may be minimized if a designer selects a suitable bearing configuration.     

Rotation effects on hybrid air journal bearings

Rotation effects of hybrid air journal bearings with multi-arrays of orifice feedings are investigated numerically. Porous air bearings are also solved for comparison. The results show that bearing load capacity W increases faster with eccentricity ratio than with rotation speed, i.e. bearing number Be. There are optimum orifice diameters, i.e. optimum feeding parameters λ_o, which give maximum load capacity W for orifice feeding; but for porous feeding, load capacity W increases with feeding parameters λ_p. It was found that the load capacity increases with feeding arrays of orifices and five rows of orifice feedings can approximate the operations of porous bearings very well. It was also found that load capacity W does not increase further when air supply pressure exceeds 5 atm because there is a critical pressure ratio through orifice (e.g. (P_o/P_s)<0.53).     

Linear stability of short journal bearings with consideration of flow rheology and surface roughness

The combined effects of surface roughness and flow rheology on the linear stability of a rigid rotor supported on short-length journal bearings are analyzed. The modified Reynolds equation and the rotor motion equation are linearized about the equilibrium position and the fluid film is modeled as spring and damping elements. From the characteristic equation, the instability threshold is then obtained with various surface roughness parameters (standard derivation, σ, and Peklenik number, γ), flow rheology (power-law index, n) and eccentricity ratios (). The results show that the size of the stability regions of different roughness patterns has the following characteristics: longitudinal (γ>1)>isotropic (γ=1)>smooth>transverse (γ<1). The stability of the bearing system deteriorates with decreasing power-law index. Moreover, there are crossing points in the vicinity of =0.45 among the curves of dimensionless speed parameter ( ) associated with various power-law indices and surface roughness parameters.     

Surface roughness effect on finite journal bearings with flexible porous liners

The effects of surface roughness on the static characteristics of finite porous journal bearings under hydrodynamic lubrication conditions are investigated in this paper. The well‐established Christensen stochastic theory of hydrodynamic lubrication of rough surfaces is used to incorporate the effects of surface roughness into the Reynolds equation. The analysis takes into account the flexibility of the porous liner by using a thin liner model. The effects of velocity slip at the surface of the porous medium are considered in the analysis by using the Beavers‐Joseph criterion. The mathematical model is then solved numerically by finite‐difference methods for mean hydrodynamic pressure, which in turn gives the hydrodynamic load. The effects of the surface roughness parameter, surface pattern, eccentricity ratio, length‐to‐diameter ratio, permeability parameter, and flexibility parameter on the hydrodynamic load‐carrying capacity, attitude angle, and friction factor are discussed.     

Misaligned journal effects in liquid hydrostatic non-recessed journal bearings

The performance characteristics of a capillary-compensated hole-entry hybrid misaligned journal bearing have been studied theoretically. The journal of the bearing is allowed to tilt on an axial plane containing the load vector and on a plane perpendicular to an axial plane containing the load vector. The journal misalignment has been accounted for by defining a pair of misalignment parameters σ and δ. The finite element method has been used to solve Reynold's equation governing the lubricant flow field in the clearance space of the journal bearing. Static and dynamic performance characteristics are presented for the different representative values of the journal misalignment parameters for both hydrostatic and hybrid modes of operation of the bearing. The bearing performance characteristics are also compared for the two hole-entry bearing configurations so as to facilitate the selection of a suitable bearing configuration by the designer. The study suggests that the journal misalignment significantly affects the performance of the hole-entry journal bearing, and for a more accurate prediction of the bearing performance it must be considered in the analysis.     

Influence of elastic effects on the performance of slot-entry journal bearings

Modern high-performance machines require bearings to operate under stringent conditions. For bearings operating under heavy loads, the bearing deformations can no longer be neglected as they are comparable to the order of magnitude of the fluid film thickness. This paper describes the performance of slot-entry hydrostatic/hybrid journal bearings by considering bearing shell flexibility in the analysis. The relevant governing equations have been solved by the finite element method. Slot-entry journal bearings of two separate configurations have been studied over a wide range of bearing operating and geometric parameters. Elastic effects are found to significantly affect the static and dynamic performance characteristics of the bearing studied. The study indicates that, for given operating conditions, to get optimum performance of a bearing proper selection of the bearing flexibility parameter (), the concentric design pressure ratio () and the type of bearing configuration (symmetric/asymmetric) are essential.     

The effects of surface irregularities on the performance characteristics of flexible finite journal bearings lubricated with couple stress fluids

A numerical solution for the elastohydrodynamic lubrication of finite journal bearings is presented. Couple stress effects resulting from blending the lubricant with various additives are considered. Elrod's cavitation algorithm, which automatically predicts film rupture and reformation in the bearings, is implemented in the solution scheme. A simple elastic model is used to describe the elastic deformation of the bearing liner. Furthermore, the effects of surface waviness on the performance of the bearing are incorporated into the analysis. A comprehensive study illustrates the effects of couple stress, liner flexibility, and surface waviness on the steady‐state performance of finite‐width journal bearings. The results show that these effects should be considered at higher values of the eccentricity ratio.     

Investigations on the thermal effects in non-circular journal bearings

A comparative study based on the thermal performance of elliptical and offset-halves journal bearings has been carried out by solving energy equation while assuming Parabolic Temperature Profile Approximation across the fluid film for faster computation of temperatures. Investigation for the rise in oil film temperatures, thermal pressures, load capacity, and power loss for three commercially available grade oils have been carried out for bearing configurations under study. It has been found that the offset-halves journal bearing runs cooler when compared with elliptical journal bearing profile with minimum power loss and good load capacity using Oil 2 as lubricant for which minimum thermal degradation has been observed.     

Experimental investigation of hybrid journal bearings

Experimental pressure distribution measurements in hybrid journal bearings are presented and the influence of inertia forces in the recess outlets and pressure generation in the pockets for high rotating speeds are shown. These results are in good agreement with the theoretical results given by an established model.     

Rotor dynamic instability analysis on hybrid air journal bearings

Hybrid air journal bearings with multi-array of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5-row orifice feedings are analyzed for the problem of rotor dynamic instability. The bearing stiffness and damping coefficients are calculated numerically to determine threshold rotor mass under various operating conditions. The hybrid porous air journal bearings are also analyzed for comparison to investigate the similarities in dynamic characteristics between the multi-array of orifice feeding bearings and the porous bearings. The results show that the porous bearing is more stable than the orifice feeding bearing at lower rotation speeds (Λ<0.1) or at higher rotation speeds (Λ>1) with lower feeding parameters (λ_P<10⁻⁸). The 5-row orifice feeding bearing is more stable than the porous bearing at moderate speeds (0.3<Λ<0.6) with lower feeding parameters (λ₀<10⁻⁴).     

Experimental study of journal bearings with undulating journal surface

A journal bearing test rig was designed and constructed to test the behaviour of journals with wavy surfaces, the circumferential undulations being varied both in amplitude and in number. Results show that wavy journal surfaces may well enhance the load carrying capacity of a bearing. Moreover, surface undulations are shown to move the journal centre locus closer to the load line, ie cause a lower attitude angle. These effects are found to be more pronounced with larger wave amplitudes, and with higher numbers of waves around the journal circumference. In general, friction is found to be reduced with increase in surface wave amplitude.Good agreement is shown to exist between test results and a computer aided analysis conducted by the authors to predict wavy journals performance¹. It has been established that a wavy journal surface may, under certain conditions, display higher load capacity, lower friction and permit safer running of journal than bearings with perfectly smooth surfaces.     

Rapid performance evaluation of journal bearings

This paper describes a rapid method for evaluating the significant design parameters such as load capacity, maximum pressure, flow, power loss, and maximum temperature in the oil film. The proposed analytical pressure expression is a modification of that given by Reason and Narang. An analytical expression for maximum pressure is presented. The accuracy of the proposed modification is validated up to an eccentricity ratio of 0.99. The effective temperature rise, which depends on the fraction of heat generation carried away by lubricant, is chosen to be a function of the eccentricity ratio. An expression for maximum temperature, based on existing experimental findings, is given. A journal bearing design table is provided to help the designer without the involvement of numerical and mathematical complexities.     

Dynamic performance of plain gas journal bearings

This paper presents dynamic performance characteristics of plain gas journal bearings. The perturbation formulation suggested by Lund has been modified to obtain stiffness and damping properties. Since rotor bearing axes are never perfectly parallel, the effect of skew has also been considered. Stability studies have been carried out for selected compressibility parameters     

Combined effects of surface roughness and viscosity variation due to additives on long journal bearing

Abstract

The combined effects of surface roughness and viscosity variation due to additives on long journal bearing are analytically studied. The variation in viscosity along the film thickness is considered. The presence of solid particles in the lubricant is an increased effective viscosity, which increases the load carrying capacity and decreases the frictional coefficient, whereas the viscosity variation tends to decrease both the load carrying capacity and coefficient of friction for non-micropolar fluid case. The modified Reynolds type equation for surface roughness has been derived on the basis of Eringen’s micropolar fluid theory. The generalised stochastic random variable with non-zero mean, variance and skewness is assumed to mathematically model the surface roughness on the bearing surface. Numerical results were obtained for the fluid film pressure, load carrying capacity and the coefficient of friction. It is observed that the combined effect is to increase the load carrying capacity and to decrease the coefficient of friction, which improves the performance of the bearing.     

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.     

Comparative study of the performance of six-pocket and four-pocket hydrostatic/hybrid flexible journal bearings

This paper compares the performance of a six-pocket capillary compensated hydrostatic/hybrid flexible journal bearing to that of a simi ar four-pocket journal bearing. The comparison is based on theoretically computed results. The finite-element method has been used to obtain simultaneous solutions of the three-dimensional elasticity equations and the Reynolds equation. It is observed that the six-pocket journal bearing may be more efficient from a stability point of view as compared to a similar four-pocket journal system.