Inertia effects on thrust bearings with Michell pads running under thermohydrodynamic conditions

This paper presents an analysis of thrust bearings with Michell pads under steady state conditions at the limits of the laminar flow taking the inertia forces in radial and circumferential directions into consideration and assuming that the bearing operates under, THD, thermohydrodynamic boundary conditions. The governing equations of the problem allowing for temperature rise within the oil film as well heat conduction inside the bearing elements are derived. The velocity components including both inertia terms are derived and inserted into the integrated continuity equation to obtain a Reynolds type differential equation. The whole equation system represents a non-linear systen, because the individual variables depend on each other. The equation system is discretized by means of finite difference method and solved simultaneously by means of an iterative scheme to find the characteristic values of the bearing. The analysis shows that the inertia forces have a pronounced effect on the bearing characteristic values.