| Abstract: | The Reynolds' equation, which governs the pressure distribution in the oil film of a lubricated bearing, has been solved numerically using finite difference and finite element methods. The latter depends on finding the integral formulation of the Reynold's equation, which is minimized to determine the pressure distribution. The finite control volume method uses the basic flow equations, assumes a given interpolation function for the pressure and, by considering the net flow towards each nodal point, the geometry stiffness is obtained which is identical to the element stiffness matrix obtained by the classical finite element approach. The motivation of the finite control volume method (FCVM) lies in the fact that the calculus of variation, a stumbling block for solution of certain flow problems, is not considered. |
