THD analysis for slider bearing with roughness: special reference to load generation in parallel sliders

This paper analyzes the thermal and roughness effects on different characteristics of an infinite tilted pad slider bearing. The roughness is assumed to be stochastic, Gaussian randomly distributed. Density and viscosity are assumed to be temperature-dependent. In this study, two models of one-dimensional roughness, longitudinal and transverse, are considered. The irregular domain due to roughness is mapped to a regular domain so that the numerical method can be easily applied. The modified Reynolds equation, momentum equation, continuity equation and energy equation are coupled and solved using the finite difference method to yield various bearing characteristics. It is observed that for a non-parallel slider bearing, the load carrying capacity due to the combined effect is less than the load capacity due to the roughness effect for both models. However, in the case of a parallel pad slider bearing the reverse is true, though the load capacity is not significant. It is also observed that the load carrying capacity due to the combined effect is less than the load carrying capacity due to the thermal effect for the longitudinal roughness model, and it is the opposite for the transverse roughness model.