A Thermohydrodynamic Coupling Model of Oil Aeration Turbulent Lubrication for Journal Bearing With Interface Effect

Abstract

Oil aeration lubricant in high-speed journal bearing is composed of mixture of continuous phase liquid and discrete phase bubbles. This work establishes a thermohydrodynamic (THD) coupling model for this lubrication condition. The generalized Reynolds equation is derived by the continuity equation, Navier–Stokes equation, law of wall turbulence model, and bubble volume distribution function, and then a THD oil aeration turbulent lubrication model is established by coupling the generalized Reynolds equation, energy equation, force equilibrium equation of bubble, and population balance equations (PBEs). The coupled-equations are solved numerically to obtain the pressure distribution under oil aeration lubrication state, the equilibrium distribution of bubble volume, the turbulent velocity distribution, the bubble velocity distribution, and the temperature rise. The results show that the load capacity of a bearing with oil aeration lubrication model is higher than that of the same bearing with a pure oil lubrication model, and heat dissipation performance of the bearing under the oil aeration lubrication state is superior.