Adiabatic solution to the oscillating slider bearing problem

Abstract

The equations governing the oscillatory flow of the lubricant in a slider bearing of arbitrary configuration are considered, assuming adiabatic conditions to exist. Equations governing the steady streaming pressure distribution and the temperature variation in the bearing are devised. The steady load carrying capacity and the friction variable are calculated for five geometrical configurations. It is shown that the product of the Reynolds number and the Strouhal number has an adverse effect on the steady load carrying capacity and this effect is limited when the value of the product is kept less than or equal to unity. Slider bearing geometries having convex solid walls are found here to be superior to plane slider bearings and to those having concave walls as they have a larger load carrying capacity and small friction variable. It is also shown that for all geometries considered an isothermal solution is satisfactory when the dimensionless minimum film thickness is larger than 0.4.