An analysis of the influence of oil supply conditions on the thermohydrodynamic performance of a single-groove journal bearing

Abstract

In this work a thermohydrodynamic analysis has been developed in order to investigate the influence of oil supply conditions on the performance of a journal bearing. The supply conditions considered were oil supply temperature, supply pressure, groove length and groove location. To carry out this study, the hydrodynamic pressure distribution inside the bearing has been determined using a mass-conserving cavitation model with realistic supply conditions. The energy equation and the heat conduction equation have been used for the determination of oil film and bush temperature distributions. The agreement observed between theoretical predictions and experimental published data is acceptable. Quantitative information shows that the oil supply conditions affect bearing performance parameters in different ways. Oil flowrate was markedly affected by all supply parameters studied. Power loss, maximum bush temperature and minimum film thickness were mainly dependent on oil supply temperature. The effect of supply pressure on minimum film thickness was dependent on groove location. An axial groove located at 90° to the load line gave rise to more favourable bearing performance characteristics.