Abstract
The selection of the material regarding specific design of the stern tube journal bearings in vessels is critical taking into account the lubrication system, whether oil or water based, and the consequent lubricant leakage. Therefore, the present study examines the feasibility and the advantages of implementing water lubricated polymer shaft bearings instead of conventional white metal bearings lubricated by oil. The investigation method is related to the numerical model and the software application based on finite difference method and isoviscous model. Results, based upon data collected from three different types of actual vessels in service, have shown that power loss in polymer bearings is at least 6 times less than in conventional white metal ones indicating that polymer journal bearings are significantly more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
Highlights
Extensive studies of “road-friendly” heavy vehicles have been performed during the last few decades to reduce road damage and increase the rated load of vehicles
When a multi-axle heavy vehicle with leaf suspensions travels on a rough road or hits a bump/ pothole, such as a bridge-head, or speed control humps, unequally distributed loads among the axles of an axle group tend to appear due to the ineffectiveness of the load-sharing mechanism and the high stiffness of leaf springs [2]
When the static height or the static pressure is increased, the DLSC optimization ratio declines. The reason for this phenomenon is that the static height increases with more static pressure, Vs10 increases, and the volume of air line divided by Vs10 decreases
Summary
Extensive studies of “road-friendly” heavy vehicles have been performed during the last few decades to reduce road damage and increase the rated load of vehicles. When a multi-axle heavy vehicle with leaf suspensions travels on a rough road or hits a bump/ pothole, such as a bridge-head, or speed control humps, unequally distributed loads among the axles of an axle group tend to appear due to the ineffectiveness of the load-sharing mechanism (centrally pivoted walking beam, trunnion shaft, etc.) and the high stiffness of leaf springs [2]. This phenomenon causes overloading of a single axle of the axle group, which has at least two disadvantages: (a) it increases the possibility of a tire bursting as well as reducing the maneuverability and stability of the vehicle; (b) it accelerates the rutting and fatigue that contributes to pavement damage [3].
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