Film Flow Characteristics of Droplet Cooling in a Simplified Bearing Chamber

Abstract

Droplet-cooled oil films develop on the internal surfaces of an aero-engine bearing chamber and are a primary mechanism in removing heat from the chamber as oil is continuously collected and externally cooled and recycled. Predicting the internal oil temperature and oil temperature history is an important thermal problem which becomes more apparent with potential increases in operating temperatures of gas turbines. Studying interacting oil flow and thermal processes within a simplified bearing chamber geometry provides useful information on the trends and characteristics which can arise under different applied flow conditions (e.g. mass flow rate of oil through the system) and insight to the effect chamber design parameters may have on oil degradation and cooling of chamber walls. Thin oil films develop on the walls of a bearing chamber as oil is injected or shed from bearings and impinges on the walls under a strong airflow set in motion by rotating components. Typically the film is also subject to a heat flux from the hot chamber walls and the droplets provide an important cooling effect through “heat-to-oil” mechanisms. We present a mathematical model for the depth-averaged flow and associated heat transfer by thin oil films on the walls of a simplified aero-engine bearing chamber. Cases corresponding to generic flow conditions relevant to an aero-engine bearing chamber are presented. Characteristics of the film and the efficacy of the flow regime to transfer heat from the chamber is explored through calculating residence times and time histories of oil particles as they make a transit of the internal system.