Non‐Newtonian and thermal effects in constant flow valve compensated symmetric hole‐entry hybrid journal bearing

Abstract

AbstractEvery high speed machine, demanding high level of perfection, can operate successfully through a precise design of bearings. Such a design can be formulated after carefully studying both static and dynamic characteristics of the journal bearing. The present paper described the study of static and dynamic performance of a hole‐entry hybrid journal bearing system compensated with constant flow valve restrictor by considering the combined influence of thermal effects and non‐Newtonian behaviour of the lubricant. The variation of the viscosity due to the non‐Newtonian behaviour of the lubricant and temperature rise has been considered in the study. The numerical solution of the generalized Reynolds equation governing the flow of the lubricant, having variable viscosity along with the energy and heat conduction equations, was obtained using finite element method. The non‐Newtonian lubricant has been assumed to follow the cubic shear stress law. The study included the performance of a double row symmetric hole‐entry hybrid journal bearing configuration containing 12 holes per row. The results presented in this paper indicate that change in viscosity of lubricant affects the performance of the hole‐entry hybrid journal bearing system quite significantly. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.