On the Combined Effects of Lubricant Inertia and Viscous Dissipation in Long Bearings

Abstract

We have demonstrated earlier that for laminar, isothermal flow of the lubricant in the non-cavitating film of long journal bearings, inertia has negligible effect on the load-carrying capacity and influences only the stability characteristics of the bearing. The question we pose in the present paper is: “will these conclusions remain valid for nonisothermal flow, or will lubricant inertia and dissipation interact and result in significant changes in bearing performance?” The results obtained here assert that the effect of lubricant inertia on load-carrying capacity remains negligible, irrespective of the rate of dissipation. The stability of the bearing is, however, affected by lubricant inertia. These results, although obtained here for long bearings and noncavitating films, are believed to be applicable to some practical bearing operations and suggest that for these, bearing load may be calculated from classical, i.e., noninertial theory.