On the study of Rayleigh step slider bearings lubricated with non-Newtonian Rabinowitsch fluid

Abstract

PurposeNowadays, the use of Newtonian fluid as a lubricant is diminishing day by day, and the use of non-Newtonian fluids has gained importance. This paper presents an analysis of the static characteristics of Rayleigh step slider bearing lubricated with non-Newtonian Rabinowitsch fluid, which has not been studied so far. The purpose of this paper is to derive the modified Reynolds equation for Rabinowitsch fluids for two regions and to obtain the optimum bearing parameters for the Rayleigh step slider bearings.Design/methodology/approachThe governing equations relevant to the problem under consideration are derived. The modified Reynolds equation is derived, and it is found to be highly non-linear and hence small perturbation method is adopted to find solution.FindingsFrom this study it is found that there is an increase in the load-carrying capacity, pressure and frictional coefficients for dilatant fluids as compared to the corresponding Newtonian case. Further, for dilatant lubricants the maximum load-carrying capacity is attained for the slightly larger values of entry region length of Rayleigh step bearing as compared to Newtonian and pseudoplastic lubricants.Originality/valueRabinowitsch fluid is used for the study of lubrication characteristics of Rayleigh step bearings. The author believes that the paper presents these results for the first time.