Optimum model shape of sliding bearings for oscillating motion

Abstract

The steady streaming oil film behaviour of oscillating sliding parts is important and requires clarification. The information available on such problems is insufficient because they are too complicated to be analysed satisfactorily. In this paper an attempt is made to study the considerable effect of the geometrical configuration of the oscillating parts on the performance of sliding bearings. The steady streaming pressure on oscillating sliding bearings of arbitrary shapes is obtained with the objective of maximizing load-carrying capacity. The optimum shape is found to depend primarily on the maximum film thickness and, to a lesser extent, on the products of Reynolds and Strouhal numbers. The optimization technique used is based on a random search method to obtain an improved a priori estimate for the optimized parameters.