Performance of synthetic oils in the hydrodynamic regime ‐ II. Generalisation

Abstract

AbstractIn Parti I the results of an extensive experimental investigation of the performance of environmentally adapted oils in the hydrodynamic regime were reported. Four oils were tested in a tilting‐pad thrust bearing for different combinations of load, shaft speed, and supply oil temperature. In this second part, details of a generalisation procedure are described. A number of parameters representing the physical properties of an oil, such as viscosity and viscosity‐temperature coefficient, are adopted. The influence of each of these parameters on minimum oil film thickness, maximum temperature rise, and bearing power loss is then analysed. It is shown that viscosity measured at the supply oil temperature is the most important parameter. The effects of the viscosity‐temperature coefficient and oil thermal conductivity are less pronounced and yet significant. It is also shown that it is not possible to select an optimum oil that yields maximised oil film thickness, minimised temperature rise, and minimised power loss at the same time.