Roughness Effect on Thermo-Elasto-Hydrodynamic Performance of a 170ᵒ -Arc Partial Journal Bearing

Abstract

In the current analysis, the effects of circumferential scratches along the inner surface of a 170ᵒ -arc partial journal bearing has been numerically investigated. Their impact on the thermo-elasto-hydrodynamic performance characteristics, including maximum pressure, temperature, deformation, and stress, has been examined thoroughly. The ANSYS Fluent CFD commercial code was employed to tackle the iterative solution of flow and heat transfer patterns in the fluid film domain. They are then applied to the ANSYS Static Structure solver to compute the deformation and stress resulted in the solid bearing zone. A wide range of operating conditions has been considered, including the eccentricity ratio ( ) and scratch depth ( ). In contrast, the bearing length-diameter ratio (L/D) and the rotation speed (N) have been fixed at 0.77 and 1500 rpm, respectively. The thermo-hydrodynamic pressure, temperature, stress, and deformation have all been computed. It was found that the scratch depth has a direct effect on the thermo-hydrodynamic performance of the partial bearings. Meanwhile, the deep central scratches are important, especially at scratch depth equal to 0.224 mm.