Rectangular Dimples Research Articles

Numerical analyses of rectangular micro-textures in hydrodynamic lubrication regime for sliding contacts

Hydrodynamic lubrication of rectangular micro-textures on sliding contact surfaces is investigated using numerical calculation methods. The theoretical models for the slider surface are developed and the film pressure is used to evaluate the hydrodynamic lubrication based on the Reynolds equation. Meanwhile, the geometry and distribution of the rectangular dimples are optimized for maximizing the average film pressure. Results show that the film pressure is dependent on the geometry and distribution of the rectangular micro-dimples. The optimal geometry of the single rectangular dimple is obtained, and the spacing has an important influence on the film pressure. The distribution types of rectangular dimples affect the hydrodynamic lubrication significantly and the interlaced array of the rectangular micro-dimples is beneficial to enhancing the hydrodynamic lubrication. Meanwhile, the rectangular dimples with 72° interlaced angle exhibits the best effectivity.

Multiphase Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Hydrodynamic Journal Bearing Under the Combined Influence of Texture and Slip

The drive to maintain the environmental sustainability and save the global energy consumption is urgent, making every powertrain system component a candidate to enhance efficiency. In this work, the combined effects of the slip boundary and textured surface in hydrodynamic journal bearing as one of the critical components in industrial powertrain and engine systems are assessed using a multiphase computational fluid dynamic analysis that allows for phase change in a cavitation process and arbitrary textured geometry. The texture studied consists of regularly spaced rectangular dimples through two-dimensional (infinitely long) journal bearing. The modified Navier–slip model is employed to describe the slip boundary condition. A systematic comparison is made for various textured configurations varying the texture depth and the length of the texturing zone with respect to the performance of a smooth (untextured) bearing for several eccentricity ratios. The effectiveness of the texture with or without slip at enhancing the load support over a corresponding smooth bearing is investigated with the parameters. The detrimental or beneficial effect of surface texturing as well as the slip promotion is explained in terms of the mechanisms of pressure generation for several eccentricity ratios. The results of the present work indicate that journal bearing textured by a proper texturing zone and dimple depth are characterized by substantial load support levels. However, in the range of high eccentricity ratios, the promotion of texturing and slip can significantly degrade the performance of the load support.

The Influence of Surface Patterning on the Thermal Properties of Textured Thrust Bearings

Contact performance can be enhanced by using textured surfaces. These are also found to have influences on lubricated contacts. A procedure to find the optimal partially textured thrust bearing configuration is presented in this study. A parallel sector-pad thrust bearing is simulated by a three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The stationary surface of the bearing is textured with dimples, while the rotor surface is flat. The results of the baseline model are validated by experimental data. In this study, we compare rectangular and elliptical dimples by investigating design parameters, such as major the length of the major axis (width), the length of the minor axis (length), dimple depth, circumferential space between two dimples, radial space between two dimples, radial extent, circumferential extent are selected as design parameters. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the influence of the texture geometries and a surrogate model is created. Based on the surrogate model, a multi-objective optimization scheme is used to navigate the design space and find the optimal texture structure that provides a lower maximal temperature inside the fluid film, higher load capacity, and lower friction torque. The results show that the optimal radial extent of the texture is around 80% of the pad radial length for both cases. The optimal length of the elliptical dimples in the circumferential direction is about 30% larger than the value of the rectangular dimples. In the final optimal design, the maximal temperature reduces 1.1% and 1.3% for rectangular and elliptical dimples while the load capacities are maintained at the same level.

Terahertz Plasmonic Waveguide Based Thin Film Sensor

In this paper, we investigate sensing capabilities of a planar plasmonic terahertz waveguide. The waveguide is comprised of one-dimensional array of periodically arranged subwavelength scale corrugations in the form of rectangular dimples in order to ensure the plasmonic response. The terahertz waveguide transmission is observed for polyimide (as thin film) substance filling the dimples. The refractive index of the polyimide film is varied to examine various sensing parameters such as frequency shift, sensitivity, and figure of merit of the fundamental plasmonic resonance supported by the waveguide. We employ a semianalytical transmission line $LC$ circuit model to elucidate our numerical observations. In efforts to improve sensing characteristics, we also examine sensing capabilities of a plasmonic waveguide having V-shaped corrugations and compare results with that of rectangular dimples. The proposed study could be significant in developing new terahertz sensors with improved sensitivity utilizing the plasmonic waveguides.

An Optimum Design Approach for Textured Thrust Bearing With Elliptical-Shape Dimples Using Computational Fluid Dynamics and Design of Experiments Including Cavitation

Textured thrust bearings are capable of providing higher load capacity and lower friction torque compared to nontextured bearings. However, most previous optimization efforts for texturing geometry were focused on rectangular dimples and employed Reynolds equation. Limited studies have been done to investigate the effects of partially textured thrust bearings with elliptical dimples. This study proposes a new optimization approach to find the optimal partially texture geometry with elliptical dimples, which maximize the loading capacity and minimize the friction torque. In this study, a 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for a parallel sector-pad thrust bearing is built using ANSYS cfx. Mass conserving cavitation model is used to simulate the cavitation regions. Energy equation for Newtonian flow is also solved. The results of the model are validated by the experimental data from the literature. Based on this model, the flow pattern and pressure distribution inside the dimples are analyzed. The geometry of elliptical dimple is parameterized and analyzed using design of experiments (DOE). The selected geometry parameters include the length of major and minor axes, dimple depth, radial and circumferential space between two dimples, and the radial and circumferential extend. A multi-objective optimization scheme is used to find the optimal texture structure with the load force and friction torque set as objective functions. The results show that the shape of dimples has a crucial effect on the performance of the textured thrust bearings. Searching the design space for a proper combination among the design variables satisfying the constraints has the advantage of capturing the codependence among design variables and leads to a surface patterning of the bearing, which showed a 42.7% improvement on the load capacity.

Performance comparison between textured, pocket, and tapered-land sector-pad thrust bearings using computational fluid dynamics thermohydrodynamic analysis

Different geometry patterns of the surface of thrust bearings have been proven very beneficial in terms of bearing load-carrying capacity and friction coefficient. In this study, four different types of sector-pad thrust bearings have been cross-evaluated for operation under realistic operating conditions: (a) an open pocket bearing, (b) a closed pocket bearing, (c) a tapered-land bearing, and (d) a bearing partially textured with rectangular dimples. Bearing performance has been computed by means of computational fluid dynamics simulations based on the numerical solution of the Navier–Stokes and energy equations for incompressible flow. Conjugate heat transfer at the bearing pad and rotor has been taken into account. Initially, for a reference design of each bearing, the effects of varying rotational speed and minimum film thickness have been investigated. Further, characterization of each bearing for a constant level of thrust load has been performed. Finally, the effects of varying the depth of each geometry pattern have been studied. The present results illustrate a superior performance of the open pocket bearing in comparison to the other bearing types.

Tribological Optimization of Thrust Bearings Operated With Lubricants of Spatially Varying Viscosity

In the present work, a computational optimization study of thrust bearings lubricated with spatially varying viscosity lubricants is presented, with the main goal of minimizing friction coefficient. In practice, spatial variation of viscosity could be achieved by utilizing electrorheological or magnetorheological fluids. The bearings are modeled as two-dimensional (2D) channels, consisting of a smooth moving wall (rotor) and a parallel or inclined stationary wall (stator), which can be (i) smooth, (ii) partially textured with rectangular dimples, and (iii) smooth and partially hydrophobic. The bearings are considered to be operated with an ideal lubricant that exhibits different values of viscosity in two distinct regions of the fluid domain: a high viscosity area is considered at the channel inflow, with the viscosity acquiring a reference (low) value farther downstream. The flow field is calculated from the numerical solution of the Navier–Stokes equations for 2D incompressible isothermal flow. The bearing geometry is defined parametrically. Three optimization problems are formulated, corresponding to: (I) a conventional smooth converging slider, (II) a parallel slider with artificial surface texturing at part of the stator surface, and (III) a parallel or converging slider with hydrophobic properties at part of the stator surface. Here, the geometry parameters, as well as the increased viscosity value and the corresponding application regime, form the problem design variables. Bearings are optimized for maximum load capacity and minimum friction coefficient. Optimal solutions are compared against corresponding ones for operation with constant viscosity. It is demonstrated that, by using spatially varying viscosity, a substantial reduction of friction coefficient can be achieved, for all optimization problems considered. This decrease is shown to be a consequence of a sharp pressure rise in the high viscosity regime, resulting in a corresponding rise in load capacity, accompanied by a less pronounced increase in wall shear stress, and thus in total friction force.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Thermohydrodynamic Analysis of Three-Dimensional Sector-Pad Thrust Bearings With Rectangular Dimples

The paper presents a detailed computational study of flow patterns and performance indices in a dimpled parallel thrust bearing. The bearing consists of eight pads; the stator surface of each pad is partially textured with rectangular dimples, aiming at maximizing the load carrying capacity. The bearing tribological performance is characterized by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, based on the numerical solution of the Navier–Stokes and energy equations for incompressible flow. Realistic boundary conditions are implemented. The effects of operating conditions and texture design are studied for the case of isothermal flow. First, for a reference texture pattern, the effects of varying operating conditions, in particular minimum film thickness (thrust load), rotational speed and feeding oil pressure are investigated. Next, the effects of varying texture geometry characteristics, in particular texture zone circumferential/radial extent, dimple depth, and texture density on the bearing performance indices (load carrying capacity, friction torque, and friction coefficient) are studied, for a representative operating point. For the reference texture design, the effects of varying operating conditions are further investigated, by also taking into account thermal effects. In particular, adiabatic conditions and conjugate heat transfer at the bearing pad are considered. The results of the present study indicate that parallel thrust bearings textured by proper rectangular dimples are characterized by substantial load carrying capacity levels. Thermal effects may significantly reduce load capacity, especially in the range of high speeds and high loads. Based on the present results, favorable texture designs can be assessed.

Effects of manufacturing errors on tribological characteristics of 3-D textured micro- thrust bearings

The performance sensitivity of textured micro- thrust bearings to manufacturing errors is investigated by means of Navier–Stokes Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations, for incompressible isothermal flow. Bearings of optimized geometry are modelled as three-dimensional micro-channels, consisting of a smooth moving wall, and a stationary wall exhibiting periodic rectangular dimples. Discrepancies in the size and shape of the texture geometry, as well as macroscopic errors in the stationary surface (concavity/convexity and waviness) are considered and parametrically modelled. The effects of manufacturing errors on the bearing load carrying capacity and friction coefficient are analyzed, for representative width-to-length bearing ratios. In a number of cases, manufacturing errors result in improved performance of textured micro- thrust bearings.