Thermohydrodynamic Lubrication of Journal Bearings in Turbulent Flow

Abstract

This paper presents a study of turbulent lubrication considering thermal effects on lubricant film. By applying a turbulent lubrication equation and an energy equation to finite width journal bearings and analyzing these equations numerically, the bearing performances such as film temperature and pressure are evaluated. Moreover, the dynamic characteristics such as stiffness and damping coefficients of lubricant film and the stability of rotor are also analyzed. The results obtained here show that the thermal effects on the bearing performances and the dynamic characteristics are prominant in the turbulent lubrication.