Abstract
For the flow between rotating shaft and padded cylinder like a partial arc journal bearing, the critical Taylor numbers based on the pad clearance and cavity clearance were evaluated with changing cavity arc extent. Three types of phenomena have been found. In the first type, the Taylor vortices based on the cavity clearance were held throughout both regions of cavity and pad clearances. In the second type, the vortices based on the cavity clearance changed into those based on the pad clearance when they passed through the pad clearance, and downstream they returned to their former state. In the third type, the vortices based on the pad clearance were held throughout both regions.
For the flow field perpendicular to the axis, the velocity vectors were measured by PIV to discuss the three-dimensional construction of the flow near the pad.
