A Study on the Air-Lubricated Herringbone Groove Journal Bearing by Finite Element Method

The herringbone groove journal bearing (HGJB) has chevron type grooves on stationary or rotating member of the bearing so that they pump the lubricant inward the grooves when journal rotates. As a result, the pressure is generated around the journal so that the radial stiffness and dynamic stability are improved comparing to the plain journal bearing (PJB) when the bearing operates near the concentric condition. The narrow groove theory, conventionally adopted to simulate the concentric operation of HGJB, is limited to the infinite number of grooves. A numerical study of air-lubricated HGJB is presented for the finite number of grooves. The compressible isothermal Reynolds equation is solved by using Finite Element Method together with the Newton-Raphson iterative procedure and perturbation method. The solutions render the static and dynamic performances of HGJB. Comparison of present results with a PJB validates previously published finite difference solution. The HGJB's geometric parameters influence its static and dynamic characteristics. The optimum geometric parameters are presented for the air-lubricated HGJB in particular conditions.