• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.215-231
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• 2020

The paper presents extensive survey and review of experimental and analytical researches on fluid film bearings and squeeze film dampers (SFDs) for turbomachinery available in open literature (major archival international journals) published recently (2018 and 2019 only). Over 60 published research works are reviewed based on the research topics and objectives, the types of bearings, size of bearings, and main design parameters with a brief summary of experiments and/or predictions in each work. Some important findings and general observations about the experimental and/or predictive data are also presented. There are several major trends observed throughout the survey. A large portion of the papers focuses on bearing surface textures and effect of operating and assembly conditions on static and/or dynamic forced performances, as well as bearing surface roughness and wear patterns. Researches on geometry of orifices and recesses in hydrostatic (or hybrid) bearings, as well as bearing system stability predictions using thermohydrodynamic analysis and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), are considered as significant topics. Studies on SFDs mainly focus on experimental identification of force coefficients for various SFD geometries and sealing conditions. Reliable experiments of fluid film bearings and SFDs along with the development of experimentally benchmarked predictive tools enable reinforcement of the path for reliable implementations of the bearing components into high performance rotating machinery operating at extreme and harsh conditions. The extensive list of sources of recent experiments in the available open literature is a welcome addition to the analytical community to gauge the accuracy of predictive tools.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.303-310
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• 2014

In order to reduce friction and improve reliability, researchers have applied various surface texturing methods to highly sliding machine elements such as mechanical seals and piston rings. Despite extensive theoretical research on surface texturing, previous numerical results are only applicable to isothermal and iso-viscous conditions. Because the lubricant flow pattern of textured bearing surfaces is much more complicated than that for non-textured bearings, the Navier?Stokes equation is more suitable than the Reynolds equation for the former. This study carries out a thermohydrodynamic (THD) lubrication analysis to investigate the lubrication characteristics of a single micro-dimpled parallel thrust bearing cell. The analysis involves using the continuity, Navier?Stokes, energy, temperature?viscosity relation, and heat conduction equations with the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code FLUENT. This study discretizes these equations using the finite volume method and solves them using the SIMPLE algorithm. The results include finding the streamlines, pressure and temperature distributions, and variations in the friction force and leakage for various dimple radii and depths. Increasing the dimple radius and decreasing the depth causes a recirculation flow to form because of a strong vortex, and the oil temperature greatly increases compared with the non-textured case. The present numerical scheme and results are applicable to THD analysis of various surface-textured sliding bearings and can lead to further study.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.247-253
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• 2018

Temperature rise due to viscous shear of the lubricating oil generates hydrodynamic pressure, even if the lubricating surfaces are parallel. This effect, known as the thermal wedge effect, varies significantly with film-temperature boundary conditions. The bearing conducts a part of the heat generated; hence, the oil temperature varies with the thermal conductivity of the bearing. In this study, we analyze the effect of thermal conductivity on the thermohydrodynamic (THD) lubrication of parallel slider bearings. We numerically analyze the continuity equation, Navier-Stokes equation, energy equation including the temperature-viscosity and temperature-density relations for lubricants, and the heat conduction equation for bearing by creating a 2D model of the micro-bearing using the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code FLUENT. We then compare the variation in temperature, viscosity, and pressure distributions with the thermal conductivity. The results demonstrate that the thermal conductivity has a significant influence on THD lubrication characteristics of parallel slider bearings. The lower the thermal conductivity, the greater the pressure generation due to the thermal wedge effect resulting in a higher load-carrying capacity and smaller frictional force. The present results can function as the basic data for optimum bearing design; however, the applicability requires further studies on various operating conditions.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.134-140
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• 2017

With the increase in adoption of tilting pad journal bearings (TPJBs), various failure mechanisms related to TPJBs have been reported, of which pad wear is a frequently reported one. Pad wear causes change in geometry of the bearing, which can sometimes result in the failure of the entire system. The objective of this research is to investigate the influence of pad wear on the pad temperature, which is one of the widely used condition monitoring methods for TPJBs. For the theoretical investigation, thermohydrodynamic (THD) analysis was conducted by solving the generalized Reynolds equation and the 3D energy equation. The results of the analysis show that the temperature of the loaded pad increases while that of the unloaded pad decreases, when there is wear on the loaded pads. In addition, the minimum film thickness decreases with an increase in the wear depth. A validation test was conducted with a test rig, which mimics the axial turbine when a test rotor is supported by two TPJBs. The test bearing consists of five pads with a diameter of 60 mm, and a resistance temperature detector (RTD) is installed in the pad for temperature monitoring. The test was performed by replacing the two loaded pads with the worn pad. The test result for the TPJB with wear depth of $30{\mu}m$ show that the temperatures of the loaded pads are $8^{\circ}C$ higher and that of the unloaded pad is $2.5^{\circ}C$ lower than that of the normal TPJB. In addition, the predicted pad temperature shows good agreement with the measured pad temperatures.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
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• 1992.11a
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• pp.13-18
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• 1992

대형 틸팅패드 저어널베어링은 고속안정성 특성이 우수한 베어링으로서 시스템의 안정성이 매우 중요시되는 터빈발전기 등 대형 고속 회전기계에 많이 사용되고 있다. 그런데 이들 대형 저어널베어링에서는 유막의 온도상승이 매우 많고, 유체의 흐름이 거의 난류영역에 이르기 때문에 베어링의 운전특성을 정확하게 예측하기가 어려운 실정이다. Hopf & Schuler는 대형 틸팅패드 저어널베어링에 대한 실험적 연구에서 유동상태에 따라 베어링의 온도분포가 서로 달라진다고 발표하였다. 대형 틸팅패드 저어널베어링은 구조적으로 유동상태가 복잡할 뿐만 아니라 계산과정도 까다로운 편이어서 온도상승과 난류를 고려하여 엄밀하게 운전특성을 예측한 연구는 거의 없다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 대형 틸팅패드 저어널베어리으이 운전특성을 보다 엄밀하게 예측하기 위하여 3차원 적으로 유막의 점도변화 및 패드에서의 열전달을 고려하고, 와점성계수를 이용한 난류윤활이론을 사용하여 유막의 온도상승 및 난류가 베어링의 온도분포, 부하능력, 마찰손실 등의 운전특성에 미치는 영햐을 보다 엄밀하게 제시하고자 한다.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.1590-1606
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• 2006

Slider bearings are widely applied in mechanical systems, where the design needs cover increased load capacity, lowered friction and power consumption and creative designs. This work is governed to perform a parametric characterization, by generating a novel structure on the upper slider surface, which can formally be expressed in micro-machined wavy-form, where the individual and combined influences of various structural design parameters and boundary conditions, on the performance records, are also evaluated. Computations put forward that the contribution of the wave amplitude on power loss values is highly dependent on the level of inlet pressure; higher amplitudes are determined to increase power loss in the lowest inlet pressure case of 1.01, whereas the contrary outcome is determined in the higher inlet pressure cases of 3.01 & 5.01. Designing the slider bearing system, based on optimal load capacity, produced the optimum wave number ranges as 10-45, 7-11 and 5-8 for the pad inclinations of $5^{\circ},\;4^{\circ}$ and $3^{\circ}$ respectively.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.341-350
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• 2000

The study reported in this paper deals with the development for parametric investigation of the influence of the rheological properties of the lubricant in the thermohydrodynamic (THD) film conditions which occur in slider and journal bearings. A parametric investigation based on a Bingham model with a shear yield stress which best fit the experimental pressure is performed for predicting the thickness of the shear Bone in lubricating films with fixed geometry between the stationary and moving surfaces. The results suggest that the shear yield stress for the lubricating film is proportional to the pressure developed in the film within the range of the investigated cases and the shear zone thickness which is of the same order of magnitude as that obtained by the empirical formula is significantly smaller than the fluid film thickness in the lubrication zone.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.43-48
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• 2018

This paper presents the thermohydrodynamic analysis of tilting journal pad bearings supporting a power turbine rotor applied to a 250 kW super-critical $CO_2$ cycle. In the analysis, the generalized Reynolds equation and 3D energy equation are solved to predict oil film temperature and the 3D heat conduction equation is solved for pad temperature. The power turbine rotor is supported by two tilting pad bearings consisting of five pads with an oil supply block between the pads. Copper backing pads with higher thermal conductivity compared to steel backing pads are adopted to improve thermal management. The predicted maximum pad temperature is around $55^{\circ}C$ which is approximately $15^{\circ}C$ higher than oil supply temperature. In addition, the predicted minimum film thickness is 50 mm at a rotating speed of 5,000 rpm. These results indicate that there is no issue in the thermal behavior of the bearing. An operation test is performed with a power turbine module consisting of a power turbine, a reduction gear and a generator. Thermocouples are installed at the 75% position from the leading edge of the pad to monitor pad temperature. The power turbine uses compressed air at a temperature of $250^{\circ}C$ in its operation. The steady state pad temperatures measured in the test show good agreement with the predicted temperatures.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.21-27
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• 2023

Surface texturing is widely applied to friction surfaces of various machine elements. Most of the theoretical studies have focused on isothermal (ISO) analyses which consider constant lubricant viscosity. However, there have been limited studies on the effect of oil temperature increase owing to viscous shear. Following the first part of the present study that investigated the effects of film-temperature boundary condition (FTBC) and groove number on the thermohydrodynamic (THD) lubrication characteristics of a surface-textured parallel thrust bearing with multiple rectangular grooves, this study focuses on the effect of groove depths. Current study numerically analyzes the continuity, Navier-Stokes, and energy equations with temperature-viscosity-density relations using a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, FLUENT. The results of variation in temperature, velocity, and pressure distributions as well as load-carrying capacity (LCC) and friction force indicate that groove depth and FTBC significantly influence the temperature distribution and pressure generation. The LCC is maximum near the groove depth at which the vortex starts, smaller than the ISO result. For intense grooves, the LCC of THD may be larger than that from ISO. The frictional force decreases as the groove becomes deeper, and decreases more significantly in the case of THD. The study shows that groove depth significantly influences the THD lubrication characteristics of surface-textured parallel thrust bearings.

• KSTLE International Journal
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.35-44
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• 2006

Turbocharger bearings are under the circumstance of high temperature, moreover rotated at high speed. It is necessary to be designed overcoming the high temperature. So the type of oil inlet port, the inlet oil temperature and the sort of engine oil should be designed, controlled and selected carefully in order to reduce the bearing inside temperature. In this study, the influence of aerated oil on a high-speed journal bearing is also examined by using the classical thermohydrodynamic lubrication theory coupled with analytical models for viscosity and density of air-oil mixture in fluid-film bearing. Convection to the walls and mixing with supply oil and re-circulating oil are considered. The considered parameters for the study of bubbly lubrication are oil inlet port's type, oil aeration level and shaft speed. It is found that the type of oil inlet ports and shaft speed play important roles in determining the temperature and pressure, then the friction and load of journal bearing at high speed operation. Also, the results show that, under extremely high shaft speed, the high shear effects on aerated oil and the high temperature effects are canceled out each other. So, the bearing load and friction show almost no difference between the aerated oil and pure oil.