A Finite Element Analysis of the Navier-Stokes Equations Applied to High Speed Thin Film Lubrication

Abstract

The performance of a cylindrical bore bearing fed by two axial grooves orthogonal to the load line is analyzed by solving the Navier-Stokes equations using the finite element method. This produces detailed information about the three-dimensional velocity and pressure field within the hydrodynamic film. It is also shown that the method may be applied to long bearing geometries where recirculatory flows occur and in which the governing equations are elliptic. As expected the analysis confirms that lubricant inertia does not affect bearing performance significantly.