Investigation of a Partial Arc Pad Bearing in the Superlaminar Flow Regime

Abstract

This paper describes the apparatus and the experiments conducted with a 60 deg partial arc journal bearing in laminar and superlaminar regimes. The experiments were conducted with two clearance ratios and over a range of Reynolds numbers (based on mean clearance) up to approximately 12,000. The data on load capacity and attitude angle are compared with laminar theory and with the currently available turbulent bearing theory. Agreement with turbulent bearing theory is satisfactory in the range where the empirical factor (k) was previously determined from other work. Beyond this range, the degree of correlation becomes progressively poorer indicating that (k) continues to vary with Reynolds number even at relatively high values of the latter parameter. The experimentally determined speeds for transition of flow from laminar to superlaminar regime compare well with the criterion for transition in eccentric bearings developed by DiPrima.