Performance Analysis of Grease-Lubricated Journal Bearings Including Thermal Effects

Abstract

A detailed analysis of the flow characteristics and lubrication effectiveness of grease in journal bearings is presented. Based on the ideal Bingham plastic model, the appropriate governing equations are developed which effectively handle the formation of a floating core as well as a core which may attach itself to either the shaft or the stationary bushing. The formulation and numerical solutions presented pertain to three-dimensional flows in finite journal bearings. Moreover, an extensive amount of computational results are presented, which take thermal effects into account according to the thermohydrodynamic theory.