Characteristics of Powder Lubricated Finite-Width Journal Bearings: A Hydrodynamic Analysis

Abstract

This paper analyzes the performance of hydrodynamic journal bearings by applying the control-volume method to solve the average lubrication equation for grain flow. The grain characteristics, including the particle size and the grain-grain collision elasticity are investigated. The nondimensional load, attitude angle, friction coefficient, and side flow are explored for different eccentricity and diameter-to-width ratios. The numerical results provide an understanding of the performance of powder lubricated journal bearings and are consistent with the experimental findings of Heshmat and Brewe.