Influence of Surface Roughness on Non-Newtonian Thermohydrostatic Performance of a Hole-Entry Hybrid Journal Bearing

Abstract

A general solution scheme to account the surface roughness and the cross-film viscosity variation of lubricant due to its non-Newtonian behavior and rise in fluid-film temperature for the analysis of fluid-film bearings is presented. The combined influence of surface roughness, non-Newtonian behavior of lubricant, and thermal effects on the performance of a hole-entry hybrid journal bearing system has been investigated. The surface roughness, especially stationary roughness (i.e., rough bearing and smooth journal) with a transverse pattern was found to partially compensate for the loss in load-carrying capacity due to the thermal and/or non-Newtonian behavior of lubricant effects. It limits 18.86% loss in load-carrying capacity due to the thermal effect to only 1.6% and 33.99% loss due to the combined influence of non-Newtonian lubricant and thermal effect to 16.76%.