Development and Effects of Super-Critical Taylor-Vortex Flow in a Lightly Loaded Journal Bearing

Abstract

At sufficiently high operating speeds in lightly loaded journal bearings the basic laminar flow will be unstable. The instability leads to a new steady secondary motion of ring vortices around the cylinders with a regular periodicity in the axial direction and a strength that depends on the azimuthial position (Taylor vortices). Very recently published work on the basic flow and the stability of the basic flow between eccentric circular cylinders with the inner cylinder rotating is summarized so as to provide a unified description. A procedure for calculating the Taylor-vortex flow is developed, a comparison with observed properties of the flow field is made, and formulas for the load and torque are given.