Effect of Groove Textures on the Performances of Gaseous Bubble in the Lubricant of Journal Bearing

Abstract

Effects of groove textures on the performances for gaseous bubbles in the lubricant used for a textured journal bearing is studied under the consideration of thermal effect of lubricant. The Reynolds, energy, and Rayleigh–Plesset (RP) equations are solved simultaneously for simulating the behavior of the bubble. Numerical results show that the gaseous bubble radius shows a nonlinearly oscillation in a full cycle period, and high bubble pressure and temperature appear when the bubble collapses. Moreover, appropriately choosing groove length, width, or interval can reduce the maximum radius, collapse pressure, and collapse temperature of the bubble. There exists a critical groove depth minimizing the bubble pressure and temperature.