Flow in Finite-Width Thrust Bearings Including Inertial Effects: II—Turbulent Flow

Abstract

A new set of turbulent resistance laws for hydrodynamic lubricant films has been derived with the aid of a turbulence model which includes transport effects on two turbulence parameters. The model consists of two differential equations for the turbulence energy and its rate of dissipation and a constitutive equation for the turbulent viscosity. The model places no restrictions on the Reynolds number. An efficient finite-difference scheme, based on the integro-differential approach and incorporating the resistance laws and a set of accurate inertial coefficients, is applied to the solution of the turbulent inertial flow in finite-width slider bearings. A selection of predictions is presented for non-inertial and inertial flows. The former are compared with solutions obtained with alternative turbulent lubrication theories. The importance of including fluid inertia effects is demonstrated.