A Thermohydrodynamic Analysis of Journal Bearings

Abstract

An attempt is made to formulate a thermohydrodynamic model of film lubrication, that is valid in both laminar and superlaminar flow regimes. The model represents turbulence by eddy diffusivities and, in the manner of Ng and Pan, considers the flow to be a small perturbation of turbulent Couette flow. The energy equation retains heat conduction in the direction of sliding motion, thus making the analysis applicable even at large eccentricities when backflow of the lubricant occurs. The equations are solved by finite element methods. Theoretical predictions are compared with two sets of experimental data, one set hitherto unpublished.