Stability of the High-Speed Journal Bearing Under Steady Load: 2—The Compressible Film

Abstract

The governing equations for the dynamical system of a self-acting gas-lubricated journal bearing are formulated. An approximate solution for the equilibrium position of the journal center is obtained by use of Galerkin’s method. The equilibrium solution shows close agreement with the exact numerical computer solution obtained by Elrod. The stability of the equilibrium solution is investigated by solving the linearized equations on an analog computer. The solution of the set of linearized equations shows that there exists a threshold speed of instability for each equilibrium position. The value of this threshold speed is presented in a stability chart. In addition, approximate particular solutions for the nonlinear dynamical equations are obtained by use of the analog computer. The results are shown as trajectories of the journal center when it is displaced arbitrarily from the equilibrium position.