Investigation of sustainability of lubricated journal bearing under relevant design parameters

Abstract

Purpose The purposes of the present study are to ensure higher sustainability of journal bearings under different applied loads and to observe bearing performances such as elastic strain, total deformation and stress formation. Design/methodology/approach A journal bearing test rig was used to determine the effect of the applied load on the bearing friction, film thickness, lubricant film pressure, etc. A steady-state analysis was performed to obtain the bearing performance. Findings An efficient aspect ratio (L/D) range was obtained to increase the durability or the stability of the bearing while the bearing is in the working condition by using SAE 5W-30 oil. The results from the study were compared with previous studies in which different types of oil and water, such as Newtonian fluid (NF), magnetorheological fluid (MRF) and nonmagnetorheological fluid (NMRF), were used as the lubricant. To ensure a preferable aspect ratio range (0.25-0.50), a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was conducted by ANSYS; the results show a lower elastic strain and deformation within the preferable aspect ratio (0.25-0.50) rather than a higher aspect ratio using the SAE 5W-30 oil. Originality/value It is expected that the findings of this study will contribute to the improvement of the bearing design and the bearing lubricating system.