Effect of oil droplet deformation on its deposited characteristics in an aeroengine bearing chamber

Abstract

The efficient designs of lubrication and heat transfer in an aeroengine bearing chamber require a better understanding of the complex air/oil two-phase flow in the chamber, which contains oil droplet deformation and motion, as well as droplet/wall interactions including wall impingement and deposition behavior. A modified droplet deformation model is proposed to describe the effect of deformation on the motion, and then a splash critical criterion also is established by means of energy conservation to estimate the impingement conditions of droplets. Using the above knowledge, in combination with a secondary droplet characteristic model predicting the outcome of droplet impact with wall, the droplet deformation, motion, and the associated transfer of mass and momentum are calculated in an aeroengine bearing chamber, and the effects of air mass flow rates and shaft speeds are subsequently discussed. This article may contribute to providing initial conditions to study further film flow behavior on the chamber housing.