Performance of Water-Lubricated Flat Spiral Groove Bearings

Abstract

The 8.6 cm diameter spiral groove bearings, solid type and support type, are designed for water-lubricated thrust application. The load-carrying capacity limit is obtained experimentally. The major conclusions are as follows: (1) The load-carrying capacity depends significantly upon the deformations of the bearing and the runner, which are caused by the temperature and hydrodynamic pressure distributions. (2) The load-carrying capacity limit is determined primarily by the surface roughness and the film thickness, and the maximum value of the load-carrying capacity obtained in this experiment is above 5 × 104 N. (3) The support type bearing gives better load-carrying capacity than the solid type.