FLUID-SOLID INTERCTION (FSI) ANALYSIS OF PARTIAL JOURNAL BEARING

Abstract

In this paper, the elasto-hydrodynamic (EHD) performance of partial journal bearings has been studied. A numerical analysis has been conducted using the ANSYS Workbench (17.2) platform to investigate the performance of partial journal bearings. The lubricant used is considered Newtonian and incompressible fluid that flows steadily under laminar conditions, while the bearing material is assumed to be elastic, isotropic with smooth surface conditions. In the current FSI analysis, the lubricant flow has been predicted according to the finite_ volume method, while the finite element method has been adopted to compute the deformation and stress in the bearing surface. A wide range of operating and design conditions have been considered including the eccentricity ratio (0.1≤ε≤0.82), and arc bearing angle bearing (90ᵒ≤θ≤180ᵒ), while the values of bearing length to diameter ratio (L /D) and rotation speed (N) have been fixed at=0.77 and 1500r.p.m, respectively. The hydrodynamic pressure, performance characteristic of journal bearing, stress, and deformation have all been computed. It was found that the arc bearing angle and eccentricity ratio has a clear effect on the elasto-hydrodynamic properties of the partial bearings especially at high values of them.