EFFECT OF LUBRICANT SUPPLY STARVATION ON THE THERMOHYDRODYNAMIC PERFORMANCE OF A JOURNAL BEARING

With judicious selection of supply groove location for journal bearing s, the lubricant supply rate and power loss can be considerably reduce d without sacrificing the load-carrying capacity. In addition, the lub ricant supply rate can further be reduced, either accidentally or deli berately, and the applied load may still be maintained. In this parame tric study, the effects of reduced lubricant supply rate compared to t he flooded inlet is studied for an axial-grooved journal bearing Cavit ation effects in the fluid film are taken into account and a full THD model, including heat conduction to the metal surfaces, is included in the analysis. Performance parameters at various load values due to re duced supply rate and typical temperature distributions are presented. It is found that, it may be possible to operate the bearing with as m uch as 70 percent reduction in lubricant supply rate.