A transient thermal analysis for dynamically loaded bearings

A transient thermal analysis for a dynamic journal bearing system is presen ted in this paper based on a non-isothermal non-Newtonian fluid model. A sp ectral element approach is used to solve the full set of coupled equations (kinematics and constitutive) governing the flow of the lubricant, and an o perator-splitting spectral element approximation is used to solve the dynam ic energy equation. The transient thermal effects in the lubricant viscosit y, non-Newtonian lubricant film thickness, variation of the journal rotatin g speed and time dependent applied load are investigated in this paper. The numerical results indicate that the thermal dynamic analysis plays an impo rtant role in the design of the journal bearing systems, especially, under large applied loads and high rotating speeds. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd . All rights reserved.