Analysis and observation of cavities in a journal bearing considering flowcontinuity

Steady-state cavities in a journal bearing are analyzed in tno contexts:fir st, an approximate thermohydrodynamic theory developed earlier is applied t o additional cases, and comparisons are made between temperatures predicted by the theory and measured temperatures reported in the literature. Parame tric variation of the size of a layer of fluid adhered to the journal is co nducted The best agreement between theory and experiment over a variety of cares is obtained when the adhered layer is chosen to be 0.42 times the gap height at the film rupture location. Second, an experiment was conducted t o measure the widths of fluid streamers in the cavitated zone of a journal bearing Measured streamer widths enable the calculation of the size of adhe red layer that would be present to satisfy flow continuity. Results of the experiment support the existence of art adhered layer, which varies in size from 11 to 32% of the gap height at the rupture boundary.