A study of a constant flow valve compensated non-recessed hole-entry hybrid journal bearing operating in turbulent regime

Abstract

The continuous trend of using turbomachinery at higher operating speeds and use of low kinematic viscosity lubricants has received increasing attention in bearing applications. High speed hybrid journal bearings lubricated with low viscosity fluids requires large levels of external pressurization to provide required load support. These conditions give rise to high Reynolds numbers and as consequence of this the lubricant flow becomes turbulent. The present work is aimed to study theoretically the performance of a constant flow valve compensated non-recessed hole-entry hybrid journal bearing operating in turbulent regime. The Reynolds equation governing the flow of lubricant in the bearing clearance based on Constantinescu's lubrication theory has been solved using finite element method. The numerically simulated results indicate that the value of minimum fluid film thickness increases when the bearing operates in turbulent regime for the constant value of external load.