An optimised short bearing theory for nonlinear dynamic analysis of turbulent journal bearings (Q1573453)

The authors propose an optimized short bearing theory for nonlinear dynamic analysis of turbulent journal bearings supporting an unbalanced rigid shaft. The method is based on the separation of variables for the hydrodynamic pressure and a parabolic pressure distribution in the axial direction of the bearing. In order to take into account the inertia effects, the authors use the well-known algebraic turbulence model based on the Prandtl mixing length hypothesis. The pressure equation is modified by introducing two turbulent coefficients which depend on local Reynolds number. The model is used to solve two-dimensional Reynolds equation by integrating an ordinary differential equation and applying either half-Sommerfeld or Reynolds film rupture conditions. The nonlinear equations of motion for the rotor-bearing system are solved by Euler's scheme, and the journal centre trajectories are examined for cases with and without unbalance forces. To illustrate the validity of the present study, the accuracy of the prediction of the minimum film thickness, the dynamic transmissibility coefficient, and the peak-to-peak displacement amplitudes is verified by comparing with the results obtained by using more elaborate and time-consuming two-dimensional finite difference solution. The author conclude that the optimized short bearing theory has the advantage of minimising the computation time required for nonlinear dynamic analysis of laminar and turbulent journal bearing without any significant loss of accuracy.