Homogenization of the Equations Governing the Flow Between a Slider and a Rough Spinning Disk

We have analyzed the behavior of the flow between a slider bearing and a hard-drive magnetic disk under two types of surface roughness. For both cases the length scale of the roughness along the surface is small as compared to the scale of the slider, so that a homogenization of the governing equations was performed. For the case of longitudinal roughness, we derived a one-dimensional lubrication-type equation for the leading behavior of the pressure in the direction parallel to the velocity of the disk. The coefficients of the equation are determined by solving linear elliptic equations on a domain bounded by the gap height in the vertical direction and the period of the roughness in the span-wise direction. For the case of transverse roughness the unsteady lubrication equations were reduced, following a multiple scale homogenization analysis, to a steady equation for the leading behavior of the pressure in the gap. The reduced equation involves certain averages of the gap height, but retains the same form of the usual steady, compressible lubrication equations. Numerical calculations were performed for both cases, and the solution for the case of transverse roughness was shown be in excellent agreement with a corresponding numerical calculation of the original unsteady equations

A bibliography /with abstracts/ on gas-lubricated bearings Interim report

Gas lubricated bearings - annotated bibliograph

Height-Averaged Navier–Stokes Solver for Hydrodynamic Lubrication

Modelling hydrodynamic lubrication is crucial in the design of engineering components as well as for a fundamental understanding of friction mechanisms. The cornerstone of thin-film flow modelling is the Reynolds equation -- a lower-dimensional representation of the Stokes equation. However, the derivation of the Reynolds equation is based on assumptions and fixed form constitutive relations, that may not generally be valid, especially when studying systems under extreme conditions. Furthermore, these explicit assumptions about the constitutive behaviour of the fluid prohibit applications in a multiscale scenario based on measured or atomistically simulated data. Here, we present a method that considers the full compressible Navier-Stokes equation in a height-averaged sense for arbitrary constitutive relations. We perform numerical tests by using a reformulation of the viscous stress tensor for laminar flow to validate the presented method comparing to results from conventional Reynolds solutions. The versatility of the method is shown by incorporating models for mass-conserving cavitation, wall slip and non-Newtonian fluids. This allows testing of new constitutive relations that not necessarily need to take a fixed form, and may be obtained from experimental or simulation data.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure

Current research in cavitating fluid films

A review of the current research of cavitation in fluid films is presented. Phenomena and experimental observations include gaseous cavitation, vapor cavitation, and gas entrainment. Cavitation in flooded, starved, and dynamically loaded journal bearings, as well as squeeze films are reviewed. Observations of cavitation damage in bearings and the possibility of cavitation between parallel plates with microasperities were discussed. The transcavity fluid transport process, meniscus motion and geometry or form of the film during rupture, and reformation were summarized. Performance effects were related to heat transfer models in the cavitated region and hysteresis influence on rotor dynamics coefficients. A number of cavitation algorithms was presented together with solution procedures using the finite difference and finite element methods. Although Newtonian fluids were assumed in most of the discussions, the effect of non-Newtonian fluids on cavitation was also discussed

A comprehensive survey of the analytical, numerical and experimental methodologies for dynamics of multibody mechanical systems with clearance or imperfect joints

"Available online 19 December 2017"A comprehensive survey of the literature of the most relevant analytical, numerical, and experimental approaches for the kinematic and dynamic analyses of multibody mechanical systems with clearance joints is presented in this review. Both dry and lubricated clearance joints are addressed here, and an effort is made to include a large number of research works in this particular field, which have been published since the 1960′s. First, the most frequently utilized methods for modeling planar and spatial multibody mechanical systems with clearance joints are analyzed, and compared. Other important phenomena commonly associated with clearance joint models, such as wear, non-smooth behavior, optimization and control, chaos, and uncertainty and links’ flexibility, are then discussed. The main assumptions procedures and conclusions for the different methodologies are also examined and compared. Finally, future developments and new applications of clearance joint modeling and analysis are highlighted.This research was supported in part by the China 111 Project (B16003) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants 11290151, 11472042 and 11221202. The work was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology with the reference project UID/EEA/04436/2013, by FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) with the reference project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006941.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION IN TILTING PAD THRUST BEARING WITH SINGLE CONTINUOUS SURFACE PROFILED SECTOR SHAPED PADS

The effect of the film shape on the load carrying capacity of a hydrodynamically lubricated bearing has not been considered an important factor in the past. Flat faced tapered bearing and the Raileigh\u27s step bearing of constant film thickness have been the primary forms of film shapes for slider bearing studies and design data developments. There are indications in the literature that surface profiling/texturing can have significant and positive influence on the load carrying capacity of hydrodynamic pad thrust bearings. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to compare the experimental results of pressure temperature distributions in slider bearing with flat surface and with different single continuous surface profiled (Cycloidal,Catenoidal,Quadratic) sector shaped pads. Pressure results presented in this paper can provide a platform for validation of theoretical models. An experimental study has been performed to investigate the influence of single continuous surface profiled sector shaped pads in tilting pad thrust bearing. It has been found that with cycloidal shaped surface profiled sector shaped pads the pressure generated within fluid film is enhanced which in turn causes enhancement in load bearing capacity of hydrodynamic bearing

Thermal-hydrodynamic behaviour of coated pivoted pad thrust bearings: Comparison between Babbitt, PTFE and DLC

The hydrodynamic lubrication and thermal analysis of tilting pad thrust bearings has been a major subject for many studies in the field of tribology. There is only a limited number of studies regarding thrust bearings with coated surfaces. The purpose of this study is to build a parametric, iterative algorithm in order to perform a complete thermal and hydrodynamic lubrication analysis for pivoted pad thrust bearings with coatings. The analytical model is mainly based on the energy, continuity and Navier-Stokes equations, which are solved numerically with the Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure Linked Equations Consistent (SIMPLEC) method. The analysis focuses on a single pivoted pad of the thrust bearing. The thermal properties of the coating material are taken into account and the resulting thermal and flow fields are solved. The basic hydrodynamic and tribological characteristics are calculated for an uncoated, a Babbitt coated, a PTFE coated and a diamond like carbon (DLC) coated pivoted pad thrust bearing. The pressure and the film thickness distribution, as well as the load capacity and the frictional forces, are determined for several pad positions and velocities of the rotor. A mineral oil lubricant is used to estimate the shear thinning or thickening effects on the pad tribological performance. The results indicate that pads coated with PTFE and DLC show lower friction forces compared to the common steel and Babbitt applications. At the same time, the DLC coating seems to affect the bearing's flow and thermal fields less than the PTFE, making it more suitable for thrust bearings applications