Numerical Investigation on the Mixed Lubrication Performance of Water-Lubricated Coupled Journal and Thrust Bearings

The mixed lubrication performance of water-lubricated coupled journal and thrust bearing (simplified as coupled bearing) is investigated by a developed numerical model. To ensure the continuity of hydrodynamic pressure and flow at the common boundary between the journal and thrust bearing, the conformal transformation is introduced to unify the solution domain of the Reynolds equation. In the presented study, the coupled effects between the journal and thrust bearing are discussed. The effects of the thrust bearing geometric film thickness on the mixed lubrication performance, including the load capacity, contact load and friction coefficient, of the journal bearing are investigated. And the effects of the journal bearing eccentricity ratio on the mixed lubrication performance of the thrust bearing are also investigated. The simulated results indicate the mutual effects between the journal and thrust bearing cannot be ignored in the coupled bearing system. The increasing thrust bearing geometric film thickness generates a decrease in load capacity of journal bearing. There exists an optimal eccentricity ratio of journal bearing that yields the minimum friction coefficient of the thrust bearing.