Improvement of lubrication performance of water lubricated polymer bearing via enlarged axial end bearing diameter
Industrial Lubrication and Tribology
ISSN: 0036-8792
Article publication date: 7 May 2019
Issue publication date: 7 May 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to improve the lubrication performance of a water-lubricated polymer bearing with axial grooves, especially enlarge the minimum film thickness.
Design/methodology/approach
The bearing diameter is enlarged near the axial ends of the journal, with axial openings of a trumpet shape. A numerical model is developed which considers the proposed trumpet-shaped openings, bush deformation and grooves. The generatrix of the trumpet-shaped opening is assumed to be a paraboloid. Three different variations are covered, and the influences of the trumpet-shaped openings’ parameters on the bearing performance are analyzed.
Findings
The appropriate trumpet-shaped openings at the axial ends effectively increase the minimum film thickness, and the impact of trumpet-shaped openings on load carrying capacity is very small or even negligible. For the water-lubricated polymer bearing with axial grooves analyzed in this paper, the appropriate trumpet-shaped openings increase the minimum film thickness from 0.53 to 11.14 µm and decrease the load carrying capacity by 2.48 per cent.
Practical implications
The results of this study can be applied to marine propeller shaft systems and other systems with polymer bearings.
Originality/value
This paper has presented an approach for significantly increasing the minimum film thickness of a water-lubricated polymer bearing. A study on the performance improvement of water-lubricated polymer bearings with axial grooves is of significant interest to the research community.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of this study by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 11672178).
Citation
Lv, F., Zou, D., Ta, N. and Rao, Z.-S. (2019), "Improvement of lubrication performance of water lubricated polymer bearing via enlarged axial end bearing diameter", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 71 No. 4, pp. 564-572. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILT-09-2018-0332
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited