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The purpose of this paper is to theoretically analyze an innovative form of variable bearing configuration having four pads with unique adjustability principle operated under journal misaligned conditions. The parameters such as load positions, degrees of misalignment (DM) and pad adjustment configurations influencing the steady-state performance of the four-pad adjustable bearing are detailed in this paper.

The proposed adjustable pad geometry possesses the ability to undergo radial and tilt motions in both inward and outward directions. Analysis is carried out by considering journal misalignment in vertical and horizontal planes with bearing modelled for load-on-pad and load-between-pad configurations. The film thickness equation derived to incorporate the radial and tilt adjustment parameters is further modified to accommodate the different load orientations and misaligned journal conditions. The pressure field equation is solved by applying finite-difference technique combined with Gauss Siedel iterative method.

At higher DM, peak pressures generated in the minimum film thickness region near the pad ends highly influences the bearing load carrying capacity. Results indicated that the adjustable four-pad bearing geometry is highly efficient in withstanding the journal misalignment by radially displacing and tilting the four pads in negative directions.

For bearing designers, this research highlights the importance of considering the misalignment factor during the design stages of an adjustable journal bearing. The proposed adjustability concept is proven to be effective enough to improve the bearing performance and, in turn, withstand the journal misalignment.

Prior investigations concerning misalignment resulting from journal deformation typically relied on predefined misaligned angles. Nevertheless, scant attention has been devoted to the determination of these misaligned angles. Furthermore, existing studies commonly treat the journal as rigid under such circumstances. Therefore, the present study aims to introduce a framework for determining misaligned angles and to compare outcomes between rigid and flexible journal configurations.

The bearing forces are considered as an external load leading to journal deformation. This deformation is calculated using the finite element method. The pressure distribution producing the bearing force is solved using the finite difference method. The mesh grids in the finite element and finite difference methods are matched for coupling calculation. By iteration, the pressure distribution of the lubricant film at the equilibrium position is determined.

Results show that the deformation-induced misalignment has a significant influence on the performance of the bearing when the journal flexibility is taken into account. The parametric study reveals that the misalignment relies on system parameters such as bearing length-diameter ratio and static load.

The investigation of this work provides a quantification method of misalignment of hydrodynamic bearings considering the elastic deformation of the journal, which assists in the design of bearing in a rotor-bearing system.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-10-2023-0337/

Under the action of many factors, the shaft of the shaft-journal bearing system inevitably moves along the axis direction at work, which will lead to the axial movement of journal in the bearing. However, at present, only the dynamic and squeezing effects caused by the relative rotation and squeezing motion between the journal and the bearing surfaces are considered in the lubrication analysis of misaligned journal bearing and the axial movement of journal in the actual use of bearing is not considered. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the lubrication of journal bearing considering the axial movement of journal.

Taking the shaft-journal bearing system as the research object, a hydrodynamic lubrication model of journal bearing is established considering the axial movement and misalignment of journal. The finite difference method is used to solve the Reynolds equation for the lubrication analysis.

The axial movement of journal has a significant influence on the lubrication characteristics of misaligned journal bearing. The larger the misalignment angles of journal or the eccentricity of bearing, the greater the influence of the axial movement of journal on the lubrication performance of bearing. The lower the speed of bearing or the smaller the clearance of bearing, the more significant the influence of the axial movement of journal on the lubrication performance of bearing is.

The influence of the axial movement of journal on the lubrication performance of journal bearing is studied under different misalignment angles of journal, working conditions and clearances of bearing. The results of this paper are helpful to the design and research of the lubrication performance of journal bearing.

Owing to the development of the smaller-sized rotational machinery, the demand for the high-speed and low-resistance gas bearing increases rapidly. The research of micro gas bearing in the condition of rarefied gas state is still not satisfied. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present a numerical investigation of the effect of misalignment and rarefaction effect on the comprehensive performance of micro-electrical-mechanical system (MEMS) gas bearing.

The Fukui and Kaneko model is expanded to 2D solution domain to describe the flow field parameters. The finite element method is used to discretize the equation. Newton–Raphson method is used to solve the nonlinear equations for the static performance of gas bearing, and partial deviation method is adopted for the solution of dynamic equations.

The static and dynamic characteristics of MEMS gas bearing are calculated, and the comparison is made to study the influence of rarefaction effect and misalignment. The results show that the rarefaction effect will decrease bearing load capacity compared with traditional solution of Reynolds equation, and the misalignment will reduce the stability of bearing. The influence of misalignment on gas film thickness is also analyzed in this paper.

The investigation of this paper emerges the change regularity of comprehensive performance of MEMS gas bearing considering rarefaction effect and misalignment, which provides a reference for the actual manufacturing of MEMS gas bearing and for the safety operation of micro dynamic machinery.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-01-2020-0023/

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the lubrication behavior of misaligned water-lubricated polymer bearings with axial grooves.

A lubrication model considering journal misalignment, bush deformation and grooves is established. In dynamic analyses of shaft systems, bearings are usually simplified as supporting points. Thus, an approach for solving the equivalent supporting point location is presented. The influence of misalignment angle and groove number on film thickness, hydrodynamic pressure distribution, load-carrying capacity and ESP location is investigated.

As the misalignment angle increases, the location of the maximum pressure and ESP are shifted toward the down-warping end, and the load-carrying capacity of the bearing decreases. In comparison to the nine-groove bearing, the six grooves bearing has a higher load-carrying capacity and the ESP is located closer to the down-warping end for an equivalent misalignment angle.

The results of this study can be applied to marine propeller shaft systems and other systems with misaligned bearings.

A study on the lubrication behavior of misaligned water-lubricated polymer bearings with axial grooves is of significant interest to the research community.

Hole‐entry hybrid journal bearings are widely used in many applications owing to their favourable characteristics. Ever increasing technological developments demand much improved performance from these class of bearings operating under the most stringent, exact and precise conditions. Therefore, it becomes imperative that the hole‐entry journal bearings be designed on the basis of more accurately predicted bearing characteristics data. The purpose of this paper is to describe a theoretical study to demonstrate the combined influence of the effect of pocket size at the outlet of supply holes and the journal misalignment on the performance of an orifice compensated hole‐entry hybrid journal bearing system.

Finite element method is used to solve the Reynolds equation governing the flow of an incompressible lubricant in the clearance space between the journal and bearing together with equation of flow through an orifice. The journal misalignment has been accounted for by defining a pair of misalignment parameters sigma and delta. The effect of pocket size at the outlet of supply holes has been accounted by defining a non‐dimensional parameter which is function of diameter of pocket and journal diameter.

The results presented in this paper indicate that the effect of journal misalignment is, in general, to cause a reduction in bearing dynamic characteristics parameters whereas the effect of pocket size is to slightly compensate this loss. Performance of a two lobe four recessed journal bearing, a proper selection of bearing offset factor along with type of restrictor (capillary or orifice) is essential.

This paper presents valuable data relating to hole‐entry hybrid journal bearings useful for bearing designers.

The purpose of this paper is to study theoretically the combined influence of journal misalignment and wear on the performance of a hole‐entry hybrid journal bearing system. The bearing is assumed to be operating in a turbulent regime.

The modified Reynolds equation based on Constantinescu lubrication theory has been solved by using finite element method together with orifice and capillary restrictors flow equations as a constrain together with appropriate boundary conditions.

It has been observed that for a symmetric hole‐entry journal bearing configuration the value of h¯_min is more for the bearing compensated by orifice restrictor as compared to capillary restrictor when bearing operates in turbulent regime under worn/unworn conditions. From the point of view of stability threshold speed ω¯_th, the reduction in the value of ω¯_th for capillary compensated bearing is around −3.89 percent whereas for orifice compensated bearing it is −7.85 percent when misaligned worn bearing is operating in turbulent regime.

The present work is original of its kind, in case of misaligned hole‐entry worn journal bearing. The results are quite useful for the bearing designer.

This paper aims to give the guidance for the design of the bearing.

The finite element method, the multi-body dynamics method, the finite difference method and the tribology are combined to analyze the lubrication.

The performance parameters of crankshaft-bearing system such as the misalignment, the oil filling ratio and the oil groove are also investigated. Misalignment causes the pressure to incline on one side and the pressure increases obviously. Filling ratio has great relationship with pressure distribution; the factors influencing the filling ratio are also analyzed. Different oil groove models are investigated, as it can provide the theory for oil groove design, and three factors above are always combined to influence the lubrication characteristics.

The optimization of bearing system is conducted by orthogonal test and neural network, unlike the linear optimization theory. Neural network uses the nonlinear theory to optimize crankshaft-bearing system.

Current lubrication analyses of misaligned journal bearings were generally performed under some given preconditions. To make the lubrication analysis closer to the actual situation and usable to the journal bearing design, the purpose of this paper was to calculate the lubrication characteristics of misaligned journal bearings considering the viscosity-pressure effect of the oil, the surface roughness and the elastic deformation of the journal bearing at the same time.

The lubrication of bearings was analyzed using the average Reynolds equation. The deformation of the bearing surface under oil film pressure was calculated by a compliance matrix method. The compliance matrix was established by finite element analysis of the bearing housing. The viscosity-pressure and viscosity–temperature equations were used in the analysis.

The oil viscosity-pressure relationship has a significant effect on the lubrication of misaligned journal bearings. The surface roughness will affect the lubrication of misaligned journal bearings when the eccentricity ratio and angle of journal misalignment are all large. The directional parameter of the surface has an obvious effect on the lubrication of misaligned journal bearings. The deformation of the bearing surface has a remarkable effect on the lubrication of misaligned journal bearings.

The lubrication characteristics of misaligned journal bearings were calculated considering the viscosity-pressure effect of the oil, the surface roughness and the elastic deformation of the journal bearing at the same time. The results of this paper are helpful to the design of the bearing.

Under the influence of loading, manufacturing, installation and other factors, the axis of sleeve bearing and journal will not be aligned, which will have a great impact on running stability and life of bearing. The existence of oil groove can effectively improve the life of sleeve bearing and working efficiency. The lubrication performance of two and three grooves sleeve bearing considering journal misalignment is analyzed.

To solve the difference of discontinuous position of oil film thickness, it is necessary to use the flow balance relationship in the finite control space, and oil film thickness equation of multi-groove sleeve bearing considering journal misalignment is gained.

The friction and bearing capacity of journal bearing with oil groove increase with the increase of journal inclination angle. At the same journal inclination angle, the bearing capacity of two-axial groove journal bearing is larger than that of three-axial groove journal bearing, but the friction of two-axial groove journal bearing shows the trend of the first bigger and then smaller than that of three-axial groove journal bearing.

The research has great significance to optimize bearing lubrication performance and increase bearing working life.