Comparative analysis of analytical and numerical models of hydrodynamic journal bearings characteristics

• Grant number: 13/09057-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2013
• End date: June 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Mechanical Engineering - Mechanical Engineering Design
• Principal Investigator: Flávio Yukio Watanabe
• Grantee: Evandro Bernardino Teixeira Santos
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The proposed undergraduate scientific research aims the study of hydrodynamic journal bearings commonly used in rotating machinery such as compressors, turbines and generators. This type of bearing can be described as a mechanical set consisting of a rotating shaft and a sleeve with separated by a thin lubricant fluid film that eliminates the direct contact between these elements during operation. The pressure developed in the field of lubricant film is responsible for supporting the radial load imposed on the bearing and its behavior is described by Reynolds equation. The solution of this equation is only possible using numerical methods, however, simplified analytical solutions are also known. The proposed research project has as main objective the development of a software for the numerical analysis of a radial hydrodynamic bearing using the finite difference method and different types of boundary conditions, as well as the comparison of analytical and numerical results to identify similarities, limitations and potentials the models analyzed on the design of rotating machines employing this type of bearing. (AU)