FLOW PATTERNS AND DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A LIGHTLY LOADED HYDROSTATIC POCKET OF VARIABLE ASPECT RATIO AND SUPPLY JET STRENGTH

The flow in a hydrostatic pocket is numerically simulated wing a dimensionless formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations. In essence, this paler continues the work of Braun et al. (1), (2) by extending it to the study of the effects of certain geometric (alpha and lambda) and flow (R and F) parameters on stiffness and damping in the hydrostatic pocket. The numerical simulations evaluate parametrically the effects of the aspect ratio, the Reynolds number and the jet strength on the flow pattern, pressure magnitudes, runner equilibrium position, stiffness and damping. This synthesis analysis has direct pertinence to hydrostatic journal bearing para,netric design, especially so for configurations when alpha<<1.