Experimental investigation for vibration reduction of surface-textured journal bearings

Purpose Surface texturing has emerged in the past two decades as a viable option of surface engineering, resulting in significant improvement in wear resistance and friction coefficient. The purpose of this study is to find the appropriate surface texture to reduce vibration and improve the stability of journal bearings. Design/methodology/approach Micro-dimples, evenly distributed in a square array, were selected as the texture pattern and formed on the lower surface of bush by the laser surface texturing technique. Experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of micro-dimples under different depths, densities and distributions. Findings The results are summarized in the form of shaft center orbits, waterfall illustrations and Hilbert-Huang transforms. In the entire test, it was found that an optimum geometric and distributive range of micro-dimples exists, where vibration acceleration can be decreased at least 3dB and stability can be greatly improved. Originality/value A majority of researchers devoted to studying on static characteristics, such as friction coefficient, load carrying capacity, pressure distribution and cavitation model. Besides, the influence of surface texture on stability of rotor-journal bearing system was rarely investigated and the recent examples can be found in Refs. (Ausas et al. 2007). However, a complete study of textured journal bearings has not been undertaken in the dynamic properties. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to experimentally investigate the comprehensive effects of density, depth and distribution of micro-dimples on bearing vibration and stability.