AN ANALYSIS OF THE CIRCUMFERENTIALLY GROOVED FLOATING RING JOURNAL BEARING CONSIDERING THE VARIATION OF CAVITATION REGION

The static and dynamic performances of a floating ring journal bearing with central circumferential grooves at the inner and outer films are obtained numerically using the isothermal lubrication theory. The Elrod algorithm implementing the Jakobsson-Floberg-Olsson cavitation boundary condition is adopted to predict cavitation regions in the inner and outer films more accurately than conventional analyses which use the half-Sommerfeld or Reynolds condition. The supply pressure drop in the circumferential groove of the inner film due to the rotation of the journal and ring is taken into account. It is shown that lubricant supply pressure has a significant influence on the static and dynamic performances of the bearing since it is closely related to the extent of the cavitation region. When the supply pressure is low and the journal speed is high, the supply pressure drop results in severe starvation of the lubricant in the inner film and affects the overall performance of the bearing remarkably.