PARAMETRIC STUDY OF INLET OIL TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE FOR A HALF-CIRCUMFERENTIAL GROOVED JOURNAL BEARING

A parametric study of the effects of oil inlet temperature and pressure in half-circumferential grooved journal bearings under aligned and misaligned conditions has been carried out by solving numerically the coupled Reynolds and energy equations system. Five different sets of boundary conditions for the energy equation have been used which include mixing between recirculating oil and inlet oil and a contraction ratio for the cavitation region. The effects of changes of the wall temperature and of the L/D ratio have also been examined. For the ranges of parameters found in internal combustion engines, the wall temperature and heat transfer rate have been found to be of secondary importance to the mixing effectiveness at the groove and the resulting final mixture temperature. Realistic inlet pressure increases also have been found in capable of affecting significantly the bearing performance. The variability of the temperature, though, has been shown to smooth out the peaks of both pressure and friction during misaligned conditions. Distributions of friction and pressure in the oil are also examined which may be useful in attempts to reduce friction without reducing load. Results for an axial grooved bearing are also presented for comparison purposes.