Inertia effects in circular squeeze film bearing using Herschel-Bulkley lubricants

Abstract

Recent engineering trends in lubrication emphasize that in order to analyze the performance of bearings adequately, it is necessary to take into account the combined effects of fluid inertia forces and non-Newtonian characteristics of lubricants. In the present work, the effects of fluid inertia forces in the circular squeeze film bearing lubricated with Herschel-Bulkley fluids with constant squeeze motion have been investigated. Herschel-Bulkley fluids are characterized by an yield value which leads to the formation of a rigid core in the flow region. The shape and extent of the core formation along the radial direction is determined numerically for various values of Herschel-Bulkley number and power-law index. The bearing performances such as pressure distribution and load capacity for different values of Herschel-Bulkley number, Reynolds number, power-law index have been computed. The effects of fluid inertia and non-Newtonian characteristics on the bearing performances have been discussed. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.