Numerical Design Method for Water-Lubricated Hybrid Sliding Bearings

This paper presents a new water-lubricated hybrid sliding bearing for a high speed and high accuracy main shaft system, along with the numerical method used for its design. The porous material for the restrictor and the restriction parameter were chosen based on the special requirements of the water-lubricated bearing. Subsequent numerical calculations give the load capacity, stiffness, and friction power of different forms of water-lubricated bearings. The pressure distribution of the water film in a 6-cavity bearing is shown, based on the results of the numerical calculations. A comparison of oil-lubricated and water-lubricated bearings shows that the latter benefits more from improved processing precision and efficiency. An analysis of the stiffness and friction power results shows that 6-cavity bearings are the preferred type, due their greater stiffness and lower friction power. The average elevated temperature was calculated and found to be satisfactory. The relevant parameters of the porous restrictor were determined by calculating the restriction rate. All these results indicate that this design for a water-lubricated bearing meets specifications for high speed and high accuracy.