• Tribology and Lubricants
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• 제38권6호
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• pp.267-273
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• 2022

Surface texturing is the latest technology for processing grooves or dimples on the friction surface of a machine. When appropriately applied, it can reduce friction and significantly increase durability. Despite many studies over the past 20 years, most are isothermal (ISO) analyses in which the viscosity of the lubricant is constant. In practice, the viscosity changes significantly owing to the heat generated by the viscous shear of the lubricant and film-temperature boundary condition (FTBC). Although many thermohydrodynamic (THD) analyses have been performed on various sliding bearings, only few results for surface-textured bearings have been reported. This study investigates the effects of the FTBC and groove number on the THD lubrication characteristics of a surface-textured parallel thrust bearing with multiple rectangular grooves. The continuity, Navier-Stokes, and energy equations with temperature-viscosity-density relations are numerically analyzed using a commercial computational fluid dynamics code, FLUENT. The results show the pressure and temperature distributions, variations of load-carrying capacity (LCC), and friction force with four FTBCs. The FTBCs greatly influence the lubrication characteristics of surface-textured parallel thrust bearings. A groove number that maximizes the LCC exists, which depends on the FTBC. ISO analysis overestimates the LCC but underestimates friction reduction. Additional analysis of various temperature boundary conditions is required for practical applications.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• 제39권1호
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• pp.21-27
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• 2023

Surface texturing is widely applied to friction surfaces of various machine elements. Most of the theoretical studies have focused on isothermal (ISO) analyses which consider constant lubricant viscosity. However, there have been limited studies on the effect of oil temperature increase owing to viscous shear. Following the first part of the present study that investigated the effects of film-temperature boundary condition (FTBC) and groove number on the thermohydrodynamic (THD) lubrication characteristics of a surface-textured parallel thrust bearing with multiple rectangular grooves, this study focuses on the effect of groove depths. Current study numerically analyzes the continuity, Navier-Stokes, and energy equations with temperature-viscosity-density relations using a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, FLUENT. The results of variation in temperature, velocity, and pressure distributions as well as load-carrying capacity (LCC) and friction force indicate that groove depth and FTBC significantly influence the temperature distribution and pressure generation. The LCC is maximum near the groove depth at which the vortex starts, smaller than the ISO result. For intense grooves, the LCC of THD may be larger than that from ISO. The frictional force decreases as the groove becomes deeper, and decreases more significantly in the case of THD. The study shows that groove depth significantly influences the THD lubrication characteristics of surface-textured parallel thrust bearings.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• 제39권3호
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• pp.87-93
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• 2023

Nanofluids are dispersions of particles smaller than 100 nm (nanoparticles) in base fluids. They exhibit high thermal conductivity and are mainly applied in cooling applications. Nanolubricants use nanoparticles in base oils as lubricant additives, and have recently started gathering increased attention owing to their potential to improve the tribological and thermal performances of various machinery. Nanolubricants reduce friction and wear, mainly by the action of nanoparticles; however, only a few studies have considered the rheological properties of lubricants. In this study, we adopt a parallel slider bearing model that does not generate geometrical wedge effects, and conduct thermohydrodynamic (THD) analyses to evaluate the effect of higher thermal conductivity and viscosity, which are the main rheological properties of nanolubricants, on the lubrication performances. We use a commercial computational fluid dynamics code, FLUENT, to numerically analyze the continuity, Navier-Stokes, energy equations with temperature-viscosity-density relations, and thermal conductivity and viscosity models of the nanolubricant. The results show the temperature and pressure distributions, load-carrying capacity (LCC), and friction force for three film-temperature boundary conditions (FTBCs). The effects of the higher thermal conductivity and viscosity of the nanolubricant on the LCC and friction force differ significantly, according to the FTBC. The thermal conductivity increases with temperature, improving the cooling performance, reducing LCC, and slightly increasing the friction. The increase in viscosity increases both the LCC and friction. The analysis method in this study can be applied to develop nanolubricants that can improve the tribological and cooling performances of various equipment; however, additional research is required on this topic.

• KSTLE International Journal
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• 제2권2호
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• pp.103-113
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• 2001

The influence of aerated oil on high-speed journal bearing is examined by classical thermohydrodynamic lubrication theory coupled with analytical models for viscosity and density of air-oil mixture in fluid-film bearing. Convection to the walls and mixing with supply oil and re-circulating oil are considered. The live oil surface tension is considered as functions of temperature, API gravity and air volume ratio. With changing eccentricity ratio, it is investigated the effects of air bubbles on the performance of a high-speed plain journal bearing. Just at the moderate eccentricity ratios, even if the involved aeration levels are not so severe and the entrained air bubble sizes are not so small, it is found that the bearing load and friction farce may be changed so visibly for the high speed bearing operation.

• 한국윤활학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국윤활학회 2000년도 제31회 춘계학술대회
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• pp.93-98
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• 2000

Turbulence on the journal bearing operation is examined. And the thermal variability is studied for isothermal, convective and adiabatic conditions on the walls within some degree of journal misalignment. An efficient algorithm for the solution of the coupled turbulent Reynolds and energy equations is used to examine the effects of the various factors. The calculation data of turbulent analysis are compared with the ones of laminar analysis. Heat convection is found to play but a small role in determining friction and load. The friction distribution patterns through inside a journal bearing now appear different with high values at the front part of the bearing due to the high speed and low temperature, and a sudden decrease past the pressure maximum.

• 한국윤활학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국윤활학회 2002년도 proceedings of the second asia international conference on tribology
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• pp.111-112
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• 2002

The influence of aerated oil on a high-speed proceeding bearing is examined by using the classical thermohydrodynamic lubrication theory coupled with analytical models for viscosity and density of air-oil mixture in fluid-film bearing including the live surface tension of aerated oil. Convection to the walls and mixing with supply oil and re-circulating oil are considered. The considered parameters for the study of bubbly lubrication are oil aeration level, air bubble size and shaft speed. The results show that, if the live surface tension is considered, the effect of air bubbles on the bearing load capacity is reduced due to temperature engagement comparing with that under the condition of a constant surface tension.

• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한기계학회 2001년도 춘계학술대회논문집C
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• pp.305-310
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• 2001

Within some degree of journal misalignment, maximum pressure, maximum temperature, bearing load, friction and side leakage in high-speed journal bearing operation are examined under the condition of variable density and specific heat. The results are compared with the calculation results under the conditions of constant density and specific heat, and variable density and constant specific heat. It is found that the effects of variable density and specific heat on shaft misalignment are significant in determining the load capacity of a journal bearing operating at high speed.

• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한기계학회 2001년도 춘계학술대회논문집C
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• pp.287-292
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• 2001

Under the condition of variable density and specific heat, maximum pressure, maximum temperature, bearing load, friction and side leakage in high-speed journal bearing operation are examined. The results are compared with the calculation results under the conditions of constant density and specific heat, and variable density and constant specific heat. It is found that the condition of variable density and specific heat play important roles in determining friction and load of journal bearing at high speed operation.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.30-38
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• 1994

The thermohydrodynamic(THD) performance of a large tilting pad journal bearing is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The theory takes into account the three dimensional variation of lubricant viscosity and eddy viscosity, and the inlet pressure. Owing to the inlet pressure effect, the film pressure and load capacity are increased but the mixing temperature and bearing surface temperature are decreased. The continuous distribution of the film pressure and film thickness and the bearing surface temperature are measured along with the shaft speed and the bearing load, and they are compared with the theoretical results. The results obtained by the experiment are in good agreement with those by the theory including the inlet pressure effect. It is suggested that the three dimensional turbulent THD analysis including the inlet pressure effect is very useful to predict the performance of the large tilting pad journal bearing more accurately.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.29-35
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• 1993

The thermohydrodynamic(THD) performance of a large tilting pad journal bearing in laminar and turbulent flow regions is investigated experimentally. The continuous shaft surface temperature, and bearing surface temperature are measured along with the shaft speed and the bearing load for various flow rates. It is observed that the shaft surface temperature is constant in the circumferential direction and increases with the increase of shaft speed in both low and high shaft speed region, however, there exist transition region where the shaft surface temperature decreases with the increase of shaft speed. When the turbulence occurs in the lubricant film, both the inlet and maximum bearing surface temperature steeply increase and the temperature gradient in the circumferential direction decreases.