Static and dynamic characteristics and stability analysis of high-speed water-lubricated hydrodynamic journal bearings

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of turbulent, inertia, and misaligned effects on the static and dynamic characteristics and stability of high-speed water-lubricated hydrodynamic journal bearings. Based on the Navier–Stokes equation, the mixing-length theory, and the essential assumption that the velocity profile is not strongly affected by inertia force, the fluid lubrication model with turbulent, inertia, and misaligned effects is established, and then the stability analysis of bearings is carried out based on the equation of motion with four degrees of freedom. The model is solved by the finite difference method and the numerical results are compared under different operating conditions. The results show that the turbulent effect greatly increases the load capacity, power consumption, stiffness and damping coefficients, and stability of bearings, and the inertia effect significantly increases the volume flow rate of bearings, and the misaligned effect increases the load capacity, stiffness and damping coefficients, and stability of bearings. In high rotary speed and moderate eccentricity ratios, the influence of the inertia effect on the load capacity, stiffness coefficients, and stability cannot be neglected.