Thermoelastic Effect in a Large Lubricated Thrust Bearing

Abstract

The numerical simulation results are presented for the performance of a large lubricated thrust bearing, considering surface elasticity and surface thermal distortion under large loads and high sliding speeds. The bearing shaft and bush are respectively made of steel and bronze. The results show that the film thickness and film pressure profiles were largely changed by the surface thermal distortion. Due to the surface thermoelastic effect, a large load results in a minimum lubricating film thickness that is far smaller than that predicted by conventional hydrodynamic lubrication theory calculation, and the minimum film thickness is much more sensitive to load variation than predicted by conventional hydrodynamic lubrication theory description. The minimum film thickness does not vary with an increase of the sliding speed when the sliding speed is sufficiently high. The effect of the adsorbed layer considerably increases the minimum film thickness, which is below 100 nm, particularly in the case of strong fluid-bearing interaction.