Abstract
This paper presents an analysis of a three-lobe porous hydrodynamic journal bearing for its static and dynamic performance characteristics. The performance characteristics of the bearing have been computed and presented in graphical form for a wide range of permeability parameter to investigate the effect of porosity on bearing performance. The stability margin of the three-lobe journal bearing system, in terms of crtical mass of journal, has been established using Routh's criteria. The nature of transient motion of the journal has been analyzed using the complex eigen values of characteristic equation and motion trajectories obtained by numerical integration of equations of motion.