Performance of Hydrostatic Textured Thrust Bearing with Supply Holes Operating with Non-Newtonian Lubricant

ABSTRACT

The present article proposes a technique to improve the performance of textured hydrostatic thrust bearings with the use of oil supply holes. The article provides a comparison between smooth and surface-textured hydrostatic thrust bearings. To get an accurate prediction of the caviation regime, the Jakobsson-Floberg-Olsson (JFO) mass conservation algorithm has been used instead of the Reynolds boundary conditions. It has been observed that surface texture results in a significant decrease in friction power loss along with an improvement in other performance parameters. The study also reveals that the location of the supply hole for the lubricant system significantly affects the bearing performance.

KEYWORDS:

• Surface texture
• JFO boundary conditions
• finite element method
• thrust bearing