The inertia effects in rheodynamic lubrication of an externally pressurized thrust bearing using Herschel-Bulkley lubricant with sinusoidal injection

In challenging industrial environments, bearings must endure high-speed operations, heavy loads, and maintain high stiffness. This study investigates the synergistic impacts of fluid inertia forces, non-Newtonian behavior and sinusoidal injection of the Herschel-Bulkley lubricant in an externally pressurized circular thrust bearing. To sidestep complex computations, the momentum equation’s “inertia” term is estimated through the mean value average method across the film thickness. Additionally, a mathematical model for a Sinusoidal injection of the lubricant has been presented. Numerical computations have been conducted to determine the thickness of the core, velocity profile, film pressure, and load carrying capacity of the bearing for different values of Herschel-Bulkley number ( N ), Reynolds number (Re), Power-law index ( n ), and time, along with different amplitudes of sinusoidal lubricant injection. This study reports the influences of inertial forces and sinusoidal injection in fluid film pressure as well as the load carrying capacity owing to visco-plastic lubricants’ physical parameters at the considered bearing. These findings might be impactful to carry out the considerable heat transfer effects. Further, it will be helpful to continue the research with the converging bearing models.