Frictional and load-carrying behaviours of micro-textured sector shape pad thrust bearing incorporating the cavitation and thermal effects

Frictional and load-carrying behaviours of micro-textured sector shape pad thrust bearing have been explored and reported herein. The textured pad surfaces have been generated employing different cross-sectional shapes (circular, square, trapezoidal and triangular) of grooves. Based on the thermohydrodynamic lubrication analysis, it is observed that when the adopted texture pattern is placed on the pad towards the entry region, it produces substantial reduction in friction coefficient. The texture involving the square cross-sectional shape of grooves has yielded substantial reductions in the friction coefficient in comparison with the conventional plain pad.