The theory of the operation of porous metal bearings as given in the 1957 Conference on Lubrication and Wear has now been extended. The analysis of a 360° porous bearing leads to a critical value of the Sommerfeld reciprocal 1/δ below which full fluid lubrication cannot be obtained. The magnitude of this critical value 1/Δ c is found to vary only with the length to diameter ratio of the bearing L/D, and with the design variable Ψ, a dimensionless parameter dependent upon the Darcy permeability Φ, wall thickness H, and radial clearance c, and defined as + = Φ H/c 3 . In the absence of a full computed solution of the modified Reynolds equation, variation of the L/D ratio has been allowed for by applying the same correction factors that apply to non-porous bearings. Experimental work has been carried out using + values varying from 1.95 × 10- 4 to 2.91 × 10- 2 (a factor of 150) and within this range good agreement with the theory was obtained.
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Cameron et al. (1962) studied this question.