Thermohydrodynamic Analysis of a Journal Bearing in a Turbulent Flow Regime—Part II: Application to an Axial Groove Bearing

The governing equations developed in (1), where a perturbation method is applied in the equation of motion and the energy equation is linearized, are used to study journal bearings of finite length operating in turbulent flow regimes. The thermohydrodynamic solutions are obtained for a journal bearing with four axial grooves. Heshmat and Pinkus' mixing theory (2) is used to evaluate the inlet temperature of each sector. These governing equations are solved to yield pressure, mass-mean velocity and temperature distributions, the mixing temperature at the inlet and the flow rates at the entry and exit of each sector, and the fictional forces.