The Sliding Friction of Hybrid Composite Journal Bearing Under Various Test Conditions

Composite journal bearings are becoming more popular for marine applications because they eliminate the possibility of seizure to steel journals, which is a drawback of white-metal bearings. However, the reliability of composite bearings should be verified by various tests before its commercialization. In this study, hybrid composite journal bearings composed of carbon/phenolic and glass/epoxy laminated composites were manufactured and tested under various operating conditions and compared with white-metal journal bearings. The friction coefficient of the hybrid composite journal bearing was similar to that of white-metal bearing under transient and hydrodynamic lubrication. However, the hybrid composite journal bearing could be operated up to 30 min under severe dry condition, whereas the white metal gets seizure to the steel journal during the bearing operation.