A NUMERICAL ANALYSIS ON CONSTANT OR VARIABLE VISCOSITY ON OIL BEARINGS

ABSTRACT This work presents a numerical study on the calculation of pressure and temperature distributions in short bearings, comparing one case considering constant viscosity and another in which the viscosity is adjusted according to the temperature and the pressure along the bearing. The model described in this paper consists in the coupling of the calculation of the short bearing pressure by FDM (Finite Difference Method), and its velocity field, as well as the region at which film rupture occurs. Similarly to previous studies, this work used a combination of models presented in literature, as an attempt to obtain better predictions and comparisons with other data available. The main difference from the others studies lies in the thermal model adopted in this work and the use of a viscosity model that renders more accurate calculation. Results indicate that the two calculation procedures provide significant differences in terms of the bearing key features.