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Numerical study of the cavitation effect on plain bearings in constant and variable viscosity states

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Abstract

One of the most widely used components in industrial rotary machines is the plain journal bearings. These components consist of a rotating shaft, which is separated from the outer sheath by a thin layer of lubricant and rotated in it. In this research, the journal bearings are investigated numerically in three dimensions using ANSYS-FLUENT software. To have a more realistic analysis, the cavitation, which is a common event in bearings, is simulated. The Eulerian two-phase model along with Zwart–Gerber–Belarmi method is used to simulate the cavitation phenomena. In addition, the changes in fluid viscosity due to the temperature and pressure have been considered in calculations. Moreover, the effect of the viscous dissipation term is considered that leads to a change in fluid temperature. Simulations are conducted for two angular velocities of 48 and 68 [rad/s] as well as two eccentricity ratios of 0.6 and 0.8. The comparison of the results with other numerical and experimental data shows the accuracy of the two-phase model and conducted settings in the software. The results show that the consideration of cavitation along with the viscosity changes have a significant impact on the pressure distribution, cavity volume, and load-bearing capacity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Shahrood University of Technology, P.Box 3619995161, Shahrood, Iran

    Yaser Taghipour & Pooria Akbarzadeh

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

    Fatemeh Moradgholi & Mohammad Eftekhari Yazdi

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  1. Yaser Taghipour
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  2. Pooria Akbarzadeh
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  3. Fatemeh Moradgholi
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  4. Mohammad Eftekhari Yazdi
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Correspondence to Yaser Taghipour.

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Taghipour, Y., Akbarzadeh, P., Moradgholi, F. et al. Numerical study of the cavitation effect on plain bearings in constant and variable viscosity states. Meccanica 56, 2507–2516 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11012-021-01391-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11012-021-01391-7

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