Evaluation of inertia effect in finite hydrodynamic bearings with surface texturing using spectral element solver

Fluid inertia can have a major effect on the pressure distribution in hydrodynamic bearings with surface texturing. So far, however, the effect has been ignored in the simulation of finite bearings. In this work, we develop a spectral element solver for the Navier-Stokes equations specifically tailo...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Woloszynski, T., Podsiadlo, P., Stachowiak, Gwidon
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier Ltd 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40921
Description
Summary:Fluid inertia can have a major effect on the pressure distribution in hydrodynamic bearings with surface texturing. So far, however, the effect has been ignored in the simulation of finite bearings. In this work, we develop a spectral element solver for the Navier-Stokes equations specifically tailored to slider finite bearings textured with multiple spherical dimples. Using the solver, we studied the effect of inertia on the load-carrying capacity for 90 different bearing configurations. Our results show that the spatial arrangement of dimples has a significant impact on the inertia effect. For the Reynolds number 50 and the ratio 10 of dimple length to dimple depth, a change from full to partial texturing reduced the effect by roughly 85%.