THE EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE, ELASTICITY AND FORE-REGION PRESSURE BUILDUP ON THE PERFORMANCE OF CENTRALLY PIVOTED LINEAR PAD BEARINGS

The performance of oil lubricated and centrally pivoted thrust and pad bearings is investigated theoretically. The analysis considers simultaneously and individually the following factors: heat generation, heat transfer, elastic and thermal deformations of the bearing components, fore-region pressure build-up, and the inertia terms. In the mathematical model, governing equations with their boundary conditions are expressed in the dimensionless form. A hybrid numerical approach is then employed to solve the problem. The results are presented and discussed in terms of the applicable non-dimensional parameters.