Method of Estimating the Loading Capacity of Radial Sliding Bearings.

An engineering method of calculating the contact parameters of sliding bearings operating in the boundary lubrication regime is proposed which takes into account the roughness of the contacting surfaces. A method of experimentally determining the contact arc is described. The effect of the radial gap and the roughness of the contacting surfaces on the contact arc is shown. The results of calculations of the contact arc according to previously developed methods and the proposed method are compared with the results of experiments. It is shown that allowance for the surface roughness of the contacting parts by the proposed method gives the best agreement with experimental data.