The Influence of Surface Patterning on the Thermal Properties of Textured Thrust Bearings

Abstract

Contact performance can be enhanced by using textured surfaces. These are also found to have influences on lubricated contacts. A procedure to find the optimal partially textured thrust bearing configuration is presented in this study. A parallel sector-pad thrust bearing is simulated by a three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The stationary surface of the bearing is textured with dimples, while the rotor surface is flat. The results of the baseline model are validated by experimental data. In this study, we compare rectangular and elliptical dimples by investigating design parameters, such as major the length of the major axis (width), the length of the minor axis (length), dimple depth, circumferential space between two dimples, radial space between two dimples, radial extent, circumferential extent are selected as design parameters. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the influence of the texture geometries and a surrogate model is created. Based on the surrogate model, a multi-objective optimization scheme is used to navigate the design space and find the optimal texture structure that provides a lower maximal temperature inside the fluid film, higher load capacity, and lower friction torque. The results show that the optimal radial extent of the texture is around 80% of the pad radial length for both cases. The optimal length of the elliptical dimples in the circumferential direction is about 30% larger than the value of the rectangular dimples. In the final optimal design, the maximal temperature reduces 1.1% and 1.3% for rectangular and elliptical dimples while the load capacities are maintained at the same level.

Tribological analysis of picosecond laser partially textured thrust bearings with circular grooves machined: Theory and experiment

“…where r v and h v are the reference values in the radial direction and of the film thickness, respectively. Hence, by substituting equation (12) into equation ( 8) and using the dimensionless form of equation ( 6), the following is obtained:…”

“…Studies have shown that an optimal dimple depth, texture fraction, and the number of pads can maximize the load-carrying capacity. 11–14 Numerous fluid-dynamical models have been established to improve the load-carrying capacity by optimizing the geometrical parameters and distribution of the dimples. 15,16…”

“…Studies have shown that an optimal dimple depth, texture fraction, and the number of pads can maximize the load-carrying capacity. [11][12][13][14] Numerous fluid-dynamical models have been established to improve the load-carrying capacity by optimizing the geometrical parameters and distribution of the dimples. 15,16 Since a wedge or an inlet step is formed by the grooves, partially textured thrust bearings with grooves have been used since they act similarly to step or tilted pad bearings.…”

Investigation of the synergism on distribution parameters of micro dimples in partially textured thrust pad bearing

“…Various texturing techniques were employed in recent studies including etching techniques, photoetching, machining, ion beam texturing, and laser texturing. 13 The surface texturing which could be divided into full texturing and partial texturing was an encouraging approach to improve the tribological properties, 14,15 and. It is interesting that partial texturing provided a higher load-carrying capacity and lower friction power loss than full texturing, [16][17][18] which was furtherly verified by theoretical analysis or experimental verification in textured engine cylinder, piston rings, and mechanical seals.…”

Numerical and experimental study on air thrust foil bearing performance with improved structural model based on real-time taper inlet height

“…The development of air foil journal bearings has been relatively mature [8][9][10]. Later, researchers began to devote themselves to the research of air thrust foil bearings [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. In 1983, Heshmat H. and Walowit J.…”