Steady State Performance Characteristics of Single Pad Externally Adjustable Fluid Film Bearing in the Laminar and Turbulent Regimes

In an externally adjustable fluid film bearing, the hydrodynamic conditions can be changed as required in a controlled manner. The principal feature of the bearing is the facility to adjust its radial clearance and circumferential film thickness gradient. Unlike a tilting pad bearing, this bearing can have radial adjustments. The tilt adjustments are obtained by providing flexibility to the pad at one corner. This paper deals with the effect of turbulence on the steady state performance characteristics of a centrally loaded 120 deg single pad externally adjustable fluid film bearing. The bearing has an aspect ratio of 1 and operates over a wide range of eccentricity ratios with different radial and tilt adjustments. The Reynolds equation is solved numerically using the finite difference method. The linearized turbulence model of Ng and Pan (1965, “A Linearized Turbulent Lubrication Theory,” ASME J. Basic Eng., 87, pp. 675–688) as well as the simplified adiabatic model of Pinkus and Bupara (1979, “Adiabatic Solutions for Finite Journal Bearings,” ASME J. Lubr. Technol., 101, pp. 492–496) are incorporated in the solution scheme. The static performance characteristics calculated are presented in terms of load carrying capacity, attitude angle, friction variable, and Sommerfeld number. A comparative study with the combination of adjustments predicts that the static performance of the bearing is superior with negative radial and tilt adjustments.