Temperature Distributions and Heat Transfer in Journal Bearings

Abstract

The paper contributes to the stock of thermal data for axial-groove journal bearings. Test results are presented for 76 mm diameter bearings of two length/diameter ratios and two values of diametral clearance. Data presented include bush temperature distribution, journal surface temperature, and oil flow rate for a range of load and speed. Heat transfers from the oil film to the bush and the journal are estimated from the temperature data. Bush heat transfer is shown to depend primarily on the film Peclet number with load as a significant secondary factor. The consequences of neglecting the effect of bush heat transfer in the prediction of operating temperature are discussed.