A Computationally Efficient, Mass Conserving Generalized Short Bearing Formulation for Dynamically Loaded Journal Bearings

This paper describes a computationally efficient, finite element implementation of a generalized short bearing (GSB) formulation to account for mass conservation in cavitated bearing regions. The method is applied to a set of examples representing partial and full journal bearings under transient loads and kinematics. Bearing performance trends are captured well by the GSB formulation when compared with results obtained from a complete two-dimensional formulation and from experiments. The computational speed of the GSB formulation is approximately 40 to 200 times faster than the complete formulation for the examples provided in the paper.

Automated summary

This paper introduces a computationally efficient implementation of a generalized short bearing (GSB) formulation using finite element method, which takes into account the mass conservation in cavitated bearing regions. The results demonstrate that the GSB formulation captures the bearing performance trends well when compared to a complete two-dimensional formulation and experimental results. Moreover, the GSB formulation achieves a computational speed approximately 40 to 200 times faster than the complete formulation for the given examples.