An experimental study of axial misalignment effect on seizure load of journal bearings

This paper studies experimentally the effect of axial (vertical) misalignment on the limit of seizure failure of a slide journal bearing used in air-conditioning compressor. The seizure loads under aligned and misaligned conditions for different rotational speeds, surface roughness of bearing and shaft, and radial clearances are obtained and compared. Results show that the seizure load is greatly affected by axial misalignment. The variation of seizure load with rotational speed and surface roughness of bearing and shaft is the same for aligned condition and misaligned condition. There is an optimum radial clearance for a given misalignment angle.