Numerical solution to steady and transient problems in thermohydrodynamic lubrication using a combination of finite element, finite volume and boundary element methods

A coupled model for pressure and temperature computations in a plain journal bearing which includes shaft and bushing thermal exchange with the external environment is presented and numerically solved here, both for the steady and the time-dependent case. The numerical solution to the global problem includes a combination of ad hoc techniques for the solution to each submodel. A finite element method for the hydrodynamic Reynolds equation with a cavitation model of Elrod–Adams is applied; the energy equation in the lubricating film is solved by a second order cell-vertex volume method, and the bushing temperature distribution is computed by using a (collocation) boundary element—dual reciprocity method.