CFD analysis on the lubrication behaviours of journal bearing with dimples

CFD simulation on the lubrication behaviours of journal bearing with dimples was presented. Different from the previous works, the textured surface with dimple moves. The distributions of pressure, friction force and friction coefficient on the sliding surface were obtained. The comparison was made between textured surface sliding and smooth surface sliding. The influence of different dimple depth, dimple density and dimple profile on lubrication performance is discussed. By analysis, the following conclusions can be draw. The friction force and friction coefficient with textured surface sliding are smaller than that with smooth surface sliding. The introduce of dimple is benefit to lubrication performance in term of friction force compare to the smooth plate sliding, even there is some loss of load capacity. The increase of dimple depth and density will result in the decrease of friction force, which be attributed to more thick film lubrication. The profile of dimple has little effect on the friction force and friction coefficient. Some result is consistent with previous experimental facts.