Performance Studies of Powder-Lubricated Journal Bearing Having Different Pocket Shapes at Cylindrical Bore Surface

摘要

It becomes impossible to use conventional fluid film journal bearings in the hot working environments (500-800 degrees C) due to rapid thermal degradation of lubricating oils. Under this situation, powder lubricants prove beneficial in spite of high friction values associated with them in comparison to lubricating oils. Thus, reduction of friction in powder-lubricated journal bearings is an essential task for making the operation energy efficient. Hence, the objective of this paper is to explore the reduction of coefficient of friction in a powder-lubricated journal bearing employing different pocket shapes (elliptical, parabolic, rectangular, and trapezoidal) placed on bore surface. Based on the investigations reported herein, it is found that the journal bearing having rectangular pocket yields least coefficient of friction among all the cases.