Stability analysis of electrorheological (ER) lubricant operated multilobe hydrodynamic journal bearing

What is it about?

An ER fluid consists of dielectric particles dispersed in a non-conducting base oil. ER lubricants are often referred to as smart fluids. Reynold’s equation is solved numerically using the finite element technique and the equation of motion of the journal is solved using the Runge-Kutta method. The solution of the Reynolds equation is obtained using the Newton-Raphson method, with gaseous cavitation in the fluid film numerically addressed by applying a mass-conserving algorithm. The effects of lobe geometry and the applied electric field are presented on journal-bearing performance metrics. The application of ER lubricant and a two-lobe bearing configuration significantly enhances the load-carrying capacity, direct stiffness, and damping parameters. The two-lobe bearing with ER lubricant results in a smaller journal center trajectory, proving to be a more stable configuration.

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