Based on the free boundary theory and variational method, this paper presents a Ritz method to compute the instantaneous hydrodynamic forces of a real bearing subject to any perturbed motions of the rotor. The given method manipulates the cavitation region by simply introducing a parameter to match the free boundary condition and, as a result, a very simple approximate formula of oil-film pressure were obtained leading to great saving of computing time. The numerical examples show the high accuracy of the proposed formulas. This oil-film force model is also used to analyze the nonlinear dynamics of a rigid unbalanced rotor with elliptical bearing support. The results well agree with those of the oil-film force model computed by the finite element method and the computing time is saved greatly.

Issue Section:
Technical Papers
Keywords:
machine bearings, rotors, hydrodynamics, stability, lubricating oils, films
Topics:
Bearings, Rotors, Pressure, Finite element methods
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