Hydrodynamic Lubrication of Journal Bearings with a Polymer Melt

An experimental investigation of hydrodynamic lubrication of journal bearings was conducted using a polymer melt as the lubricating fluid. The test apparatus monitored the pressure profile, eccentricity ratio, axial flow rate and frictional power loss for a bearing with L/D = 1.5. Due to the non-Newtonian viscosity/shear-rate relation of the polymer, it was necessary to define a generalized Sommerfeld number in order to plot the data. The results provide a tool for the design of polymer lubricated bearings.