Failure analysis of asbestos–phenolic composite journal bearing

mposite bearings are increasingly employed in journal bearings for marine application because the composite bearings eliminate the seizure problem between journals and bearings. However, large composite journal bearings are vulnerable to failure due to the stress concentration in grooves for the passage of lubrication oil, the thermal stresses caused by the difference of coefficient of thermal expansion between the composite bearing and the steel housing and the interference fitting during assembly of the composite bearing in the steel housing. In this work, the material properties of asbestos reinforced phenolic composites were measured for the stress analysis of the composite journal bearing. Then the failure of a large journal bearing made of asbestos reinforced phenolic composite for marine applications was investigated using finite element method with respect to the interference fitting amount during assembly and the temperature difference between the assembly and the operation. The calculated results revealed that the major cause of the composite journal bearing was the excessive interference fitting amount, which should be adjusted to avoid the bearing failure according to the environmental temperature during assembly of composite journal bearings.