A study on the effect of the clearance on the contact stresses and kinematics of polymeric composite journal bearings under reciprocating sliding conditions

The effect of the clearance on the contact stresses and kinematics of a polymeric composite journal bearing is investigated. To this purpose a test rig is devised, which is capable to measure the tribological characteristics of the large-scale composite bearings. Kinematics of the setup is simulated by a 2D FE model. Moreover, to evaluate the contact area between the bearing and shaft, pressure indicator films are used and a simplified 3D model is provided. Simulation results correspond closely to the experiments and it is shown that the clearance variation can have a big impact on the contact stresses distribution.