Effect of axial groove location, length, and width ratio on bearing properties and stability

There are many industrial applications of axially grooved journal bearing, especially in turbo machinery. Stability is a very big issue for researchers, in high speed rotating machines. The axial groove journal bearing has a capacity to reduce the vibration and the ability to resolve the heating problems as well as stability at a higher speed. Dynamic performance parameters and stability of axial grooved hybrid journal bearings depend on the dimensions and orientations of the groove to a great extent at higher speeds. In this work, a  FORTRAN program is used to solve Reynolds governing equation. The bearing performance characteristics are simulated for the various dimensions and orientation of the groove. Non-linear journal center trajectories are drawn for different Reynolds numbers for stability analysis. It is found that the smaller groove length results in lower bearing capacity, whereas smaller groove width yields higher bearing capacity, and the turbulence decreases the stability. The groove location also strongly affects most performance parameters. The optimum location of the groove axis is obtained between 60° to 90° to the load line.