Clearance and lubricant selection for avoiding seizure in a circumferential groove journal bearing based on a lumped model analysis

This study presents a new simple lumped model for analyzing the thermally induced seizure of fully lubricated eccentric circumferential groove journal bearings (CGJB). The model represents a significant upgrade of a previous seizure lumped model developed by Pascovici & Kucinschi, in 2002. Main upgrades consist of: eccentric operation, introduction of hydrodynamic lubricant flow rate component, and evaluation of friction power losses based on the short bearing theory with Barwell’s hypothesis on the divergent zone. The viscosity–temperature variation is replaced with Tipei’s viscosity-clearance relationship, as in the previous model. The decrease of viscosity, as a consequence of temperature increase, does not always limit clearance loss, and the seizure process ends with a concentric journal-bushing merged system. Although CGJB’s are less sensitive to this seizure mechanism, the threat still exists and must be avoided. As a result, bearing designers and users should check whether if several safe-operation criteria are met. A recent Institute Pprime experiment on CGJB’s provided a base set of operating parameters, from which numerical simulations have been performed to determine in what conditions the CGJB fails, under thermally induced seizure.