DEVELOPMENT OF AN ANALYTICAL DESIGN TOOL FOR JOURNAL BEARINGS
Open Access
- Author:
- Naffin, Richard Keith
- Graduate Program:
- Mechanical Engineering
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- None
- Committee Members:
- Liming Chang, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Liming Chang, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor - Keywords:
- journal bearing design
- Abstract:
- Reliable and efficient journal bearings operate with sufficient load capacity, low frictional loss, low heat generation, and a sufficient supply of lubricating oil. To design such bearings, values of the bearing design parameters are selected and used to calculate bearing performance variables. The performance variables are then used to describe the operational state of the bearing, aiding the designer in deciding whether the selected values of the design parameters are optimal or not. In the current design methods, these performance variables are often solved by interpolating and extracting solutions from design tables. This technique may become tedious and inconvenient, especially when trying to compile a large number of results to generate solution curves of the performance variables. This research develops an improved design method for journal bearings. The solution is a design tool which uses analytic design modules to calculate the different design considerations of the bearing system. Each module focuses on a single design aspect and calculates the associated performance variables using a series of analytic equations. This analytic method is implemented into a computer program and forms a basic CAD package capable of generating solution curves of the performance variables. These curves aid the designer in selecting the best design parameters for the system. Thus, this basic analytic design tool produces similar results to the current manual approach but in a manner which is more modern, time-efficient, user-friendly, and cost-effective.