The Effect of Boundary Slip Condition on Cavitation Reduction in a Closed Pocket Hydrodynamic Thrust Bearing
Imam Syafaat (a,b*), Miftah Andhika Shobirin (b), Agung Nugroho (b), Muchammad (a), Mohammad Tauviqirrahman (a), Budi Setiyana (a,c)

a) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Diponegoro, Jl. Prof. Sudharto No.1, Tembalang, Semarang, Indonesia
b) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Wahid Hasyim, Jl. Menoreh Tengah X/22 Sampangan, Semarang, Indonesia
*imamsyafaat[at]unwahas.ac.id
c) Laboratory for Surface Technology and Tribology, Faculty of Engineering Technology, Universiteit Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

Abstract

Many textured bearing geometries have recently been developed to improve the resulting pressure and load support over conventional bearings. Texturing, on the other hand, will cause cavitation on the bearing surface, reducing its performance. The goal of this research is to use computational fluid dynamics to analyze the hydrodynamic pressure generated by thrust bearings. Closed pocket textured thrust bearings have slip in the location before the pocket and in the pocket area. To determine the maximum pressure generated, several variations of the lubricant^s minimum film thickness are simulated. The study^s findings revealed that the higher the minimum film thickness, the lower the resulting maximum pressure, and vice versa. When compared to the no slip condition, providing a slip at the pocket location has a benefit of between 42.8 and 98.6%. The increase in hydrodynamic pressure is greatest at a minimum film thickness of 50 &#61549-m. Although the cavitation does not go away when the slip is inserted into the pocket, the cavitation pressure can be reduced. The formation of a slip position before the pocket has the advantage of significantly reducing cavitation.

Keywords: Slip, cavitation, surface texturing, hydrodynamic thrust bearing

Topic: Mechanical Design and Construction