Thermal wear performance analysis of shallow groove water lubricated thrust bearing during start-up process

Abstract

During the initial period of bearing start-up, the asperity contact and relative motion between bush and thrust ring generate frictional heat, which leads to high temperature burning and wear of bearing. The shallow groove water lubricated thrust bearing is proposed, the numerical model and transient wear model of bearing start-up process are established by mixed lubrication theory, asperity contact theory and wear theory. The influence of bush surface roughness and spindle acceleration mode on the lubrication performance of bearing start-up process is analyzed. The results show that within a certain range, smaller bush surface roughness and sinusoidal acceleration method can improve the carrying capacity of water film at the initial stage of bearing start-up, reduce the friction heat generation and wear, and improve the lubrication performance of bearing start-up process. In engineering practice, smaller bush surface roughness and sinusoidal acceleration should be selected to ensure the smooth start-up of bearing.