THE COPPERBELT UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

Mechanical Department

COURSE: TRIBOLOGY EM 531 Assignment Questions

DUE DATE 26.04.2016 Submit question marked by **

**QUESTION ONE

An infinitely long linear wedge bearing of length L = 100 [mm] and width B = 20 [mm] is operating
under an inlet film thickness of h0 = 20 [µm]. Assuming constant velocity U = 10 [m/s] and constant
oil viscosity η =3.5x10-3 [Pas]

i. Find the maximum load the bearing can support,

ii. Find the non-dimensional load
iii. Calculate the outlet film thickness.

QUESTION TWO
A single square linear wedge thrust pad is required to support a load of 0.4 [MN] and give minimum
film thickness of not less than 50x10-6 [m] at a temperature of 50.5oCThe lubricant has a viscosity of
19.5 [cS] at 100oC, a viscosity index of 95 and density (independent of temperature) of 870 [kg/m3].
The sliding velocity is 50 [m/s]. Assuming an isoviscous lubricating film and assuming an optimal
convergence ratio:
i. calculate the minimum pad dimensions needed to fulfill the above requirements, and
ii. estimate the friction force and coefficient of friction generated at the moving surface.

QUESTION THREE
A journal bearing of 80 [mm] diameter and 20 [mm] length is operating at a speed of 3500 [rpm] and
load of 1 [kN]. The oil effective viscosity is 9.8 [cS], oil density is ρ= 900 [kg/m3] and the bearing
operating temperature is 80oC Assume clearance/radius ratio c/R = 0.0015.
i. estimate the amount of side leakage,
ii. estimate the friction force and the coefficient of friction,
iii. calculate the bearing maximum pressure for these conditions.

QUESTION FOUR
A journal bearing of 0.06 [m] diameter, 0.015 [m] length and 10 [µm] clearance operating at 1000
[rpm] supports a load of 10 [kN]. Assuming isothermal conditions and optimal eccentricity ratio of ε
= 0.7, find the oil viscosity needed to lubricate this bearing.
QUESTION FIVE
A journal bearing has to be designed to support a radial load of 1280 N which is placed on a shaft of
96mm diameter. The shaft rotates at 1800 rpm and its eccentricity is 0.038 mm. The desired
temperature rise of the lubricant is to be 10oC. As the bearing will be well cooled, it may be assumed
that 70% of the heat generated will be convected by the oil.

Design the bearing by determining its performance characteristics if the following parameters are
given:

L = 0.102; c = 5.1 x 10-5m; µ = 4.1 x 10-2Nsm-2; Specific heat = 1800 J/Kg0C; density = 880 Kg/m3

QUESTION SIX

It is found that in the range of eccentricity ratio ε between 0.2 and 0.7 the dimensionless load
W  W {Nbd ( ) 2 }
d
coefficient, W ( defined in expression, Cd , may be related to the eccentricity ratio
and length-to-diameter ratio of the bearing, b/d, by the following expression:

W  0.68( )1.76 e 4.2

b
d

A journal bearing has a diameter of 80 mm, a length of 64 mm and a diametral clearance of 0.08 mm,
uses an oil of effective dynamic viscosity 0.04 kg/m.s and operates at 600 rev/min.

A. The load carried by the bearing in service varies between 3000 N and 15000 N.
Estimate the corresponding range of eccentricity ratio and the minimum film thickness
under the larger load,

B. What should be the length of the bearing if it is to operate at an eccentricity ratio of 0.5
under a load of 3000 N? Its other dimensions, the viscosity of the oil and the speed of
rotation remain unchanged.

C. The length of the bearing is now fixed at 48 mm while carrying a load of 3000 N.
Investigate the variation of eccentricity ratio and the minimum film thickness when the
diametral clearance varies between 0.050 mm and 0.070 mm. Hence select the
diametral clearance which gives a minimum film thickness of 0.02 mm.

QUESTION SEVEN

A. Design a hydrostatic thrust bearing for a telecommunications radar carrying 600 kN load and
rotating at 900 revs/min. The fluid viscosity is 0.027 Pa.s and the minimum film thickness
should not be less than 0.11 mm, while the outer and recess diameters are 500 mm and 420
mm respectively.
B. With reference to your results, suggest how this bearing can be optimized.
C. What is meant by synchronous whirl and half-speed whirl in journal bearings?
 QUESTION EIGHT
A full journal bearing has a nominal diameter of 50.0 mm and a bearing length of 25.0 mm. The
bearing supports a load of 3000N, and the journal design speed is 3000 rpm. The radial clearance has
been specified as 0.04 mm and the eccentricity ratio is 0.78. An SAE 10 oil with specific viscosity of
0.014 Pa.s has been chosen and the lubricant supply temperature is 50°C. Take the specific heat of the
lubricant to be 1880 [J/kgK] and the density of the lubricant to be 880 [kg/m3];

Find the temperature rise of the lubricant, the pressure distribution, the load carrying capacity, the
lubricant flow rate, the minimum film thickness, the torque required to overcome friction and the heat
generated in the bearing.

QUESTION NINE
All hydrodynamic lubrication can be expressed mathematically in the form of an equation which was
originally derived by Reynolds and is commonly known throughout the literature as the ‘Reynolds
equation’. In most engineering applications the controlling processes are too complicated to be easily
described by exact mathematical equations. There are many interacting factors and variables in the
real processes which make such a description extremely difficult, if not impossible. Several
simplifying approximations have to be made before a mathematical description of the fundamental
underlying mechanisms can be derived. All the simplifying assumptions necessary for the derivation
of the Reynolds equation are:

a. Body forces are neglected,

b. The pressure is constant throughout the thickness of the film.
c. The curvature of the surfaces is large compared with film thickness.
d. There is no slip at the boundaries.
e. The lubricant is Newtonian.
f. Flow is laminar.
g. Fluid inertia is neglected.
h. The viscosity is constant throughout the film thickness.
i.
Explain the reasons why these assumptions have to be made before deriving Reynolds equation

QUESTION TEN
A journal bearing has to be designed to support a radial load of 1280 N which is placed on a shaft of 96mm
diameter. The shaft rotates at 1800 rpm and its eccentricity is 0.038 mm. The desired temperature rise of the
lubricant is to be 100C. As the bearing will be well cooled, it may be assumed that 70% of the heat generated
will be convected by the oil.

Design the bearing by determining its performance characteristics if the following parameters are given:

L = 0.102; c = 5.1 x 10-5m; µ = 4.1 x 10-2Nsm-2; Specific heat = 1800 J/Kg0C; density = 880 Kg/m3