Paper 8: An Investigation into the Performance of Dynamically Loaded Journal Bearings: Design Study

The objects of this paper are to demonstrate the use of the method described in Paper 6 and to give an indication of the effect of design parameters on the performance of a dynamically loaded bearing. An investigation into the main and big-end bearings of a diesel engine of modern design is described. The performance of a bearing is gauged by obtaining: (a) the minimum oil film thickness, (6) the maximum pressure developed within the oil, (c) the maximum load/projected area, and ( d) the bulk oil temperature rise. The influence of the engine design upon the big-end bearing performance for the particular engine under consideration is found by investigating the effects of the following parameters: ( a) bearing length-diameter ratio, (6) removal of centre-circumferential groove, ( c) inlet temperature, ( d) bearing clearance, and ( e) loading diagram. This last parameter is varied by changing in turn the piston mass, the connecting-rod mass, and the position of the connecting-rod centre of gravity. Finally, the effect upon the main bearing performance of various balance weight configurations is demonstrated. The usual assumption is made to obtain the main bearing loads: that loads imposed by a crank throw are equally distributed between neighbouring main bearings. General conclusions are made regarding the relative influence of certain bearing-design parameters upon the bearing performance.