Effects of Turbulence and Viscosity Variation on the Dynamic Coefficients of Fluid Film Journal Bearings

Many high-speed or large fluid film bearings operate in the turbulent regime. However, relatively little consideration has been given to the effects of turbulence and of the variation in viscosity on the dynamic stiffness and damping characteristics of the bearings. Since the dynamic behavior of the rotor supported on such bearings is often closely tied to the bearing dynamic coefficients, knowledge of them may be critical to both the design and the in-place correction of rotor instabilities. These effects are here considered in some detail on the basis of computer calculated analytical results, both in general dimensionless terms and with regard to a specific numerical example.