AN EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE THERMAL-BEHAVIOR OF A 3-LOBE PROFILE BORE BEARING

A combined experimental and numerical investigation into the thermal behaviour and its consequent effect on the performance of a three-lobe profile bore bearing is presented. Symmetric and tilted geometries are studied and the results show that loading direction has a significant effect on the thermal behaviour, but has little impact on the lubricant requirements and torque reactions in the bearing. The comparison between the numerical model and experiment shows very good correlation which supports the application of the numerical approach in the design role.