Complete determination of the dynamic coefficients of coupled journal and thrust bearings considering five degrees of freedom for a general rotor-bearing system

A complete method is presented for calculating the stiffness and damping coefficients of coupled journal and thrust bearings of a general rotor-bearing system considering five degrees of freedom. The Reynolds equations and their perturbation equations were derived by linearization of the bearing reaction with respect to the general five degrees of freedom, i.e., the tilting displacements and angular velocities as well as the translational displacements and velocities. The Reynolds equations and their perturbation equations were transformed into finite element equations by considering the continuity of pressure and flow at the interface between the journal and the thrust bearings. The Reynolds boundary condition was included in the numerical analysis so as to simulate the phenomenon of cavitation. The stiffness and damping coefficients of the proposed method were compared with those found from a numerical differentiation of the loads with respect to the finite displacements and velocities of the bearing center. It was shown that the proposed method may be used to calculate the dynamic coefficients of coupled journal and thrust bearings more accurately and efficiently than the differentiation method. The tilting motion was also been found to play an important role in the determination of force and moment coefficients