Experimental comparison of the performance of a journal bearing with a single and a twin axial groove configuration

It is often assumed that a journal bearing will operate more effectively with a twin groove arrangement than a single groove one, but little evidence has been presented in support of this. An experimental assessment of a journal bearing with either one or two axial grooves located perpendicularly to the load line was performed. It was found that under heavy loaded operation the twin groove configuration might actually deteriorate the bearing performance when compared with the single groove arrangement, namely due to uneven lubricant feed through each groove. It is concluded that the knowledge of the feed flow rates through each groove can be used to improve bearing performance under specific regimes by implementing groove deactivation or flow balancing strategies.The present work was supported by the PhD grant SFRH/BD/22278/2005 (financed by FCT POPH – QREN, the European Social Fund and MCTES) and by the project POCTI/39202/EME/2001 funded by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal) and the European Union fund FEDER. The work has been carried out at the Tribology Laboratory of Minho University. The authors greatly acknowledge the support of these institutions