Influence of geometric form deviations on operating parameters in hydrodynamic bearings

Hydrodynamic plain bearings are important machine elements. They are used in many areas of mechanical engineering, such as turbomachines, crankshaft bearings and gears. The geometry of the lubrication gap elemen-tarily influences the function as shown in several examples of abrupt failures in turbochargers. Due to toleranc-ing, the manufacturing requirements are very high. However, the question remains how large these deviations can be. ISO 12129-2 gives recommendations on form deviations depending on the minimum of plain bear-ing clearance (hmin). Nevertheless, there is no direct reference on the size or the strain on bearing. In DIN 31652-3, the tolerance of the bearing clearance is divided into -1/3 and +2/3 of itself. However, this tolerance merely has an indirect correlation with the size of the bearing and strain on the bearing. If these tolerance recommenda-tions are applied, the function of the plain bearing will not be completely fulfilled. Nonetheless, tolerances pro-vided by standards are used in geometric specifications. If these tolerances are used for in-company manufacturing, this is unproblematic in most cases. But if technical drawings are sent to an external manufacturer, toler-ance limits may be exhausted and the function cannot be ensured. Within the framework of the research project presented here, a tolerance evaluation matrix has been developed. For this, the existing standards were analyzed. In this case, the ignorance of size (diameter and width) and signif-icant operating properties (speed, load, temperature, etc.) are insufficient. The project examined and simulated various possible deviations. Selected form deviations were manufactured. The validation of the simulation results were carried out on 30mm