Novel Numerical Analysis of a Self-Circulating Bearing

A novel closed-form solution representing the fluid motion within a porous bushing was created to develop a recently patented bearing configuration with a self-contained lubrication system. The configuration has a lubricant reservoir surrounding the porous bushing that continuously supplies lubrican...

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Main Authors: Elizabeth J. Clifford, Christopher C. Daniels
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/10/5337
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author Elizabeth J. Clifford
Christopher C. Daniels
author_facet Elizabeth J. Clifford
Christopher C. Daniels
author_sort Elizabeth J. Clifford
collection DOAJ
description A novel closed-form solution representing the fluid motion within a porous bushing was created to develop a recently patented bearing configuration with a self-contained lubrication system. The configuration has a lubricant reservoir surrounding the porous bushing that continuously supplies lubricant without an external pump. In regions of low pressure, the lubricant moves into the bearing clearance; where clearance pressure is high, the lubricant is transferred to the porous bushing and refills the supply reservoir. The porous bushing’s pressure distribution was used within Darcy’s law to determine the injection velocity into the bearing clearance. Selected cases were compared with previously published work for approach validation. The validity of assuming a linear distribution within the porous media was investigated, as was the variance of the attitude angle for eccentricity and the effects of porous medium thickness and bearing parameter on bearing load capacity. It was concluded that increasing the feeding parameter increased the bearing load capacity. The porous bearing’s pressure distribution, commonly assumed to be linear, was discovered to be increasingly nonlinear near the bearing’s axial ends. The effect of nonlinearity on the bearing load capacity depended on the thickness of the porous bushing and the eccentricity of the bearing.
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spelling doaj-art-8cccf6c0005f43299abea7b2885367ad2025-08-20T03:47:48ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-05-011510533710.3390/app15105337Novel Numerical Analysis of a Self-Circulating BearingElizabeth J. Clifford0Christopher C. Daniels1The Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USAThe Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USAA novel closed-form solution representing the fluid motion within a porous bushing was created to develop a recently patented bearing configuration with a self-contained lubrication system. The configuration has a lubricant reservoir surrounding the porous bushing that continuously supplies lubricant without an external pump. In regions of low pressure, the lubricant moves into the bearing clearance; where clearance pressure is high, the lubricant is transferred to the porous bushing and refills the supply reservoir. The porous bushing’s pressure distribution was used within Darcy’s law to determine the injection velocity into the bearing clearance. Selected cases were compared with previously published work for approach validation. The validity of assuming a linear distribution within the porous media was investigated, as was the variance of the attitude angle for eccentricity and the effects of porous medium thickness and bearing parameter on bearing load capacity. It was concluded that increasing the feeding parameter increased the bearing load capacity. The porous bearing’s pressure distribution, commonly assumed to be linear, was discovered to be increasingly nonlinear near the bearing’s axial ends. The effect of nonlinearity on the bearing load capacity depended on the thickness of the porous bushing and the eccentricity of the bearing.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/10/5337porousjournalanalyticalnumerical analysisself-circulating
spellingShingle Elizabeth J. Clifford
Christopher C. Daniels
Novel Numerical Analysis of a Self-Circulating Bearing
Applied Sciences
porous
journal
analytical
numerical analysis
self-circulating
title Novel Numerical Analysis of a Self-Circulating Bearing
title_full Novel Numerical Analysis of a Self-Circulating Bearing
title_fullStr Novel Numerical Analysis of a Self-Circulating Bearing
title_full_unstemmed Novel Numerical Analysis of a Self-Circulating Bearing
title_short Novel Numerical Analysis of a Self-Circulating Bearing
title_sort novel numerical analysis of a self circulating bearing
topic porous
journal
analytical
numerical analysis
self-circulating
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/10/5337
work_keys_str_mv AT elizabethjclifford novelnumericalanalysisofaselfcirculatingbearing
AT christophercdaniels novelnumericalanalysisofaselfcirculatingbearing