scholarly journals The Multiphase Flow CFD Analysis in Journal Bearings Considering Surface Tension and Oil-Filler Port Flow

Author(s):  
Masayuki Ochiai ◽  
Fuma Sakai ◽  
Hiromu Hashimoto
Lubricants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masayuki Ochiai ◽  
Fuma Sakai ◽  
Hiromu Hashimoto

It is important to predict the gaseous phase area of journal bearing. However, a detailed calculation method for such gaseous phase areas has not yet been proposed. In this study, the gaseous-phase areas in small bore journal bearings under flooded and starved lubrication conditions are analyzed in terms of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of two-phase flow while using a volume of fluid (VOF) method. Furthermore, the influence of surface tension and vapor pressure conditions were investigated, and the analytical and experimental results were compared. The analytical results of VOF for vapor pressure and surface tension were observed to be consistent with the experimental observations under both flooded and starved lubrication conditions. Furthermore, under starved lubrication condition, the analytical results agree well with the observed results for the interface of the oil film and cavitation upon the rupture of the oil film. While using these results, CFD analysis of the two-phase flow of the VOF can be conducted in terms of vapor pressure and surface tension to estimate the gaseous-phase areas of journal bearings under flooded and starved lubrication conditions.


Processes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurian J. Vachaparambil ◽  
Kristian Etienne Einarsrud

With the increasing use of Computational Fluid Dynamics to investigate multiphase flow scenarios, modelling surface tension effects has been a topic of active research. A well known associated problem is the generation of spurious velocities (or currents), arising due to inaccuracies in calculations of the surface tension force. These spurious currents cause nonphysical flows which can adversely affect the predictive capability of these simulations. In this paper, we implement the Continuum Surface Force (CSF), Smoothed CSF and Sharp Surface Force (SSF) models in OpenFOAM. The models were validated for various multiphase flow scenarios for Capillary numbers of 10 − 3 –10. All the surface tension models provide reasonable agreement with benchmarking data for rising bubble simulations. Both CSF and SSF models successfully predicted the capillary rise between two parallel plates, but Smoothed CSF could not provide reliable results. The evolution of spurious current were studied for millimetre-sized stationary bubbles. The results shows that SSF and CSF models generate the least and most spurious currents, respectively. We also show that maximum time step, mesh resolution and the under-relaxation factor used in the simulations affect the magnitude of spurious currents.


Author(s):  
Stephan Uhkoetter ◽  
Stefan aus der Wiesche ◽  
Michael Kursch ◽  
Christian Beck

The traditional method for hydrodynamic journal bearing analysis usually applies the lubrication theory based on the Reynolds equation and suitable empirical modifications to cover turbulence, heat transfer, and cavitation. In cases of complex bearing geometries for steam and heavy-duty gas turbines this approach has its obvious restrictions in regard to detail flow recirculation, mixing, mass balance, and filling level phenomena. These limitations could be circumvented by applying a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach resting closer to the fundamental physical laws. The present contribution reports about the state of the art of such a fully three-dimensional multiphase-flow CFD approach including cavitation and air entrainment for high-speed turbo-machinery journal bearings. It has been developed and validated using experimental data. Due to the high ambient shear rates in bearings, the multiphase-flow model for journal bearings requires substantial modifications in comparison to common two-phase flow simulations. Based on experimental data, it is found, that particular cavitation phenomena are essential for the understanding of steam and heavy-duty type gas turbine journal bearings.


2015 ◽  
Vol 220-221 ◽  
pp. 37-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Czaban

This paper presents the results of CFD analysis of the hydrodynamic pressure distribution in slide journal bearings lubricated by non-Newtonian oil. It was assumed that the oil shear stress varies from shear rate according to the Ostwald–de Waele relationship (power law lubricant). The comparison was related to bearings differences only in properties of lubricating oil – Newtonian and non-Newtonian properties; other parameters for both in each case were the same. The Tables show relative decrease of the maximum hydrodynamic pressure value and bearing lift capacity according to the bearing lubricated with Newtonian oil, for different values of bearing relative eccentricity.


Author(s):  
Puyuan Wu ◽  
Jun Chen ◽  
Paul E. Sojka

Abstract A rotary compressor relies on an eccentric rolling piston, which rotates at high speed, to compress gas in the compression chamber. The oil in the rotary compressor is used for lubricating the bearing and sealing the clearance of sliding parts. However, the oil can exhaust from the rotary compressor by the refrigerant flow and reduce the reliability of the compressor as a result. Thus, studying the behavior of oil droplets distribution in a rotary compressor is a major challenge for manufacturers who rely on CFD tools to predict the multiphase flow. By modifying a rotary compressor, the oil behavior inside the cylinder is observed and recorded by a high-speed imaging system. In the current phase, multiple targeted locations, including the space between the bearing housing and the stator, and the space above the stator are measured in different conditions. The number, size, velocity, and morphology of oil droplets are analyzed based on multiple snapshots. The result can assist designers in improving the CFD analysis of compressors and ultimately reducing the oil discharge rate (ODR).


Author(s):  
Y. Y. Yan ◽  
Y. Q. Zu

Surface tension dominating mixings and interfacial interactions are major phenomena of multiphase flow in microchannels and a variety of micro mixers. Such phenomena are concerned with interfacial interactions not only at fluid-solid interface but also at different fluids/phases interfaces. In this paper, vortices behaviours in a mixing layer of two immiscible fluids are studied numerically. The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is employed to simulat surface tension dominated mixing process. As a mesoscopic numerical method, the LBM has many advantages, which include the ability of incorporating microscopic interactions, the simplicity of programming and the nature of parallel algorithm and is therefore ideal for simulating multiphase flow. In this article, the index function methodology of the LBM is employed to simulate surface tension dominated vertices behaviour in a two-dimensional immiscible two-phase mixing layer. The initial interface between two-fluids is evenly distributed around the midpoint in vertical direction. Different velocity perturbations which consist of a basic wave and a series of sub-harmonic waves are forced at the entrance of a rectangular mixing layer of the flow field. By changing the strength of surface tension and the combinations of perturbation waves, the effects of the surface tension and the velocity perturbation on vortices merging are investigated. The vortices contours and frequency spectrums are used to analyse the mechanism of vortices merging. Some interesting phenomena, which do not take place in a single-phase mixing layer, are observed and the corresponding mechanism is discussed in details.


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