Experimental Investigations on Effectiveness of Axial and Circumferential Grooves in Minimizing Wear of Journal Bearing Operating in Mixed Lubrication Regime

Abstract

In the present work, experimental investigations have been conducted to determine the effectiveness of providing axial and circumferential grooves in minimizing wear of journal bearing operating in mixed lubrication regime. Three bearings, with axial, circumferential and combined axial and circumferential grooves were fabricated for testing on a journal bearing test setup. Suitable running-in of the bearings was conducted before the normal wear test to achieve distinct bearing performance measured in terms of its weight loss. The bearing was operated in mixed lubrication regime by a proper combination of load and speed. Based on the experimental results a grooving arrangement that minimized the bearing wear is recommended.