In the realm of modern machinery and marine engineering, water-lubricated bearings have gained increasing prominence due to their environmentally friendly characteristics and excellent cooling capabilities. However, accurately understanding their lubrication performance under actual working conditions remains a significant challenge. To address this issue comprehensively, the work aims to study the water-lubricated bearing-rotor coupled propulsion system. A dynamic model is meticulously constructed, taking into full account the journal bearing surface topography effect, elastic deformation effect, and journal deflection. The surface topography effect, which involves the micro and macro scale irregularities on the bearing surface, can greatly affect the fluid flow and pressure distribution within the lubricating film. The elastic deformation effect considers the deformations of the bearing components under load, which is crucial as it directly affects the lubrication gap. Meanwhile, journal deflection, an inevitable phenomenon in rotating systems, also plays a key role in the lubrication process. To solve the lubrication characteristics of this complex model, a novel solution method is proposed. This method combines computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA) techniques, enabling accurate simulation of the multi-physical field coupling problem. The effect laws of deflection on static & dynamic behavior are also analyzed comprehensively. Under a small deflection of 5.2×10-4 rad, due to the self-weight of the rotating shaft, the deformation at the lower edge of the water-lubricated bearing is relatively large. As the deflection increases, the centroid of the rotating shaft tends to move above the bearing, so the deformation at the lower edge of the bearing liner approaches zero. Regarding the effect of rotational speed, it has been found that it has no significant effect on the maximum deformation area but only affects the maximum deformation of the liner. The deformation at 1 000 r/min is 0.056 986 mm, and at 5 000 r/min, it is 1.371 5 mm, with a significant increasing trend. Evidently, the effect of rotational speed on the maximum deformation is significantly higher than that of the deflection factor. Moreover, the evolution laws of strain and stress are consistent with the deformation trend. The deflection effect, through the extrusion effect in the contact area, reduces the minimum water film thickness. This reduction accelerates the fluid flow velocity, enhancing the internal dynamic response of the fluid. As a result, parameters such as pressure become more sensitive to fluctuations in hydrodynamic parameters, thereby altering the distribution characteristics of lubrication performance. By clarifying the evolution mechanism and effect mechanism of different working conditions and structural parameters on bearing characteristics, as well as the internal correlation between multi-factor coupling effects and bearing reliability, this research not only deepens the theoretical understanding of water-lubricated bearings but also provides a solid theoretical support for improving the reliability of water-lubricated bearings considering multi-factor coupling effects. The findings have great potential applications in optimizing the design and operation of water-lubricated bearing systems in various industries, such as marine propulsion, hydroelectric power generation, and high-speed rotating machinery.
Key words
journal deflection /
water-lubricated bearing /
lubricating properties /
static performance /
dynamic performance /
mixed lubrication
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Funding
Shaanxi Provincial Key Research and Development Program (2025GH-YBXM-005); Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (JCYJ20240813150731040); Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2024A1515010406); China-CEEC Higher Education Institutions Joint Education Program (2023275)
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