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Viscoelastic flows within eccentric rotating cylinders : journal bearings

University of British Columbia

Experiments have shown that the addition of small amounts of long-chained polymer additives to a Newtonian fluid produces desirable lubricants. Additives added to oil make the fluid viscoelastic. The effect of viscoelasticity on lubrication characteristics has recently taken on added significance with the move to yet lower-viscosity lubricants for improved energy efficiency. Any factor influencing load-bearing capacity and wear is clearly of renewed importance. The general trend towards the usage of high performance lubricants and environmentally friendly products also support the design of new lubricants. This thesis is aimed at investigating viscoelastic flows within eccentric rotating cylinders (practical application - journal bearings) using a commercial finite element software POLYFLOW. Numerous validations are performed and excellent agreements are achieved. Steady shear and small-amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) experiments are performed for specific lubricants including mineral-based and bio-based lubricants to characterize their rheological behavior. Experimental data are fitted by a viscoelastic constitutive model used for numerical simulations. The effects of fluid viscoelasticity between eccentric rotating cylinders on the flow field and on the lubrication performances are revealed in 2D and 3D respectively. From 2D investigation, an increased load capacity on the inner cylinder is found to be achieved by increasing the viscoelasticity of flow. For the first time, to our knowledge, 3D results for an UCM (Upper-Convected Maxwell) fluid at steady state are presented and the flow patterns along the axial direction within the eccentric rotating cylinders are investigated. The viscoelastic effects of those lubricants on the journal bearing performances are revealed and compared at various temperatures. The modeling and numerical simulations used to predict the flow of lubricant in a journal bearing can generate important economic benefits. This research will lead to advanced predictive tools that can be used to improve the design of journal bearing and to propose new economically viable and environmentally friendly lubricants.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2008-10-23

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/2716

Mechanical Engineering

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/