Journal Bearing with Cavitation
Application ID: 19717
A journal bearing is composed of an outer cylinder (bearing) wrapped around an inner rotating journal (shaft), with a lubricant separating the two. Under certain operating conditions, cavitation can occur between the bearing and the journal, leading to component damage and failure. Knowing the rate of cavitation is helpful when determining the maximum applied load.
Cavitation occurs when the pressure in the lubricant falls below the saturation pressure of gasses dissolved in the lubricant.
This model uses the "Thin-Film Flow, Shell" interface to determine the lubricant pressure and mass fraction. This helps predict the onset and extent of gaseous cavitation in the lubrication layer of the journal bearing.
This model is based on the Journal Bearing model that does not include cavitation effects.
This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products:
however, additional products may be required to completely define and model it. Furthermore, this example may also be defined and modeled using components from the following product combinations:
- COMSOL Multiphysics® et
- soit le Module CFD, Module MEMS, ou Module Structural Mechanics et
- soit le Module CFD, Module Rotordynamics, ou Module Structural Mechanics
The combination of COMSOL® products required to model your application depends on several factors and may include boundary conditions, material properties, physics interfaces, and part libraries. Particular functionality may be common to several products. To determine the right combination of products for your modeling needs, review the Grille des Spécifications and make use of a free evaluation license. The COMSOL Sales and Support teams are available for answering any questions you may have regarding this.