Numerical analysis of water-lubricated thrust bearing with groove texture considering turbulence and cavitation

Purpose This paper aims to establish the mathematical models for the water-lubricated thrust bearing with groove texture considering turbulence and cavitation and numerically analyze the influence of rotary speed, texture depth, groove number and groove width on the static performance of the bearing. Design/methodology/approach The turbulent Reynolds equation and the Jakobsson–Floberg–Olsson cavitation model are adopted for the analysis. The Payvar–Salant algorithm and Finite difference schemes are used to discretize the governing equations. To illustrate the influence of turbulence, the performance of the bearing predicted by the turbulent and laminar models are compared. Findings According to the results, the load capacity and the friction force calculated by the turbulent model are greater than those obtained by laminar model, and the deviation between them gradually increases with the increased rotary speed. So, the turbulent effect should be fully considered for high-speed water-lubricated bearing with surface texture. There exists a peak value for the load capacity of the water-lubricated thrust bearing in respect to the texture depth, the number of grooves and the groove width ratio, while the friction force varies slowly with those parameters. Well-designed groove texture can improve the performance of the water-lubricated thrust bearing. Originality/value This paper proposes a mathematical model considering turbulent and cavitation effect for water-lubricated thrust bearing with surface texture. This model can be complementary to conventional laminar model which is used to analyze the performance of textured bearing at low rotary speed.