Three-dimensional numerical analysis of hydrodynamic characteristics of axial groove journal bearings running with ferrofluids under magnetic field

Abstract In this study, hydrodynamic characteristics of finite length journal bearings running with incompressible laminar flow under magnetic field are investigated. Ferrofluid as a lubricant contains nanoparticles of magnetite (Fe3O4). The analysis is based on the numerical solution of the full Navier-Stokes equations using computational fluid dynamics techniques. Considering the complexity of the physical geometry, conformal mapping is used to generate an orthogonal grid, and the governing equations are transformed in the computational domain. Discretized forms of the transformed equations are obtained by the control volume method and solved by the SIMPLE algorithm. Results indicated that when compared with the conventional lubricant, the ferrofluid as a lubricant enhances the hydrodynamic characteristics of journal bearings and provides a higher load capacity. Besides, it was found that the other bearing characteristics are considerably affected by the applied magnetic field.