Numerical analysis of multiphase flow in hydrodynamic journal bearing using CFD coupled Fluid Structure interaction with cavitation

In this work, hydrodynamic journal bearing are simulated considering the realistic deformations of the bearing with fluid structure interactions (FSI) coupled with CFD. Mixture model is used model cavitation in the bearing. Parametric modeling is used to modify the flow domain due to deformation. Both systems are coupled and multi objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) is used to get optimized solution of the attitude angle and eccentricity for the combination of operating speed and load. Bearings with and without cavitation are studied. It is observed that maximum pressure values drop when cavitation is considered in the bearing. The oil vapour distribution goes on increasing with the increase in shaft speed thus lowering the magnitude of the pressure build up in the bearing. The experimental data obtained showed very good agreements with numerical results. Considerable reduction in computation time is observed.