Numerical Study of Comparison of Thrust Bearing Slip-No Slip Condition on Acoustic Performance

Abstract

The acoustic power level (APL) produced by a thrust bearing during operation has a major effect on its performance. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the impact of slip engineered on the noise generated by thrust bearings. A numerical approach was used to simulate open pocket bearings with varying film thickness depths. At the initial location of the slip area, three bearing models were analyzed: pocket slip, pocket no slip, and smooth slip. The results show that implementing slip can reduce noise levels, turbulence kinetic energy (TKE), and turbulence eddy dissipation (TED) rate. The average APL, TKE, and TED values were the lowest at the high film thickness.