The Behavior of Plain Hydrodynamic Journal Bearings During Starting and Stopping

The work described is concerned with the behavior of plain, hydrodynamic journal bearings during starting and stopping under a steady load. The starting behavior indicated that a rapid buildup of hydrodynamic forces occurred in all cases. A hydrodynamic film was formed in a very short time, after which the shaft moved in a spiral shaped whirling locus to the steady state operating position. Prior to separation of the shaft and bearing surfaces, the contact was mainly a sliding situation with little or no initial rolling. At stopping, the shaft followed a typical hydrodynamic locus until rotation ceased and then a squeeze film trajectory to the final resting position.