Magnetic Fluid Lubrication of Finite Journal Bearing; 3-D Analysis Using FDM

An endeavour has been made to analyze the hydrodynamic magnetic fluid based finite journal bearing by making use of finite difference method and MATLAB. Under the assumptions of hydromagnetic lubrication the Reynold’s equation is derived, in turn, which is solved resorting to finite difference method for Sommerfeld boundary conditions. Basically, 3-D representation of the pressure profile obtained using MATLAB underlines the dependence on various parameters. It is needless to say that, this article offers an additional degree of freedom from design point of view. The graphical representation of the results establishes that the performance of the bearing system enhances significantly due to magnetic fluid lubrication. Further, this investigation reveals that the role of eccentricity ratio is a predominant factor for an overall improved performance of the bearing system. Equally crucial is the role of the aspect ratio.