CFD simulation of magnetorheological fluid journal bearings

Magnetorheological fluid journal bearing can be controlled by a steady magnetic field doing that very effective for attenuating and controlling the performance of the rotor bearing systems. An integrated simulation study, of a magnetorheological (MRF) fluid journal bearing, via computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element method (FEM) is presented in this paper. The journal bearing characteristics such as, eccentricity, attitude angle, oil flow and friction coefficients are calculated and presented as functions of the magnetic field, and L/D bearing ratios. A specific procedure in order to simulate an MRF bearing operated in high eccentricity ratios is also presented and the meshing requirements are discussed. (C) 2011 Elsevier BM. All rights reserved.