A Fluid-Solid-Heat Coupling Analysis for Water-Lubricated Rubber Stern Bearing Considering the Deflection of Propeller Shaft

The novelty of the present study is that it investigates the effect of propeller shaft deflection, caused by the propeller self-weight and interfacial mixed forces, on the fluid-solid-heat (FSH) coupling performance of water lubricated rubber stern bearing (WLRSB). In the FSH coupling model, the generalized average Reynolds equation and the Kogut-Etsion asperity contact model are used to determine the hydrodynamic and the elastic-plastic contact behaviors of WLRSB. In the thermal analysis, the journal, water film, and rubber bushing are considered as an integrated system (JWR system) using the Euler method. To prove the correctness of the developed model, the predicted results are verified by comparisons with the experimental results given in the literature. In addition, to assess the effect of the force-driven deflection during FSH simulation, comparisons of the FSH predictions between the aligned journal case and the deflected journal case are carried out. The results indicate that, especially under a heavy load condition, the deflection of the stern shaft should be incorporated into the lubrication gap between the journal-rubber interface during the analysis of FSH performance of the JWR system.

Automated summary

This study investigates the impact of propeller shaft deflection on the fluid-solid-heat coupling performance of water lubricated rubber stern bearing, and develops a model to validate the findings. Results suggest that under heavy load conditions, the deflection of the stern shaft should be taken into account in the analysis of FSH performance of the JWR system.