Created in COMSOL Multiphysics 6.

Step Thrust Bearing

This model is licensed under the COMSOL Software License Agreement 6.2.
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Introduction
In this example the pressure distribution in a step thrust bearing is analyzed. A step thrust
bearing consists of a stepped bearing surface on which the end of the shaft rotates. The
entire assembly is submerged in a lubricant. A six step thrust bearing is considered in this
example. The shaft collar is assumed to be spinning without any axial motion in the
bearing. The simulation is performed using the Rotordynamics Module’s Hydrodynamic
Bearing interface. This interface solves the Reynolds equation to compute the pressure
developed in a thin fluid film.

Model Definition
A six-pad step thrust bearing is considered. The inner and outer pad diameters are 0.05 m
and 0.1 m, respectively. The grooves span 15° and have a depth of 200 m.

The bearing is analyzed under various conditions. This includes a parametric study of the
angular speed and the film thickness. Here the angular speed and film thickness are varied
in the intervals   [500,1000] rad/s and hfilm  [60,160] m, respectively.

The bearing geometry is shown in Figure 1 below.

Pad
Groove

Figure 1: Step thrust bearing geometry.

The effect of cavitation is also included in the computation of the fluid film pressure
distribution. The following fluid properties are needed — the dynamic viscosity, the

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density at cavitation pressure, and the compressibility. The utilized fluid parameters are
summarized in Table 1. The selected values are close to those of lubricating oils used in
real bearings.
TABLE 1: FLUID PROPERTIES.

Property Value
Density  866 kg/m3
Dynamic viscosity 0.072 Pa·s
Compressibility  10-7 Pa-1

Results and Discussion

Figure 2 shows the fluid pressure profile in the bearing for the highest values of angular
speed and film thickness.

Figure 2: Fluid film pressure profile at  = 1000 rpm with a film thickness of 160 m.

The resulting vertical force on the collar associated with the pressure distribution shown
above is 7550.1 N. This is the load carrying capacity of the bearing at the specified speed.

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The mass fraction of the lubricant, which is a measure of the cavitation, is shown in
Figure 3. It is clear that amount of cavitation is very small and is localized near the trailing
edge of the pads.

Figure 3: Mass fraction at  = 1000 rpm with a film thickness of 160 m.

The pressure distribution in radial and circumferential directions on a single pad are shown
in Figure 4 and Figure 5, respectively. The pressure at the inner and outer radius locations
are zero with the distribution marginally biased toward the outer edge. The velocity of the
collar varies linearly from the inner to the outer radius. Since the pressure is proportional
to the shear velocity in the film, it is expected to increase linearly from the inner point to
the outer point. However, along the inner and outer edge the film pressure is set to zero.
Therefore, the maximum pressure occurs toward the outer side relative to the mid

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position. In the circumferential direction, the pressure suddenly rises at the step location,
that is, the leading edge of the pad, and reduces slowly toward the trailing edge.

Figure 4: Pressure profiles in radial direction at  = 1000 rpm.

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Figure 5: Pressure profiles in circumferential direction at  = 1000 rpm.

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Figure 6 shows bearing profile computed using the film thickness.

Figure 6: Bearing profile.

Application Library path: Rotordynamics_Module/Tutorials/

step_thrust_bearing

Modeling Instructions
From the File menu, choose New.

NEW
In the New window, click Model Wizard.

MODEL WIZARD
1 In the Model Wizard window, click 3D.
2 In the Select Physics tree, select Structural Mechanics>Rotordynamics>
Hydrodynamic Bearing (hdb).
3 Click Add.

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4 Click Study.
5 In the Select Study tree, select General Studies>Stationary.
6 Click Done.

GLOBAL DEFINITIONS

Parameters 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Global Definitions click Parameters 1.
2 In the Settings window for Parameters, locate the Parameters section.
3 Click Load from File.
4 Browse to the model’s Application Libraries folder and double-click the file
step_thrust_bearing.txt.

GEOMETRY 1

Work Plane 1 (wp1)

In the Geometry toolbar, click Work Plane.

Work Plane 1 (wp1)>Plane Geometry

In the Model Builder window, click Plane Geometry.

Work Plane 1 (wp1)>Circle 1 (c1)

1 In the Work Plane toolbar, click Circle.
2 In the Settings window for Circle, locate the Size and Shape section.
3 In the Radius text field, type Ro.
4 Click to expand the Layers section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Layer name Thickness (m)

Layer 1 Ro-Ri

5 Click Build Selected.

Work Plane 1 (wp1)>Delete Entities 1 (del1)

1 Right-click Plane Geometry and choose Delete Entities.
2 In the Settings window for Delete Entities, locate the Entities or Objects to Delete section.
3 From the Geometric entity level list, choose Domain.
4 On the object c1, select Domain 5 only.
5 Click Build Selected.

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HYDRODYNAMIC BEARING (HDB)
1 Click the Show More Options button in the Model Builder toolbar.
2 In the Show More Options dialog box, in the tree, select the check box for the node
Physics>Advanced Physics Options.
3 Click OK.
Enable the Cavitation formulation in the bearing.
4 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click
Hydrodynamic Bearing (hdb).
5 In the Settings window for Hydrodynamic Bearing, locate the Physical Model section.
6 From the Fluid type list, choose Liquid with cavitation.
Reduce the Cavitation transition width for the sharper transition between the cavitated
and noncavitated regions.
7 In the psw text field, type 0.5[MPa].

MATERIALS

Material 1 (mat1)
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) right-click Materials and
choose Blank Material.
2 In the Settings window for Material, locate the Material Contents section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:

Property Variable Value Unit Property group

Dynamic viscosity mu mu_f Pa·s Basic

HYDRODYNAMIC BEARING (HDB)

Hydrodynamic Thrust Bearing 1

1 In the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Hydrodynamic Thrust Bearing.
2 In the Settings window for Hydrodynamic Thrust Bearing, locate the Boundary Selection
section.
3 From the Selection list, choose All boundaries.
Because the reference surface is assumed to be located on the collar, change the
Reference normal orientation to align it with the collar normal.
4 Locate the Reference Surface Properties section. From the Reference normal orientation
list, choose Opposite direction to geometry normal.

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5 Locate the Bearing Properties section. From the Bearing type list, choose Step.
6 In the p text field, type padAng.
7 In the di text field, type 2*Ri.
8 In the do text field, type 2*Ro.
9 In the hs text field, type hg.
10 In the hfilm text field, type h_film.
11 From the Groove type list, choose Constant arc.
12 Locate the Collar Properties section. In the  text field, type angSpeed.
13 Locate the Fluid Properties section. In the c text field, type rho_c.

Bearing Orientation 1
1 In the Model Builder window, click Bearing Orientation 1.
2 In the Settings window for Bearing Orientation, locate the Bearing Orientation section.
3 From the Axis list, choose z-axis.
4 Specify the V vector as

1 x
0 y
0 z

5 In the  text field, type gAng.

MESH 1

Mapped 1
1 In the Mesh toolbar, click More Generators and choose Mapped.
2 In the Settings window for Mapped, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose All boundaries.

Create one element per degree in the azimuthal direction to capture the pressure
accurately.

Distribution 1
1 Right-click Mapped 1 and choose Distribution.
2 Select Edges 4, 5, 8, and 10 only.
3 In the Settings window for Distribution, locate the Distribution section.
4 In the Number of elements text field, type 90.

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Distribution 2
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Mapped 1 and choose Distribution.
2 Select Edges 1, 6, 9, and 12 only.
3 In the Settings window for Distribution, locate the Distribution section.
4 In the Number of elements text field, type 20.
5 In the Model Builder window, right-click Mesh 1 and choose Build All.

STUDY 1

Step 1: Stationary
1 In the Model Builder window, under Study 1 click Step 1: Stationary.
2 In the Settings window for Stationary, click to expand the Study Extensions section.
3 Select the Auxiliary sweep check box.
4 Click Add.
5 In the table, enter the following settings:

Parameter name Parameter value list Parameter unit

h_film (Film thickness) range(6e-5,2e-5,16e-5) m

6 Click Add.
7 In the table, enter the following settings:

Parameter name Parameter value list Parameter unit

angSpeed (Angular speed of range(500,100,1000) rad/s
shaft)

8 From the Sweep type list, choose All combinations.

9 In the Home toolbar, click Compute.

Default plot shows the pressure distribution in the bearing. To generate the height plot
for the pressure distribution shown in Figure 2 start by creating a Surface dataset.

RESULTS

Surface 1
1 In the Results toolbar, click More Datasets and choose Surface.
2 In the Settings window for Surface, locate the Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose All boundaries.

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Pressure (Height)
1 In the Results toolbar, click 2D Plot Group.
2 In the Settings window for 2D Plot Group, type Pressure (Height) in the Label text
field.

Surface 1
1 Right-click Pressure (Height) and choose Surface.
2 In the Settings window for Surface, locate the Expression section.
3 In the Expression text field, type hdb.p.
4 Locate the Coloring and Style section. Click Change Color Table.
5 In the Color Table dialog box, select Traffic>Traffic in the tree.
6 Click OK.

Height Expression 1
1 Right-click Surface 1 and choose Height Expression.
2 In the Settings window for Height Expression, locate the Axis section.
3 Select the Scale factor check box. In the associated text field, type 2e-8.
4 Click the Go to Default View button in the Graphics toolbar.
5 In the Pressure (Height) toolbar, click Plot.

The following instructions are to plot the mass fraction of the lubricant shown in Figure 3.

Mass Fraction
1 In the Home toolbar, click Add Plot Group and choose 3D Plot Group.
2 In the Settings window for 3D Plot Group, type Mass Fraction in the Label text field.

Contour 1
1 Right-click Mass Fraction and choose Contour.
2 In the Settings window for Contour, click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner of
the Expression section. From the menu, choose Component 1 (comp1)>
Hydrodynamic Bearing>Cavitation>hdb.theta - Mass fraction - 1.
3 Locate the Coloring and Style section. From the Contour type list, choose Filled.
4 Locate the Levels section. In the Total levels text field, type 5.
5 Locate the Coloring and Style section. Click Change Color Table.
6 In the Color Table dialog box, select Aurora>JupiterAuroraBorealis in the tree.
7 Click OK.
8 Click the Go to Default View button in the Graphics toolbar.

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9 In the Mass Fraction toolbar, click Plot.

Figure 6 shows the bearing profile. Follow the instructions below to replicate it.

2D Plot Group 4
In the Home toolbar, click Add Plot Group and choose 2D Plot Group.

Surface 1
1 Right-click 2D Plot Group 4 and choose Surface.
2 In the Settings window for Surface, locate the Expression section.
3 In the Expression text field, type hg-hdb.h.
4 Locate the Coloring and Style section. From the Coloring list, choose Uniform.
5 From the Color list, choose Gray.

Height Expression 1
1 Right-click Surface 1 and choose Height Expression.
2 In the Settings window for Height Expression, locate the Axis section.
3 Select the Scale factor check box. In the associated text field, type 100.

Pad Profile
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results click 2D Plot Group 4.
2 In the Settings window for 2D Plot Group, type Pad Profile in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Plot Settings section. Clear the Plot dataset edges check box.
4 Click the Go to Default View button in the Graphics toolbar.
5 In the Pad Profile toolbar, click Plot.

You can also analyze the pressure distributions along the radial and circumferential
directions of the bearing shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5. Start by creating a Cut line along
the radial line.

Cut Line 3D: Radial Line

1 In the Results toolbar, click Cut Line 3D.
2 In the Settings window for Cut Line 3D, locate the Line Data section.
3 In row Point 2, set X to 0.
4 In row Point 2, set Y to Ro.
5 Click Plot.
6 In the Label text field, type Cut Line 3D: Radial Line.

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Radial Distribution of Pressure (Film Thickness)
1 In the Results toolbar, click 1D Plot Group.
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, locate the Data section.
3 From the Dataset list, choose Cut Line 3D: Radial Line.
4 From the Parameter selection (angSpeed) list, choose Last.
5 In the Label text field, type Radial Distribution of Pressure (Film Thickness).
6 Click to expand the Title section. From the Title type list, choose Label.

Line Graph 1
1 Right-click Radial Distribution of Pressure (Film Thickness) and choose Line Graph.
2 In the Settings window for Line Graph, locate the y-Axis Data section.
3 In the Expression text field, type hdb.p.
4 Click to expand the Legends section. Select the Show legends check box.
5 From the Legends list, choose Evaluated.
6 In the Legend text field, type h = eval(h_film, um) \mu m.
7 In the Radial Distribution of Pressure (Film Thickness) toolbar, click Plot.

Radial Distribution of Pressure (Film Thickness)

1 In the Model Builder window, click Radial Distribution of Pressure (Film Thickness).
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, locate the Legend section.
3 From the Position list, choose Upper left.
4 Right-click Radial Distribution of Pressure (Film Thickness) and choose Duplicate.

Radial Distribution of Pressure (Angular Speed)

1 In the Model Builder window, click Radial Distribution of Pressure (Film Thickness) 1.
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, locate the Data section.
3 From the Parameter selection (h_film) list, choose Last.
4 From the Parameter selection (angSpeed) list, choose All.
5 In the Label text field, type Radial Distribution of Pressure (Angular Speed).

Line Graph 1
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Radial Distribution of Pressure (Angular Speed)
node, then click Line Graph 1.
2 In the Settings window for Line Graph, locate the Legends section.
3 In the Legend text field, type \Omega = eval(angSpeed) rad/s.

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4 In the Radial Distribution of Pressure (Angular Speed) toolbar, click Plot.

Radial Distribution of Pressure (Film Thickness)

In the Model Builder window, collapse the Results>
Radial Distribution of Pressure (Film Thickness) node.

Use the Parameterized Curve to create the circumferential sector line.

Parameterized Curve 3D: Circumferential Line

1 In the Results toolbar, click More Datasets and choose Parameterized Curve 3D.
2 In the Settings window for Parameterized Curve 3D, locate the Parameter section.
3 In the Maximum text field, type 2*pi/N.
4 Locate the Expressions section. In the x text field, type 0.5*(Ro+Ri)*cos(s).
5 In the y text field, type 0.5*(Ro+Ri)*sin(s).
6 In the Label text field, type Parameterized Curve 3D: Circumferential Line.
7 Click Plot.

Radial Distribution of Pressure (Angular Speed), Radial Distribution of Pressure (Film

Thickness)
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results, Ctrl-click to select
Radial Distribution of Pressure (Film Thickness) and
Radial Distribution of Pressure (Angular Speed).
2 Right-click and choose Duplicate.

Circumferential Distribution of Pressure (Film Thickness)

1 In the Model Builder window, under Results click
Radial Distribution of Pressure (Film Thickness) 1.
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, type Circumferential Distribution of
Pressure (Film Thickness) in the Label text field.

3 Locate the Data section. From the Dataset list, choose

Parameterized Curve 3D: Circumferential Line.
4 In the Circumferential Distribution of Pressure (Film Thickness) toolbar, click Plot.

Circumferential Distribution of Pressure (Angular Speed)

1 In the Model Builder window, under Results click
Radial Distribution of Pressure (Angular Speed) 1.
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, type Circumferential Distribution of
Pressure (Angular Speed) in the Label text field.

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3 Locate the Data section. From the Dataset list, choose
Parameterized Curve 3D: Circumferential Line.
4 In the Circumferential Distribution of Pressure (Angular Speed) toolbar, click Plot.

Lift Force
1 In the Home toolbar, click Add Plot Group and choose 1D Plot Group.
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, type Lift Force in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Title section. From the Title type list, choose Label.

Global 1
1 Right-click Lift Force and choose Global.
2 In the Settings window for Global, click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner of
the y-Axis Data section. From the menu, choose Component 1 (comp1)>
Hydrodynamic Bearing>Fluid loads>Fluid load on collar - N>hdb.htb1.Fcz -
Fluid load on collar, z-component.
3 Click to expand the Legends section. Locate the y-Axis Data section. In the table, enter
the following settings:

Expression Unit Description

hdb.htb1.Fcz kN Fluid load on collar, z-component

4 Locate the Legends section. From the Legends list, choose Evaluated.
5 In the Legend text field, type h = eval(h_film, um) \mu m.
6 In the Lift Force toolbar, click Plot.

Lift Force
1 In the Model Builder window, click Lift Force.
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, locate the Legend section.
3 From the Position list, choose Upper left.
4 Locate the Plot Settings section.
5 Select the x-axis label check box. In the associated text field, type Angular speed of
the shaft (rad/s).
6 In the Lift Force toolbar, click Plot.

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