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GP-ME-09EC65AMechanicalReady

Hydrodynamic journal-bearing lubrication model

A mechanical-engineering study of pressure, load capacity, film thickness, attitude angle, friction, power loss, leakage, and operating-parameter effects in a hydrodynamic journal bearing.

Hydrodynamic journal-bearing lubrication model project visual
GP-ME-09EC65A · Mechanical
  • Python
  • NumPy
  • SciPy
  • Pandas
  • Matplotlib
  • Jupyter

Project definition

Problem statement

A hydrodynamic journal bearing supports a rotating shaft through pressure generated inside a converging lubricant film. Its load capacity and losses change strongly with speed, clearance, viscosity, bearing proportions, and journal position.

The engineering problem is to calculate those relationships with a transparent numerical model and verify that the main findings are stable across grid refinement and an independent limiting solution.

Project objectives

  • Solve the steady finite-length Reynolds equation for the lubricant-film pressure field.
  • Calculate load capacity, attitude angle, minimum film thickness, friction, power loss, side leakage, and a temperature-rise screening value.
  • Compare speed, eccentricity ratio, lubricant viscosity, radial clearance, and bearing length-to-diameter ratio.
  • Measure numerical convergence across five spatial grids.
  • Verify a short-bearing case against an independent analytical pressure solution.

Project structure

Project components

01

Bearing configuration

Validates geometry, lubricant properties, operating conditions, study levels, and numerical grids.

02

Pressure solver

Builds and solves the sparse finite-difference Reynolds equation with the declared half-film boundary.

03

Performance calculation

Integrates the pressure and shear results into load, attitude, friction, power, leakage, and film-thickness measures.

04

Parametric study

Runs the reference case and 26 controlled variations of the principal design and operating inputs.

05

Verification

Compares five grids and checks a short bearing against an analytical limiting solution.

06

Evidence pipeline

Writes complete CSV, JSON, figure, test, document, and container evidence.

Methodology

Project workflow

  1. 01
    Define the bearing

    The released configuration sets the shaft, bearing, lubricant, speed, eccentricity, and spatial grid.

  2. 02
    Solve the film pressure

    The finite-difference model calculates the positive hydrodynamic pressure over the declared film region.

  3. 03
    Calculate performance

    Pressure and shear are converted into the retained engineering quantities.

  4. 04
    Vary the inputs

    Each parameter is changed in a controlled series while the remaining reference values stay fixed.

  5. 05
    Check the evidence

    Grid convergence, analytical verification, tests, tables, figures, and limitations support the final interpretation.

Demonstration scenario

The 100 mm reference journal at 1500 rpm and eccentricity ratio 0.65 supports 21.402 kN with 7.990 MPa maximum pressure and 26.25 micrometres minimum film thickness. The short-bearing verification has 2.801 percent relative L2 error, and the finest-grid load change is 0.187 percent.

Engineering

Tools and method

Tools
The project uses Python, NumPy, SciPy, Pandas, Matplotlib, Jupyter for subject analysis, simulation, and results.
Lubrication theory
A steady, incompressible, isoviscous finite-length Reynolds-equation model with a fixed half-film cavitation boundary.
Numerical method
Python, NumPy, and SciPy assemble and solve the structured sparse finite-difference system.
Analysis
Pandas, JSON, CSV, and Matplotlib retain the parameter matrix, verification results, and figures.
Verification
Five spatial grids, a short-bearing analytical comparison, 47 tests, dependency checks, repository validation, and a Linux container run.

Testing

Evaluation

Evaluation measures

  • Hydrodynamic pressure distribution and maximum pressure
  • Load capacity and attitude angle
  • Minimum lubricant-film thickness
  • Friction coefficient and power loss
  • Side leakage and temperature-rise screening value
  • Grid convergence and short-bearing analytical error

Project boundaries

  • The model is steady, laminar, isoviscous, incompressible, and smooth-surface.
  • The fixed half-film boundary does not enforce lubricant mass conservation in the cavitated region.
  • Elastic deformation, misalignment, turbulence, starvation, surface texture, wear, and transient journal motion are outside the retained model.
  • The temperature-rise value is an adiabatic screen, not a thermohydrodynamic solution.
  • Results support engineering study and comparison, not bearing certification or permission to operate machinery.

Included

  1. 01Complete Python source code
  2. 02Reference case and 26 controlled parametric cases
  3. 03Five-level grid-convergence study and short-bearing verification
  4. 04CSV and JSON results with five labelled result figures
  5. 0583-page project report in PDF and editable Word formats
  6. 0617-page setup and usage guide in PDF and editable Word formats
  7. 0754 annotated references and three attributed literature images
  8. 0847 automated tests with 99.54 percent branch-aware coverage

Project record

No information is collected on this page.

Permanent project ID
GP-ME-09EC65A
Catalogued
21 Aug 2026
Completed
28 Aug 2026
Verified
28 Aug 2026
Demonstration
Included in repository

Handover

After purchase

  1. 01
    Payment is confirmed

    The project is marked unavailable and cannot be purchased again.

  2. 02
    Repository access is granted

    The buyer's submitted GitHub account receives access to the private repository.

  3. 03
    The purchase record is delivered

    The certification sheet is prepared from the reviewed buyer details and sent privately by email.