On the performance of rough inclined stepped composite bearings with micropolar fluid

Abstract

In this paper, a theoretical analysis of the effect of surface roughness on the lubrication characteristics of inclined stepped composite bearings with micropolar fluid is examined. A generalized form of surface roughness is mathematically modeled by a stochastic random variable with non-zero mean, variance and skewness. The generalized average Reynolds type equation is derived for the rough inclined stepped composite bearings with micropolar fluid. The closed form expressions are obtained for the fluid film pressure, load carrying capacity, frictional force. These expressions can be utilized to obtain the performance characteristics of four different types of bearing system viz; rough plane inclined slider, rough composite tapered land bearing, rough stepped bearing and rough composite tapered concave bearing. The numerical computations of the results show that the negatively skewed surface roughness pattern increases fluid film pressure, load carrying capacity and decreases the coefficient of friction whereas adverse effects were found for the positively skewed surface roughness pattern. Further, the rough inclined stepped slider bearing provides the largest load carrying capacity and the least coefficient of friction as compared to the other three geometries under consideration.