The effects of bubble evolution and oil shear thinning on the static behavior of bubbly oil lubricated bearing

Bubble evolution and shear thinning effect are main factors affecting lubrication behavior of bubbly oil. In this study, a thermohydrodynamic lubrication model for the bubbly oil considering the bubble evolution and the shear thinning effect was established based on the multiphase mixtures theory. The influence of bubble evolution and shear thinning effect on the static behavior of bubbly oil lubricated bearing was analyzed, and an experimental study was conducted to verify the model. The result shows that the bubble radius is mainly dependent on the liquid pressure; the bearing static behavior is affected by the bubble evolution through the interface effect; the shear thinning effect of the pure oil can be enhanced with regarding the bubble evolution effect.