Schools

Water-lubricated journal bearings (WLJBs) are becoming more common in maritime and industrial settings since they are better for the environment and reduce the risk of contaminating water bodies with lubricating oils. However, the tribological performance of WLB depends heavily on the clearance ratio, surface condition, and journal speed. In this study, a numerical and experimental analysis will be carried out to investigate the tribological and thermal performance of WLB under different loading conditions and environments. In numerical analysis, a Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) on FLUENT will be carried out to study the effect of pressure rise on the structure of the bearing. Since water is a lubricating medium, a cavitation model will also be developed to study the effect of bearing speed on cavitation. To validate the numerical model, a lab-scale test facility will be developed to study the tribological and thermal performance along with nodal analysis.

This research proposes the relief and validation of cryogenic flow, specifically liquid nitrogen, from cryogenic fluids by using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. This model’s cryogenic transfer lines will be tested for the heat transfer, pressure drop, and cavitation potential. This will be executed using ANSYS Fluent advanced turbulence and multiphase models. The validation of cryogenic flow experiments will be pulled from other published sources. Wrapping up this study will help industries like aerospace, Nuclear Fusion, LNG transport better understand the cryogenic transfer processes, streamline the design of transfer lines, and improve the safety and efficiency of cryogenic operations.