Bearings and Lubrication 463

Sealer
Rotating
shaft

ro r

Recess

To reservoir Oil inlet p To reservoir

Figure 10.3
Schematic representation of a hydrostatic thrust bearing.

The preceding is applicable even if the recess is eliminated. In this case, ro becomes the
radius of the inlet oil-supply pipe.
Hydrostatic bearings are used in various special applications. Some examples are tele-
scopes and radar tracking units subjected to heavy loads at very low speeds as well as the
machine tools and gyroscopes under high speed but light loads. Further details may be
found in [5].
Finally, we note that friction and wear (discussed in Sections 8.3 through 8.6) are signifi-
cant considerations when boundary lubrication or metal-to-metal contact occurs. Recall
that the depth of wear (by letting A = Ap and P = W is given by

Wl
=K (8.3)
HAp

The quantities K, l, and H represent the wear coefficient, length of sliding, and Brinell
hardness of bearing material, respectively. As noted previously, W and Ap designate the
load and projected area (DL) of the bearing. Practically, it is useful to include in this rela-
tionship motion-related and environmental factors depending upon motion type, load, and
speed [10]. Observe that the properties of sliding surfaces of the lubricant are important
factors in limiting wear under lubrication conditions. Table 10.3 of Section 10.11 furnishes
designer limits of the unit bearing load P, sliding velocity V, as well as PV for various
materials. Sliding velocity for continuous motion is V = Dn. Clearly, for an acceptable bear-
ing design configuration, operating values of the preceding quantities must be less than
the values listed in the table. An application of Equation 8.3 is illustrated in the following
numerical problem.

Example 10.1: Preliminary Design of a Boundary-Lubricated Journal Bearing

A 1 in. steel shaft having 450 Bhn with an excellent lubrication rotates continuously
at a load of 40 lb at 20 rpm for 3.5 years in a sleeve of bronzelead having 170 Bhn
(Figure10.4). Estimate the largest length L of the sleeve.
Given: D = 1 in., H = 450 Bhn, n = 30 rpm, W = 40 lb, t = 2years.