Volume 48, No 1, 2026, Pages 21-38

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Performance of Microgrooves Textured Hydrodynamic Journal Bearing Under Contaminated Water Lubrication

Authors:

Kai Feng Chua , Muhammad Noor Afiq Witri Muhammad Yazid , Zulhanafi Paiman , Syahrullail Samion ,
Zuraidah Rasep

DOI: 10.24874/ti.1983.07.25.09

Received: 17 July 2025
Revised: 19 August 2025
Accepted: 27 September 2025
Published: 15 March 2026

Abstract:

This study investigates the effects of rectangular grooves on water-lubricated journal bearing (WLJB) using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Optimization of groove parameters was performed using the Taguchi grey relational analysis (GRA) method. Key surface texture parameters considered were groove width, number of grooves, and groove locations, examined under two lubricants: pure and contaminated water. Optimized configurations were further evaluated at various rotational speeds and eccentricity ratios. Results reveal that surface texture configurations can both positively and negatively affect the load-carrying capacity (LCC) and frictional force of journal bearings. The optimal configuration was identified as a groove width of 80 µm, four grooves and placement at diverging region, θ_C. In contrast, the worst configuration involved a groove width of 40 µm, six grooves and placement at minimum film thickness region, θ_B. The best texture configuration improved LCC by 33.62% and 43.33% while reducing friction force by 1.36% and 2.60% under pure and contaminated water lubrication, respectively. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of CFD-guided GRA in optimizing surface textures for enhanced WLJB operation under environmentally sustainable lubrication.

Keywords:

Hydrodynamic journal bearing, Contaminated water, Surface texture, Computational fluid dynamics, Taguchi grey relational analysis

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