variavel0=<b>Paulo José Brüzzi Barros</b> - bbarros@plugway.com.br Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
<b>Marco Túlio Corręa Faria</b> - mtfaria@dedalus.lcc.ufmg.br Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
<b>Ramon Molina Valle</b> - ramon@vesper.demec.ufmg.br Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
<b>Abstract.</b> A computational procedure based on the finite element and finite volume methods is developed for the thermohydrodynamic lubrication analysis of sector shaped, tapered-land thrust bearings. The Galerkin weighted residual method is employed in the finite element procedure for the Reynolds equation. A finite volume scheme using generalized coordinates is used in the solution of the energy equation for the thin oil film. A linearized perturbation procedure is applied on the Reynolds equation to render the zeroth- and first-order lubrication equations, which permit the computation of the bearing-load capacity and the bearing linearized dynamic force coefficients for different operating conditions. The numerical prediction of the hydrodynamic pressure and temperature fields within the oil film is carried out iteratively under steady-state conditions. Performance characteristic curves show the influence of the viscous dissipation and of the geometric and operating parameters on the thrust bearing behavior in thermohydrodynamic lubrication regime. The validation of the computational hybrid procedure is performed by comparing the predicted results with data available in the technical literature.
<b>Keywords.</b> Thermohydrodynamic Lubrication, Finite Element Method, Control Volume Method, Thrust Bearings.