Stability of Slip Flow in Microbearings

The linear stability of flows with wall slip in microbearings is examined. The analytic expression of the basic flow for a narrow gap and the linearized differential equation governing flow instability for the case of axisymmetric disturbances are derived by using the Navier slip model. The generalized matrix eigenvalue problem of the flow stability is solved based on a Chebyshev collocation method. Neutral stability curves with wall slip are obtained. It is shown that, when the slip coefficient representing the degree of slip increases, the stable region expands in the instability diagram, showing the stabilizing effect of slip on the flow stability.