Load carrying capacity of misaligned hydrodynamic water-lubricated plain journal bearings with rigid bush materials

•Misaligned water-lubricated rigid plain journal bearings are studied based on CFD.•The effect of misalignment direction on bearing load capacity is presented.•The load capacity vs. misalignment angle curves for various ψ and L/D are presented.•A method for determining clearance and length of such bearings is proposed.

This paper analyzes the ultimate hydrodynamic load carrying capacity of water-lubricated plain journal bearings with rigid bush materials under misalignment effect, aiming to help designers find appropriate design parameters. The relationships between the ultimate load carrying capacity and the misalignment angle for bearings with different relative clearances, different length-to-diameter ratios are gained. Bearings with different diameters and different rotational speeds are also studied to determine how the ultimate hydrodynamic load carrying capacity changes with diameter and rotational speed. Finally, a method is provided for determining the appropriate radial clearance and length of misaligned water-lubricated rigid plain journal bearings.