The Influence of Surface Roughness and Cavitation on Journal Bearings: A Computational Study
1Industrial Engineering, Universitas Islam Sultan Agung, Jl. Kaligawe KM.4, 50112, Semarang, Indonesia
2Mechanical Engineering, Diponegoro University, Indonesia
3Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Indonesia
4Mechanical Engineering, Universitas PGRI Semarang, Indonesia
5Industrial Engineering, Universitas Islam Sultan Agung, Indonesia
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed:
E-mail: msagaf@unissula.ac.id (MS)
E-mail: msagaf@unissula.ac.id (MS)
Received: October 05, 2024 | Revised: July 29, 2025 | Accepted: August 31, 2025 | Published: September 2025
Abstract
The influence of surface roughness on journal bearings is interesting to study because of its influence on improving their performance. This study examines the influence of introducing surface roughness on the performance of bearings with the objective of improving lubrication, reducing cavitation, and minimizing noise. This research analyzes tribological features using a numerical approach in commercial CFD (computational fluid dynamics) software. Numerical results demonstrate that surface roughness improves bearing performance. These enhancements are notable in comparison to traditional journal bearings because they have a higher capacity to carry loads, a lower coefficient of friction, and produce less noise. On smooth journal bearings, the load carrying capacity, friction force, and average acoustic power level are 3171.34 N, 1123.6 N, and 80.6 dB, respectively. The roughness variation of Ra 12.5 on journal bearings results in 4650.5 N, 993.1 N, and 76.7 dB.
Keywords
CFD ; Journal Bearing ; Cavitation ; Surface roughness
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