Theoretical and experimental study on the fluid-structure-acoustic coupling dynamics of a new water lubricated bearing

Under low speeds and heavy loads, water lubricated bearings tend to cause friction-vibration noise, which affects the comfort and acoustic stealth performance of ships. A double-liner bearing structure is designed, which can achieve a breakthrough in the performance of load increase, drag reduction, vibration decrease and noise containment. For the sandwich liner bearings under typical working conditions, the two-way fluid-structure-acoustic interaction hydrodynamic model is constructed. The lubrication performances considering cavitation effects and sound radiation are analyzed. The fluid-structure-acoustic characteristics and sound radiation laws with different material combinations are investigated. Effects of operating conditions on deformation and stress are investigated. The critical rotating speeds when the cavitation effects initially occur are extracted. The results show that the acoustic performances are closely related to the material combinations. The research provides theoretical basis for the design, development and localization for the novel bearings.