A novel texture design scheme and performance enhancement mechanism of journal bearing

To address the issues of high friction loss and insufficient load-carrying capacity in journal bearings, this study proposes a texture interval design method based on the oil film rupture point and maximum film pressure point, thus systematically investigating the effects of texture depth, axial length, circumferential quantity, and texture interval on bearing performance and the underlying mechanism. The results showed that the optimal bearing load-carrying capacity and minimum friction coefficient occurred within the 40%–80% pressure texture interval, rather than the traditional half-texture interval. Specifically, under low eccentricity conditions, texture depth optimization was prioritized, while high eccentricity necessitated the regulation of texture interval. An appropriate texture length further enhances bearing performance when combined with the pressure texture interval. Mechanistic analysis reveals that the texture depth ratio dominated the pressure distribution of the lubricant medium and boundary layer separation, whereas the number of textures influences bearing performance by inducing a secondary dynamic pressure effect. This study provides an engineering-oriented multi-parameter co-optimization strategy for the structural optimization of plain bearings.