Water-Lubricated Bearings

Water-lubricated bearings have many advantages, such as high cleanliness, high reliability, high specific heat capacity, high efficiency and high vibration resistance. Thanks to experimental and numerical research that has been conducted on water-lubricated bearings, the main performance characteristics have been mastered, and mature structural design and standardization systems have also been established. At present, water-lubricated bearings are widely employed in ships, submarines, water pumps and other fields. As the crucial support component of power systems, the performance and service life of water-lubricated bearings directly determines the efficiency and safety of ships in navigation. When a ship works on the sea, the shaft works under high-speed conditions. After being disturbed by the stern shaft and bearing’s weight, the problems of poor lubrication, load capacity reduction, poor stability and serious friction are still present. The following Special Issue is devoted to research on the performance of the lubrication, load-carrying, fluid–structure coupling dynamics and frictional and wear characteristics of water-lubricated bearings.