Nonlinear analysis of the stability of hydrodynamic bearings

The linear analysis of the stability of a hydrodynamic bearing is used to determine the stability boundaries and to predict if the steady state is stable or not. A nonlinear or weakly nonlinear model is used to determine the behaviour of the system near the critical stability boundaries. By applying the Hopf bifurcation theory, the existence of stable or unstable limit cycles in the neighbourhood of the stability boundaries can be predicted depending on the characteristics of the bearing.A numerical integration of the nonlinear equations of motion is then carried out in order to verify the results obtained analytically.