COMPUTER GRAPHICS FOR BEARING DYNAMIC ANALYSIS

THE ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF DATA PRODUC:ED BY COMPUTER CODES USED BY THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY TO DESIGN AND EVALUATE HIGH SPEED ROLLING ELEMENT BEARINGS MAKES IT DIFFICULT AND TIME CONSUMING TO SYNTHESIZE AND EVALUATE ANALYSIS RESULTS. SOME CODES PROVIDE COMPUTER GRAPHICS FOR SPECIFIC PARAMETERS WHICH SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVES THE UNDERSTANDING AND EVALUATION OF RESULTS. HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL LIMITATIONS OF THESE GRAPHICS, IT IS SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO VISUALIZE THE TRUE OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BEARING. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO PROVIDE COMPUTER SOFTWARE THAT WILL USE THE OUTPUT FROM A BEARING DYNAMIC CODE TO PROVIDE AN ANIMATION OF THE BEARING SUCH THAT THE INTERACTIONS OF THE ELEMENTS CAN BE VISUALIZED. THE PHASE I EFFORT WILL DEVELOP THE PICTORIAL REPRESENTATION OF THE BEARING FROM THE AXIAL PERSPECTIVE. FURTHER EFFORT WILL EXPAND THE CAPABILITY FOR PROVIDIIIG DIFFERENT VIEWS AND INCLUDE THERMAL AND STRESS PROFILES IN THE BEARING COMPONEBTS. THE ANIMATION SOFTWARE WILL BE DESIGNED FOR USE ON A PERSONAL COMPUTER. THIS CAPABILITY WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THE UTILIZATION OF COMPLEX DYNAMIC BEARING ANALYSIS CODES, BY PROVIDING BETTER VISUALIZATION OF BEARING OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS, LEADING TO MORE EFFICIENT AND COST EFFECTIVE HIGH SPEED GAS TURBINE ROLLING ELEMENT BEARING DESIGNS.