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	SwRI prepared a three-dimensional model of the connecting rod and bearing arrangement.

Large engines that provide emergency standby power must be extremely reliable, at least for short periods of time. Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) was asked to conduct an investigation of a connecting rod bearing failure and to determine if the failed part could have continued operation for 50 hours in the damaged condition.

SwRI performed a complete analysis to determine if the failed bearing could operate in a hydrodynamic fashion, using various models to determine the survivability of the damaged bearing.

The models looked at dynamic loading on the bearing and hydrodynamic bearing design. SwRI prepared a three-dimensional model of the connecting rod and bearing arrangement for the engine of interest and applied a software package called Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems (ADAMS) which is capable of analyzing general three-dimensional kinematic and dynamic systems. Finally, a full-scale bearing simulation analysis was performed using proprietary code developed by SwRI.

For more information about damaged bearing analysis capabilities at SwRI or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact Mark Tussing at mtussing@swri.org or (210) 522-2628.
 

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Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions.

September 19, 2008