Abstract: The phenomenon of cavitation widely exists in the journal bearings of various large rotating machinery, which affects the operational stability and load-bearing capacity of the bearings. The author designed and manufactured a set of oil film visualization experimental equipment for journal bearings, captured oil film cavitation images using high-speed cameras, and proposed an image processing method to extract oil film cavitation features. Further combining experimental research and numerical simulation research, the influencing factors of the degree of oil film cavitation in sliding bearings are explored. The research results indicate that the cavitation bubbles in radial journal bearings exhibit an irregular strip like distribution at the divergent end of the oil film; The degree of oil film cavitation is positively correlated with journal speed and lubricating oil viscosity, and inversely correlated with oil supply pressure. In the experiment, it was found that when the spindle speed increased from 1 000 r/min to 5 000 r/min, the cavitation area increased by 148%; The viscosity of lubricating oil increases from 50 mm²/s to 150 mm²/s, and the cavitation area increases by 170%; The oil supply pressure increases from 0.025 MPa to 0.150 MPa, and the cavitation area decreases by 77%.

Key words: journal bearings, cavitation phenomena, computational fluid dynamics, image processing, high-speed photography technology