Abstract: The elastohydrodynamic lubrication moel of ferrofluid bearing is set up. Based on the Reynolds equation considering thermal, the elastohydrodynamic lubrication numerical simulation of ferrofluid bearing is carried out with multigrid method. The film thickness and the pressure of the ferrofluid with different base fluid ferrofluid bearings are compared. Through comparing the pressure and film thickness of ester-based H01 ferrofluid, alkyl-based E03 ferrofluid and water-based A01 ferrofluid, the further research of water-based ferrofluid is studied and the influence of the speed and load on water-based bearing lubrication film is discussed. The numerical results show that the pressure of ferrofluid has no change, but the film thickness are decreased; The pressure peak of the water-based ferrofluid is decreased with the increase of speed. The pressure at inlet region and the film thickness are increased with the increase of speed. The pressure of the water-based ferrofluid at inlet region is decreased with the increase of load, the pressure peak and the film thickness are decreased with the increase of load.

Key words: Elastohydrodynamic lubrication, Numerical simulation, Thermal effect, Water-based ferrofluid