Stochastic Galerkin approximation of the Reynolds equation with irregular film thickness

Abstract

We consider the approximation of the Reynolds equation with an uncertain film thickness. The resulting stochastic partial differential equation is solved numerically by the stochastic Galerkin finite element method with high-order discretizations both in spatial and stochastic domains. We compute the pressure field of a journal bearing in various numerical examples that demonstrate the effectiveness and versatility of the approach. The results suggest that the stochastic Galerkin method is capable of supporting design when manufacturing imperfections are the main sources of uncertainty.