Multilobe bearings have received considerable attention in the last years. For very high rotation rates, pre-loaded three lobe bearings have been found most convenient, owing to their high functioning stability. The quantitative estimation of three lobe bearing parameters involves in the first place an exact calculation of lubricant film thickness. The present paper proposes a calculation relation for the film thickness effective for three lobe hydrodynamic bearings. In addition to the classic relation, it makes calculation easier and eliminates possible geometric errors caused by the complex positioning of the lobes.
