Influence of Scratches on the Performance of a Partial Journal Bearing

In this paper, the influence of circumferential scratches on the thermohydrodynamic performance of a partial (lobe) journal bearing is studied. The bearing damage is characterized by four factors: the area of the scratched region, the density of the scratches within the affected area, the relative position of the scratched region and the relative depth of the wear defects. The bearing performance is characterized by minimum film thickness, average oil temperature, maximum pressure, friction torque etc., at imposed magnitude and direction of the load. A numerical hydrodynamic model with global thermal effects is used for studying the influence of the different wear related parameters on the bearing performance. The results permit to predict the overall performance loss due to the circumferential wear marks, for different wear profiles. The types of wear profiles that can lead to the bearing destruction (characterized by a critical minimum film thickness) are also investigated.

Characterization of Contact Damping and Frequency in Elastic-Plastic Contact

Elastic-plastic interaction of a block of rough surface with a smooth plane is considered in this paper. The nonlinear normal vibration response of the block is examined when subject to an external compressive load. Free vibration response of the block is studied. The vibration response corresponds to the application of a constant compressive external load and the study yields closed-form equations for the contact damping rate and contact natural frequency. It is shown that vibration decay rate is constant as opposed to the exponential decay rate for the linear vibrating systems. Closed form equations relating contact damping rate and contact natural frequency to the surface parameters are given.

Mechanical Properties of ZDTP Tribofilms Measured by Nanoindentation: Strain Rate and Temperature Effects

This study aims to contribute to better understand the antiwear action of zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDTP) additives used in car engine lubrication. The antiwear action of ZDTP is associated to the formation of a protective tribofilm onto the rubbing surface. On a mechanical point of view, the efficiency of ZDTP tribofilms results from equilibrium between film formation and wear rates, associated with appropriate rheological properties. In this work, the mechanical properties of a ZDTP tribofilm have been measured by nanoindentation in different test conditions in order to investigate the effect of temperature and strain rate. A Nanoindenter XP® entirely set into a climatic chamber was used to perform the nanoindentation tests. For all tests, an increase of the elastic modulus was observed from a threshold contact pressure value. This effect is similar to the anvil effect observed on polymers: in confined geometry, the elastic modulus increases versus hydrostatic pressure. For the tribofilm, in the studied range, this effect is enhanced at high temperature and low strain rate. Furthermore, when the temperature increases, a change in the rheological behavior of the tribofilm is observed. Up to about 50°C, the tribofilm exhibits viscoplastic behavior — the hardness increases versus strain rate — and above 50°C, the hardness decreases versus strain rate (“shear thinning-like” behavior).

Scale Effects in Generalized Newtonian Elastohydrodynamic Films

The prediction of elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) film thickness requires knowledge of the lubricant properties. Today, in many instances, the properties have been obtained from a measurement of the central film thickness in an optical EHL point contact simulator and the assumption of a classical Newtonian film thickness formula. This technique has the practical advantage of using an effective pressure-viscosity coefficient which compensates for shear-thinning. We have shown by a perturbation analysis and by a full EHL numerical solution that the practice of extrapolating from a laboratory scale measurement of film thickness to the film thickness of an operating contact within a real machine may substantially overestimate the film thickness in the real machine if the machine scale is smaller and the lubricant is shear-thinning in the inlet zone.

Prototype Design of a High-Speed Viscous Air Spindle

In this paper an innovative air driven spindle for micro cutting applications is presented. The spindle uses a viscous traction concept which has the advantage that the viscous traction forces can act directly on the cylindrical part of the tool, which makes the tool-holder redundant. Furthermore, the tool can be actuated in the axial direction within the housing. In this paper the concept of the viscous turbine, a design of a prototype spindle along with the traction and load-capacity of the spindle are discussed.

Synergistic Antiwear Effects of Zinc Dialkyl Dithiophosphate and Different Detergents

The effectiveness of blends consisting of base oil, some secondary zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP), and different detergents to form antiwear tribofilms on steel surfaces sliding in the boundary lubrication regime was investigated in the temperature range of 105–125°C. The efficacy of the tribofilms formed from these blends was evaluated in terms of contact voltage and wear rate measurements. The best antiwear performance was demonstrated by the tribofilm formed from the blend containing sulphonate detergent. The results of this study provide insight into competing effects between ZDDP and different detergents that affect significantly the antiwear performance of the formed tribofilms.

Rolling/Sliding Wear Behavior of High Carbon Steel Wire Rod (HSWR) of Traction Machine

Steel wires are critical load-bearing components in a wide range of applications such as elevator, cranes, mine haulage etc. The traction machine of elevator which transmits power to wire rope causes micro-slip between wire rope and sheave during reciprocating action. The lubrication condition of wire rope is also changed due to the lack of grease. This study focuses on the wear behavior of steel wire and effect of both dry and grease conditions by using the rolling/sliding contact wear tester done under various slip ratios and rolling speeds. The experimental results of the wear volume curve against the number of revolutions under the grease condition are compared with the results under dry condition. The worn surface of steel wire and the size of wear particles were observed by SEM. In order to quantify the wear amount of steel wire we established an equation and finally obtained the wear coefficient.

Modelling of the Mechanical Behaviour of Human Joints Cartilage

A significant component of our understanding of cartilage mechanical behaviour is the ability to model its response to various types of mechanical loading, for which we require detailed knowledge of cartilage material properties. The Finite Element Analysis software ABAQUS is renowned for the ability to model poroelastic materials using the soil consolidation theory. In this research, ABAQUS has been used to model and investigate the mechanical behaviour of articular cartilage, mainly using indentation and unconfined compression techniques. A biphasic model of articular cartilage was first created and subsequently modified to incorporate more detailed material descriptions. Various material constitutive laws (and mechanical properties), accounting for the strain dependent permeability of the porous matrix, solid viscoelasticity and transverse isotropy, have been adopted to produce increasingly sophisticated models. The presence of collagen fibril networks embedded in the solid has been also considered and Fibril Reinforced Elastic and Viscoelastic models produced. A salient feature of these models is their ability to simulate fibril stiffening by replicating the nonlinear fibrillar response. In this paper, we provide an overview of the state-of-art modelling techniques adopted to simulate cartilage behaviour. The comparative study performed by the authors provides a critical assessment of the effectiveness of such techniques.

A Performance Prediction of Microgrooved Bearings Under Mixed Lubrication

In the designs and analysis of engine bearings for automobiles, the precise prediction of the lubrication condition in severe condition is important. In the mixed-elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication analysis, the contact between the projections of surface roughness distributed stochastically is usually considered. This paper describes a theoretical model under the mixed lubrication in the microgrooved bearing. In this modeling, it is assumed that the section shape of microgrooved bearing alloy takes the circular arc form. In the part where contact is caused, the contact pressure is calculated by the Hertzian equation. The elastic deformation of the bearing by the mixed pressure with which oil film pressure and contact pressure are mixed by each allotment ratio is considered. Moreover, the balance requirement between the sum total of mixed pressure on bearing surface and the journal load is met. Under such an assumption, the numerical calculation model is newly obtained to predict the bearing performance in the mixed lubrication of microgrooved bearing. The numeric solutions of EHL based on the mixed lubrication are compared with EHL based on the fluid lubrication. The predicted oil film thickness at the center of bearing by the mixed lubrication model is remarkably thin compared with that by the fluid lubrication model. This shows that the load ability of the oil film thickness decreases by generating contact.

A Study of the Average Real Contact Pressure Between Rough Surfaces

It is well known that the friction, wear, fatigue life, and contact resistance (electrical and thermal) are dependent on the contact between the rough profiles of the surfaces. Several different techniques have been used to model this contact (fractal, wavelet, statistical, multiscale, and deterministic methods). Several of these methods have found that the relationship between the real area of contact and load is linear. This suggests that there is a constant contact pressure between two surfaces (the average real contact pressure). Somewhat surprisingly, several works have found that this pressure may be greater than traditional hardness, even when the contact is heavily loaded and the contacts are deforming plastically. This mechanism is often called the asperity persistence. The current work uses a recent multiscale contact model and other theories to explain this mechanism and to help predict the average real contact pressure, especially during heavily loaded contacts.