A system for wear prediction in lubricated sliding contacts

A system of analysis is developed to predict the rate of wear in sliding contacts. The essence of the approach is the proposal that the rate of wear can be predicted only in probabilistic terms. Therefore, the estimation of the probability of wear, which can be regarded as synonymous with the probability of surface asperity contacts, precedes the calculation of the wear rate. Further, recognising the fact that wear takes place within the actual area of contact, it is argued that this area consists of plastic and elastic contacts between asperities which, in turn, have different shear strengths and contribute differently to the wear process. In the case of lubricated contact, a frictional film defect represents the influence of a lubricant on the wear process. Moreover, as in this type of contact the load is supported by both lubricating film and contacting asperities, a special procedure is provided to estimate the load supported by the asperities, because it is only that part of the load which contributes to the wear. The catastrophic form of wear in lubricated contacts, that is termed ‘scuffing’, is also considered, and the probability of scuffing, under a given set of operating conditions, is estimated. The predictive system has been tested and its predictions are compared with available experimental results.     

TRIBOS: A Performance Evaluation Tool for Traction-Transmitting Partial EHD Contacts

The details are given of a computer model for performing a state-of-the-art tribological assessment of the performance of a lubricated concentrated rolling/sliding/spinning/contact comprising general anisotropic rough surfaces. The name chosen for this program is TRIBOS.

It computes: 1. The contact ellipse dimensions and area

2. The elastohydrodynamic (EHD) film thickness both at the plateau and at the constriction that forms at the rear of a lubricated concentrated contact under fully flooded (un-starved) and isothermal lubricant inlet conditions

3. The apportionment of the applied load between the asperities and the lubricant film

4. The magnitude and direction of the tractive force transmitted between the contacting bodies by the combined effects of (a) shearing of the fluid film and (b) coulomb friction between contacting asperities

5. The mean number of asperity contacts and the real contact area, i.e. the total contact area of the elastically deformed asperities

6. A film thickness correction factor accounting for lubricant starvation in the contact inlet

7. A film thickness correction factor accounting for a viscosity decrease of the inlet oil due to fluid heating

8. An index of surface fatigue behavior

The program is a synthesis of computational tools from the current literature for the computation of fluid film thickness and traction, and a general asperity simulation model for the elastic contact of anisotropic rough surfaces. In the example given, it is used to perform a comparative evaluation of the performance of 18 combinations of 9 surface roughnesses and 2 lubricants in a traction drive contact.     

滑动速度对油润滑表面胶合磨损的影响

在油润滑条件下,钢对钢摩擦副的胶合摩损不仅取决于润滑油膜是否破裂,而且取决于在摩擦表面上化学反应膜的形成情况。本文研究了在油润滑条件下滑动速度对钢摩擦副胶合的影响。在低滑动速度下摩擦表面易于形成反应膜,油膜破裂后并不直接发生胶合。胶合发生在高温、高摩擦系数的恶劣条件下。在高滑动速度下油膜破裂后很容易发生胶合,发生胶合前的表面温度和摩擦系数都比较低。     

Behavior of real roughness features within mixed lubricated non-conformal contacts

A combination of thin film colorimetric interferometry and phase shifting interferometry was used to study the effect of slide-to-roll ratio on the micro-elastohydrodynamic action and asperity-contact mechanism on the real asperity scale. The behavior of the roughness features of different scales in very thin film, real rough surface elastohydrodynamic contacts was observed from chromatic interferograms evaluated by thin film colorimetric interferometry. Obtained film thickness distribution was compared with undeformed ball surface topography measured by phase shifting interferometry. It was confirmed that the presence of deep grooves within lubricated contact can result in lubrication film breakdown under positive slide-to-roll ratio conditions when the rough surface is moving slower than the smooth surface. Negative slide-to-roll ratio conditions are much less critical from this point of view. Moreover, shallow pits formed naturally on rubbing surface as a result of surface finishing process were observed to significantly influence the film thickness formation. They act as lubricant micro-reservoirs and emit the lubricant into the contact under rolling/sliding conditions that enlarges film thickness. Such a behavior also suggests the possible beneficial tribological effect of surface texturing based on shallow micro-cavities under mixed lubrication of non-conformal surfaces.     

Sixty years of EHL

It is now 60 years since Ertel produced the first solution to the elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) problem. There has been enormous progress since then, both in numerical modelling and in experimental research on EHL. The moving, rough surface EHL problem can now be solved on laptop‐level computers, while maps of film thickness, pressure and temperature can be obtained experimentally from within rolling/sliding contacts. However, there remain some important questions that have not been fully resolved. One of the most contentious is how to describe the rheological properties of lubricants under the very severe conditions present in thin film EHL contacts. A second is how to model mixed lubricated contact, where the fluid film can break down at asperity conjunctions. But perhaps the greatest challenge to researchers in EHL is to produce useful design equations for predicting the performance of machine components operating in EHL and thereby ensure that EHL theory becomes an integral part of the design process. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

边界润滑下滑动接触表面破坏行为的数值分析

针对边界润滑条件，本文用有限元方法分析了当滚动接触处于准静态情况下，接触表面覆盖有水边界膜而且接触区内存在微观突起和微观裂纹的接触状态，阐明了液体对表面微观裂纹的影响。分析结果表明液体的存在改变了接触区的受力状态，表面裂纹造成接触区应力分布的不连续；有水存在时，最高接触压力降低并且分布均匀，但造成应力强度因子K1增大，促进裂纹的扩展。     

Effects of Friction on the Contact and Deformation Behavior in Sliding Asperity Contacts

Finite-element analyses are carried out to study the effects of friction on the contact and deformation behavior of sliding asperity contacts. In the analysis, on elastic-perfectly-plastic asperity is brought in contact with a rigid flat at a given normal approach. Two critical values of the normal approach are used to describe the asperity deformation. One is the approach corresponding to the point of initial plastic yielding, and the other at the point of full plastic flow. Additional variables used to characterize the deformation behavior include the shape and size of the plastic zone and the asperity contact size, pressure, and load capacity. Results from the finite-element analysis show that the two values of critical normal approach decrease significantly as the friction in the contact increases, particularly the approach that causes plastic flow of the asperity. The size of the plastically deformed zone is reduced by the friction when the contact becomes fully plastic. The reduction is very considerable with a high friction coefficient, and the plastic deformation is largely confined to a small thin surface layer. For a low friction coefficient, the contact size, pressure and load capacity of the asperity are not very sensitive to the friction coefficient. For a moderate friction coefficient, the contact pressure is reduced and the junction size increased; the load capacity of the asperity is not significantly affected due to the compensating effects of the pressure reduction and the junction growth. For a high friction coefficient, the pressure-junction compensation is not longer sufficient and the asperity load capacity is reduced. The degree of the friction effects on these contact variables depends on the applied force or the normal approach. Although the analyses are conducted using a line-contact model, the authors believe that the effects of friction in sliding asperity contacts of three-dimensional geometry are essentially the same and the same conclusions would have been reached. These results may provide some guidance to the modeling of rough surfaces in boundary lubrication, in which the asperity friction coefficient can be high and vary significantly both in time and from one micro-contact to another.     

The Subsurface Stress Field Created by Three-Dimensionally Rough Bodies in Contact with Traction

A numerical simulation technique for calculating the complete subsurface stress field for three-dimensionally rough bodies in sliding contact is described. The stresses are calculated using real digitized three-dimensional surface profiles. The effects of the surface roughness and the sliding friction are presented. Using an existing contact simulation code, the digitized surfaces are mathematically pressed together and the real areas of contact and the asperity pressures are calculated. The surfaces are assumed to remain elastic throughout the contact simulation process. The shear forces at the asperity contact interfaces are assumed to be proportional to their calculated normal pressures. The subsurface stresses are then determined with these known normal and tangential forces at the surface.     

A review of scuffing and running-in of lubricated surfaces, with asperities and oxides in perspective

The slow progress in the understanding of scuffing (scoring) and runningin of most lubricated surfaces is probably due to an inadequate understanding of the details of asperity deformation and oxide formation. The thickness and properties of oxides influence the stress states imposed on asperities as much as does the liquid lubricant, but the oxides are ignored in theories. Present theories also focus on adhesion as the cause of scuffing and they usually do not take account of the changing surface roughness during sliding. There may indeed be some evidence of adhesion in the later stages of damage but adhesion has not been demonstrated to be the initiating mechanism of scuffing. Plastic fatigue is the more likely explanation, and this can occur without atomic contact between the sliding surfaces.     

A simple theory of asperity contact in elastohydro-dynamic lubrication

The Greenwood and Williamson theory of random rough surfaces in contact has been combined with established elastohydrodynamic theory to provide a theoretical approach to highly loaded lubricated contacts in which the load is shared between hydrodynamic pressure and asperity contact. It is shown that, provided a major part of the load is carried by elastohydrodynamic action, the separation between the two rough surfaces is given (to a first approximation) by the film thickness which would exist between two smooth surfaces under the same conditions of load, speed and lubricant. It then follows that the asperity pressure, both real and apparent, is determined primarily by the ratio of theoretical film thickness to the combined roughness of the two surfaces (h_o/σ). A corollary of this result is that an increase in total load, which has only a small influence on the film thickness, is carried by an increase in fluid pressure and only gives rise to a small increase in asperity contact pressure.     

Effect of shot peening on rolling contact fatigue and lubricant film thickness within mixed lubricated non-conformal rolling/sliding contacts

The effect of shot peening on rolling contact fatigue (RCF) and lubricant film thickness within non-conformal rolling/sliding contacts operated under mixed lubrication conditions was observed in this study. Rolling contact fatigue tests and film thickness measurements were carried out using specimens with modified surface topography by shot peening process using glass beads having diameter between 0.07 and 0.11 mm. It has been shown that the effect of shot peening on RCF has no positive effect even if shot peened surface of the roller exhibited somewhat higher hardness in contrast to the grounded surface. The reduction of RCF may be caused due to asperities interactions because after shot peening the surface roughness of the roller was increased. Film thickness measurements confirmed that the contact is realized actually only between asperity peaks of shot peened ball and smooth disc.Conversely, no negative effect on RCF was observed when the shot peened surface of the roller was polished. The polish of asperity peaks causes the creation of lands and micro-cavities, which may be employed as lubricant micro-reservoirs. From film thickness measurements it has been observed that lubricant emitted by shallow micro-cavities can provide the local increase in lubrication film thickness, which thereby reduces asperities interactions. Similar results were obtained for start-up conditions where the squeeze lubricant enlarges film thickness and reduces surface interactions.From the obtained results, it can be suggested that properly designed surface topography modification could help to increase the efficiency of lubrication films leading to the enhancement of contact fatigue life of non-conformal mixed lubricated rolling/sliding contacts.     

An Advanced Rough Surface Continuum-Based Contact and Sliding Model in the Presence of Molecularly Thin Lubricant

A model of molecularly thin lubricant layer behavior for rough, sliding contact is presented in this work as a function of lubricant layer morphology. Building on previous work by the authors where the lubricant layer was assumed to be uniform in thickness and morphology, lubricant contributions to contact are presently treated at the asperity level and the effects of lubricant bonding ratio and coverage are accounted for. Effective stiffnesses for lubricated asperities are used to calculate the bearing and shear forces, while variable surface energy is modeled at the asperity level and used within an improved continuum adhesive formulation. Contributions from asperities in lubricant and solid contact for partial coverage are determined within the context of a statistical mechanics model. The proposed model can be used to study the mixed nanolubrication regime expected during light contact or “surfing” recording in magnetic storage, where sustained nanolubricant contact would partially deplete mobile molecules from the contact interface.     

Investigation of the strain distribution with lubrication during the deep drawing process

A lubrication/friction model can be implemented in FEM codes to predict the contact area ratio, friction coefficient and strain distribution in lubricated deep drawing process. In the lubrication analysis, the surface roughness effect on lubrication flow is included by using Wilson and Marsault's average Reynolds equation that is appropriated for mixed lubrication with severe asperity contact. With regard to the asperity contact theory, the well-known flattening effect is considered. Friction is expressed in terms of variables such as lubricant film thickness, sheet roughness, lubricant viscosity, interface pressure, sliding speed, and strain rate. The proposed lubrication/friction model combined with a finite element code of deep drawing process to predict the contact area ratio, friction coefficient and strain distribution. Numerical results showed that the present analysis provides a good agreement with the measured strain distributions.     

Contact mechanics of rough surfaces in tribology: multiple asperity contact

Contact modeling of two rough surfaces under normal approach and with relative motion is carried out to predict real area of contact and surface and subsurface stresses affecting friction and wear of an interface. When two macroscopically flat bodies with microroughness come in contact, the contact occurs at multiple asperities of arbitrary shapes, and varying sizes and heights. Deformation at the asperity contacts can be either elastic and/or elastic-plastic. If a thin liquid film is present at the interface, attractive meniscus forces may affect friction and wear. Historically, statistical models have been used to predict contact parameters, and these generally require many assumptions about asperity geometry and height distributions. With the advent of computer technology, numerical contact models of 3-D rough surfaces have been developed, particularly in the past decade, which can simulate digitized rough surfaces with no assumptions concerning the roughness distribution. In this article, a comprehensive review of modeling of multiple-asperity contacts in dry and wet conditions is presented. Contact models for homogeneous and layered, elastic and elastic-plastic solids with and without tangential loading are presented. The models reviewed in this paper fall into two groups: (a) analytical solutions for surfaces with well-defined height distributions and asperity geometry and (b) numerical solutions for real surfaces with asperities of arbitrary shape and varying size and height distributions. Implications of these models in friction and wear studies are discussed. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

In situ studies of the lubricant chemistry and frictional properties of perfluoropolyalkyl ethers at a sliding contact

In situ analyses of lubricated sliding contacts were performed by interfacing an ultraviolet Raman spectrometer to a ball-on-flat tribotester. The sliding contact was simulated by rotating a sapphire window that is transparent to ultraviolet radiation against a stationary ball. Various loads were transmitted to the contact center through the ball. A branched perfluoropolyaklyl ether (Krytox 479) and two linear perfluoropolyalkyl ethers (Fomblin 491 and Fomblin 497) have been studied under various loads at a 10 cm/s sliding speed. Krytox and a Fomblin of lower viscosity, Fomblin 497, decomposed to amorphous carbon upon sliding on a chrome steel ball but no amorphous carbon was detected from Fomblin 491. The amount of amorphous carbon at the contact area during sliding was a balance of formation and removal rates. It is postulated that surface activity of the chrome steel ball was the main cause for the lubricant degradation. The lubricant degradation at the chrome steel/sapphire interface was found to slightly increase the kinetic coefficient of friction at the contact center. However, catastrophic scuffing was not observed.     

Experimental Study of Lubricant Film Thickness Behavior in the Vicinity of Real Asperities Passing through Lubricated Contact

This article presents an experimental study of the influence of real surface micro-geometry on the film thickness in a circular elastohydrodynamic (EHD) contact formed between a real, random, rough surface of steel ball and smooth glass disk. Phase shifting interferometry was used to measure in situ initial undeformed rough surface profiles, whereas thin film colorimetric interferometry provided accurate information about micro-EHD film thickness behavior over a wide range of rolling speeds. Two real roughness features were studied in detail—a 56-nm-high ridge and a 90-nm-deep groove, both transversely oriented to the direction of surface motion. It was shown that the ridge is heavily deformed in a loaded contact and its height increases with increasing rolling speed. The asperity tip film thickness behavior is quite similar to the contact average film thickness when the film thickness is higher than the undeformed ridge height. However, below this limit the film is thicker than what the EHD theory predicts. For the groove, a local reduction in film thickness at the leading edge was observed. When the groove is passing through the EHD conjunction, it maintains its undeformed shape. The behavior of both roughness features studied shows good agreement with previous experimental observations conducted using an artificially produced ridge and groove.     

Evaluation of the real contact areas, pressure distributions and contact temperatures during sliding contact between real metal surfaces

A three-dimensional elastic contact algorithm has been developed to analyse the normal contact problems of bodies having rough surfaces. The algorithm can evaluate the real contact areas and contact pressure distributions using measured surface roughness data.

Following an approximate elastic-plastic contact solution the analysis produces more realistic elastic and plastic contact areas; in addition results of contact pressure distributions can be predicted according to a given maximum plastic limit pressure.

The technique can simulate (in an approximate way) the elastic-plastic sliding contact behaviour in the vicinity of asperities or concentrated contact areas by ignoring the effect of the tangential forces on the vertical displacement.

Assuming a certain sliding speed and a particular coefficient of friction the local temperature distribution due to the heat generation over the real contact areas can also be calculated for 'slow sliding' problems.

The results show the moving real contact areas and the contact temperature fields for an electric spark mechanical steel surface moving over a planed bronze surface. Changes of the rigid body displacement, as well as the average and maximum pressures are also presented during sliding.

The micro-contact or asperity contact behaviour for bodies having large nominal contact area and the macro-contact behaviour for bodies being in 'concentrated contact' are also compared. In the latter case an ideal smooth steel ball was slid over the previously mentioned bronze surface.     

A deterministic model for line-contact partial elastohydrodynamic lubrication

A deterministic model for partial elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) is presented in this paper. The modelling methodology adopts some of the concepts used in the stochastic modelling of partial EHL and some of the procedures for deterministic calculation of asperity pressures. The model is shown to be capable of simulating the basic process of asperity interaction and solid-to-solid contact within an EHL conjunction of rough surfaces. Deterministic results of transient partial EHL in line contacts are obtained when one pair or multiple pairs of asperities collide. The model may help to gain a fundamental understanding of the transient behaviour of asperity interactions in lubricated concentrated contacts of rough surfaces. Asperity pressures may be calculated more accurately than the conventional analyses under dry and static contact conditions. The work represents a first attempt in deterministic modelling of tribo-contacts operating in the mixed regime of micro-EHL and boundary lubrication. Future work will aim at developing more realistic models incorporating factors such as three-dimensional asperity contacts, asperity plastic deformation, thermal effects and the effect of tribo-chemistry.     

Surface Temperatures at Unlubricated Sliding Contacts

This is a theoretical paper concerned with the rise in the surface temperatures caused by frictional heating at sliding contacts. By taking into account in the theoretical model, the growth of junctions between contacting asperities due to the action of the friction force, a large improvement in the correlation with experimental surface temperature measurements at dry friction contacts has been obtained. These results are felt to support the use of the usual flash temperature technique for predicting the surface temperatures in lubricated or low friction conditions.     

Engagement behavior of lubricated porous annular disks. Part I: Squeeze film phase — surface roughness and elastic deformation effects

The lubricated clutch engagement behavior of two annular disks, one of which is covered with a layer of porous material, was analyzed. The engagement model dealt with was postulated to consist of three phases: squeeze film phase, mixed asperity contact phase and consolidating contact phase. In the squeeze film phase, the porous material is considered to be elastically deformable and to have a rough surface. Solutions of pressure distribution, load capacity and film thickness versus time have been obtained for various geometric, material and operating parameters. In the paper following (Part II) the consolidating phase behavior was analyzed based on the theory of poroelasticity, and comparison was made between analysis and experiment at squeeze film and consolidating contact phases indicating good qualitative agreement. The investigation of mixed asperity contact phase is not yet completed.