Starved Grease Lubrication of Rolling Contacts

Many grease lubricated roller bearings operate in the starved elastohydrodynamic (EHL) regime where there is a limited supply of lubricant to the contact (1). Under these conditions the film thickness drops to a fraction of the fully flooded value (2) and, thus, it is difficult to predict lubrication performance, or bearing life, from conventional EHL models. In this regime film thickness depends on the ability of the grease to replenish the track rather than the usual EHL considerations. The conventional view of grease lubrication is that base oil bleeds from the bulk reservoir close to the track, replenishing the inlet and forming a fluid EHL film (3). Resupply, under starved conditions, will thus depend on both operating conditions and grease parameters. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the influence of these parameters on starved lubrication in a rolling contact. Starved film thickness has been measured for a series of greases and the results have been compared to the fully flooded values. These show that the degree of starvation increases with increasing rolling speed, base oil viscosity and thickener content but decreases at higher temperatures. In many cases an increase in absolute film thickness is obtained when moving from high viscosity base oil to a low one, this result is the reverse of normally accepted EHL rules. Taking the fully flooded film thickness as a guide to lubrication performance is therefore not valid as grease film thickness in the starved regime is determined by local replenishment rather than bulk rheological properties.     

The transition between fully flooded and starved regimes in EHL

Lubricant starvation of the contact can occur in high-speed oil or grease lubricated bearings resulting in reduced elastohydrodynamic (EHL) film thickness (Lubricat. Sci. 11 (1999) 227). To achieve optimum bearing performance and component life, it is obviously desirable to be able to predict when starvation will occur and the resulting level of surface protection. For both oils and greases, the transition between fully flooded and starved behaviour is determined by lubricant loss and replenishment of the track (ASME Trans. J. Tribol. 120 (1998) 126; Cann PME, Chevalier F, Lubrecht AA. Track depletion and replenishment in a grease lubricated point contact: a quantitative analysis. Proceedings of the 23rd Leeds–Lyon Symposium on Tribology. 1996. p. 405–14). The current paper develops a criterion for the fully flooded and starved transition of an oil-lubricated contact based on four primary factors controlling lubrication level; these are volume of oil, contact dimensions, oil viscosity and speed. Experiments have been carried out using an optical EHL device to investigate the effect of each of these parameters on starvation. The results show how the boundary between the fully flooded and the starved regime and the film thickness in the starved regime depend on these parameters. A single dimensionless parameter (SD), based on replenishment local to the contact, has been established between the operating parameters and the transition from the fully flooded to starved regime.In this paper, the starvation criterion has been developed for an oil-lubricated contact with a fixed volume of oil present. The next stage is to extend the analysis to grease and the prediction of lubrication failure in bearings.     

The Prediction of Contact Pressure–Induced Film Thickness Decay in Starved Lubricated Rolling Bearings

Under starved conditions the thickness and distribution of the lubricant film in an elastohydrodynamically lubricated (EHL) contact is directly related to the distribution of lubricant on the track in the inlet to the contact. In starved lubricated rolling bearings this lubricant distribution is determined by many effects. The authors have developed a model to predict the oil lost from the track induced by EHL pressure with no replenishment. A complete bearing is modeled with multiple rolling element EHL contacts and with the applied load to the rolling elements varying along the circumference of the bearing. Results of the oil layer thickness on the track are presented for a ball bearing and a spherical roller bearing for different bearing loads and rotational speeds. The predicted layer thickness decay rate for a ball bearing is significantly larger than for a spherical roller bearing and the predicted effect of the bearing load on the decay rate is small compared to the effect of the rotational speed. The predicted decay periods due to the contact pressure effect are small compared to the observed (grease) life of bearings. The results show that a bearing cannot sustain an adequate layer of oil on the running track unless significant replenishment takes place.     

Film Forming Behavior of Greases Under Starved and Fully Flooded EHL Conditions

Improving knowledge on the film forming behavior of greases is essential to be able to develop efficient greases. This article examines how operating conditions (e.g., temperature, lubrication condition [fully flooded/starved]) and base oil viscosity influence the film forming properties of greases by comparing the behavior of two lithium-based greases and their respective base oils in rolling point contact. It is found that the onset and degree of starvation is controlled by speed (u) × viscosity (ν)/load (W) factor (uν/W) and temperature and that low uν/W values promote entrainment of thickener into contact. Thus, grease with low base oil viscosity shows significant thickener entrainment in the low speed region compared to the one with high base oil viscosity, which leads to the formation of thickener-rich viscous material during extended running with the low base oil viscosity grease. The results suggest that the shape of the film thickness versus speed curve is viscosity and uν/W range dependent. Furthermore, for the test conditions used in this study, grease-lubricated contacts appear to shift from the initial fully flooded condition to starved condition over a prolonged running of 2 h. The results from this study concur with those reported in the literature that fully flooded oil elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) theory or film thickness cannot be directly applied or taken as a guideline in grease-lubricated contacts.     

The Effect of the Electric Double Layer on Very Thin Thermal Elastohydrodynamic Lubricating Film

The effect of the electric double layer (EDL) of friction surface on lubrication is significant under the condition of very thin lubricating film. This article presents a theoretical evaluation concerning the effect of the EDL on the film thickness and the pressure distribution of the elastohydrodynamic lubricating water film. These numerical analyses are based on the modified Reynolds equation that considers the EDL. Owing to the temperature risen readily in elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) contact area, the influence of the temperature rise on the EDL effect was also investigated. The analysis results show that the EDL leads to a noticeable increase in the film thickness but has few influences on the pressure. Further, the analytical comparisons between isothermal and thermal conditions reveal that the temperature rise in the contact area weakens the effect of the EDL on the EHL film. Overall, consideration of the EDL effect gives a thicker EHL film, but once the temperature rise in the EHL regime is taken into account, the film thickness is correspondingly decreased.     

The Failure and Damage Mechanisms Under Friction of Copper in the EHL and Mixed EHL Regions

Recently, friction and wear behaviour of Copper (Cu)–steel pairs rubbed under different lubrication conditions were studied. The Stribeck curve was used to identify the different regimes of friction of copper with different virgin grain sizes: the elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication (EHL), mixed lubrication and boundary lubrication (BL) regimes. The aim of this work is the detailed analysis of the damage evolution under friction in the EHL and mixed EHL regions. The effects of load on the friction and the wear and damage mechanisms have been studied. The surfaces of Cu samples before and after friction have been analysed using SEM and AFM techniques as well as roughness and hardness measurements. It was shown that the mechanisms of damage and failure of Cu samples under friction in the EHL region are similar to the damage and failure mechanisms in Very High Cycle Fatigue. Friction in the EHL region is accompanied by initiation and coalescence of pores and microcracks. The effects of the coalescence of pores and microcracks observed in the EHL region are enlarged with a subsequent loading in the mixed EHL region. The effect of the loading rate on the transition from the EHL to BL region has been studied. It was shown that decreasing the loading rate increases significantly the load of the transition from the EHL to BL region. The pore and microcrack coalescence remain as the dominant damage mechanism under friction in the mixed EHL region with the low loading rate, while a lot of ploughing tracks and large delaminated regions appeared on the surface of Cu sample after friction with the higher loading rate.     

Full Film, Boundary Lubrication and Tribochemistry in Steel Circular Contacts Lubricated with Glycerol

In this article, the lubricating properties of pure glycerol are investigated under both mild and severe EHL regimes. Amazingly low friction coefficients (about 0.01) are reported by experiments in thick film regimes compared to traditional base oils. EHL calculations of film thickness and friction (including thermal effects) predict friction coefficients that are twice those actually found for glycerol. Chemical analysis of glycerol before and after the friction tests were performed by NMR and Karl Fischer methods, and they reveal that water is produced by tribochemical reaction as well as other species like aldehydes. This finding is in agreement with a corrosion pattern observed inside the wear scars of the steel samples. This study provides an explanation to the anomalously low friction observed in the thick film regime. In fact, water produced in the lubricant decreases traction forces due to the drastic decrease of the viscosity of glycerol with water addition.     

Influence of Cage Clearance on Bearing Lubrication©

The effect of the cage clearance on the lubricant supply and elastohydrodynamic (EHL) film thickness has been studied in a ball-on-disc device. A single pocket from a standard nylon cage was mounted around the ball. The cage was instrumented so that the clearance between the cage and ball could be altered. Film thickness measurements were made with and without the cage present and for different clearances. Two lubricants were tested: a lithium hydroxystearate grease and its base oil. Film thickness was measured with increasing speed to determine the onset of lubricant starvation. Without a cage present the grease lubricated contact starved at a very low speed, typically 0.02 m/s and the film thickness dropped to a fraction of the fully flooded value. Starvation did not occur within the speed range for the base oil.

The presence of the cage significantly changed the starvation response. For the base oil reducing the clearance induced starvation by locally removing the lubricant from the track. The grease gave a very different result as reducing cage clearance increased the starvation speed thus ensuring fully flooded behavior over a much greater speed range. The improvement in grease performance with the cage present is attributed to two effects. First, the cage with reduced clearance helps to redistribute the grease into the track. Second, the close conformity between cage and ball promotes shear degradation of the grease structure generating low-viscosity material, which improves replenishment.     

点接触弹流摩擦副动特性研究

弹流油膜具有显著的弹簧、阻尼特性,对高副机械零件和系统的动特性具有重要影响。研究弹流摩擦副的动特性,揭示弹流摩擦副动力学特性的变化规律,对改进和提升整个机械系统的动力学设计具有重要意义。基于弹流润滑理论和机械振动学,建立点接触弹流摩擦副的摩擦学-动力学耦合模型,采用数值方法求解弹流摩擦副在简谐激励下的振动响应;通过简谐激励下弹流摩擦副的阻尼环识别出弹流摩擦副的刚度和阻尼,用参数控制的方法研究载荷、速度、材料参数及椭圆度等对弹流摩擦副刚度和阻尼的影响。结果表明：在研究的速度和载荷范围内,摩擦副的刚度和阻尼随载荷和椭圆度的增大而增大,随速度和材料参数的增大而减小,其中载荷对点接触EHL摩擦副的刚度和阻尼的影响最为显著,相比阻尼,摩擦副的刚度随载荷、速度和材料参数的变化幅度要大得多。在数值算例的基础上,给出弹流摩擦副的刚度和阻尼关于载荷、速度和材料参数的拟合公式。数值比较结果表明,给出的拟合公式具有满意的精度,可快速计算弹流状态下点接触摩擦副的刚度和阻尼。     

Grease Degradation in Constant Velocity (CV) Joints

Constant velocity (CV) joints have been widely used for modern vehicles. The sealed grease of CV joints must provide low friction and wear protection for the lifetime use of the vehicle. Grease performance affects the vibration and noise level in the vehicle. Vehicles that have traveled long distances may suffer mechanical and thermal overloads, thus causing the grease to degrade due to changes in its physical and chemical properties. In this article, the grease degradation phenomenon in CV joints is investigated by collecting grease samples from both tripod joints and Birfield joints in actual vehicles that traveled various ranges of distance. In order to analyze the property changes of grease, grease penetration and oxidation induced time are measured using a penetration meter and infrared (IR) spectrometer, respectively. Where oxygen induced time (OIT) is the point that the oxidation occurs in grease. The performance variations of grease are investigated by measuring the friction and wear using linear-oscillation (SRV, Schwingung (oscillation) Reibung (friction) Verschleiss (wear)) test machine as well as the four-ball wear tester. Degradation of properties as well as performance in CV joint grease due to physical and/or chemical changes is identified.     

脂润滑弹流线接触问题的数值解

根据实测的润滑脂流动特性和流变参数,本文推导了Herschel-Bulkley流体模型的雷诺方程。应用数值方法求解了线接触脂润滑弹流问题。在求解过程中考虑了润滑脂的触变性和屈服剪应力造成的稳定乏油边界对润滑膜厚度的影响,得到数值解与实验结果相一致。本文还解释了润滑膜厚度随着剪切时间延长而减小的原因。     

润滑剂对轮轨摩擦与磨损的影响

利用MMS-2A磨损试验机模拟轮轨系统在润滑油、二硫化钼锂基脂、植物油和石墨钙基脂4种润滑剂润滑下的摩擦与磨损行为,研究润滑剂对轮轨副摩擦、磨损特性的影响.结果表明:与干态相比,4种润滑剂均使摩擦副的摩擦因数减小,表面磨痕深度减小,磨损量降低,其中石墨钙基脂的减摩和抗磨效果最好;试验结束后,轮轨试样接触表面的硬度均有不同程度的增加,其中涂有石墨钙基脂的轮轨试样的表面硬度增加最小.     

The Effect of DLC Coating Thickness on Elstohydrodynamic Friction

The application of surface coatings has been shown to reduce friction in elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL), not only in the mixed and boundary regime when asperity interactions occur, but also in the full film regime. Several studies suggest that the full film friction reduction is due to a violation of the no-slip boundary condition and thus slip is taking place between the solid and the liquid. Another hypothesis proposes that the full film friction reduction is due to the low thermal conductivity of diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings. In this work, two DLC coatings with the same composition, but different thicknesses, are investigated with uncoated steel specimens as a reference, all with the same surface roughness. Friction tests in a ball-on-disk machine show that both coatings reduce friction compared to the uncoated reference case in full film EHL. The thicker coating is significantly more effective at reducing friction than the thinner one at a maximum friction reduction of 41 % compared to 29 % for the thinner coating. Moreover, contact angle measurements, surface energy measurements, and spreading parameter calculations show no statistically significant differences between the two coatings, suggesting that the friction reduction capabilities of coatings in full film EHL cannot be described by solid–liquid interactions alone. The difference in friction reduction between the specimens in this work is mainly attributed to different thermal properties.     

Asymptotic analysis of lubricated heavily loaded point contacts with skewed direction of entrained lubricant

The paper is devoted to the application of the early developed asymptotic approach to solution of the steady isothermal problem of elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) for heavily loaded point contacts with skewed direction of entrained lubricant. It is shown that the whole contact region can be subdivided into three subregions: the central one, which is far away from the other two regions occupied by the ends of the horseshoe‐shaped pressure/gap distribution. The central region, in turn, can be subdivided into the Hertzian region and two adjacent boundary layers — the inlet and exit zones. Moreover, in the central region in the inlet and exit zones, the EHL problem can be reduced to asymptotically valid equations identical to the ones obtained in the inlet and exit zones of heavily loaded line EHL contacts. These equations can be analytically analysed and numerically solved on the basis of the stable methods using a specific regularization approach, which were developed for lubricated line contacts. Cases of pre‐critical and over‐critical lubrication regimes are considered. The by‐product of this asymptotic analysis is an easy analytical derivation of formulas for the lubrication film thickness for pre‐critical and over‐critical starved and fully flooded lubrication regimes. The latter allows for simple analysis of the film thickness as a function of the contact eccentricity and the direction of the entrained lubricant at the inlet in the contact. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stribeck Curve Under Friction of Copper Samples in the Steady Friction State

The friction and wear of a pure copper block (99.98 wt% Cu) against a hardened steel disc were studied. The effect of sliding velocity and load on the friction coefficient and wear rate of Cu samples during steady tests was studied. Elasto-hydrodynamic (EHL), mixed (ML) and boundary lubrication (BL) regions were analyzed using the Stribeck curve. The lubrication number of Schipper, Z, was used in the analysis of the Stribeck curve. The transitions from one lubrication region to another are discussed. The mixed EHL region is characterized by stable low values of the friction coefficient, wear rate and temperature. Straight asperity contact is the dominant mechanism under friction of Cu–steel pair in the BL region. High-friction coefficients and wear rates, thin lubricant films and large wear grooves indicate straight asperity contact between rubbed surfaces in the BL region. Although the dominant mechanisms in the mixed EHL and BL regions are different in principle, a steady friction state is preserved in both cases. It is expected that the steady friction state in the BL and mixed EHL regions is associated with deformation and fracture of surface layers but these process occur at different scale levels. It was shown that under friction of Cu–steel pair, two types of ML regions are observed. The first is the stable steady friction of mixed EHL with low values of the friction coefficient and wear rate. The second type of the ML region is the region of unstable friction and wear when a decrease of lubricant film leads to a change of external (roughness, temperature, friction and wear) and internal (strain and stress) parameters. It was found out that a transition to the unstable ML region occurs within a narrow range of Z parameter under definite values of the load and sliding velocity.     

Modification of graphite greases graphene nanostructures

In the article considered the problem of the devastating impact of friction to the machine parts’ and mechanisms, and ways to solve this problem. Described the method of mechanical activation of the graphite grease in a planetary mill. Experimentally determined friction coefficients of sliding of standard and mechanically activated of the graphite grease. Established that as a result of mechanical activation friction coefficient of sliding decreases in the 2.2–2.5 times. The obtained spectra of Raman scattering allow to assume, that the reduction in the friction coefficient of sliding happens at the expense of forming in a graphite grease of graphene nanostructures.     

Experimental and numerical investigation on the behavior of transverse limited micro-grooves in EHL point contacts

This study presents experimental and numerical investigations on the effects of transverse limited micro-grooves on the behavior of film thickness and friction in EHL point contacts. The tribological performance has been compared for smooth and textured surfaces in sliding and reciprocating motion and under starvation. The measurements were conducted by using a ball-on-disk tribometer equipped with a high speed camera and torque sensor. The results show that the transverse shallow micro-grooves with a length less than the diameter of the Hertzian contact are efficiently able to enhance the film thickness under different operating conditions. The beneficial effect under starved lubrication requires a mechanism for filling the depleted micro-grooves entering the contact with fresh lubricant. This mechanism can be attributed to the capillary effect in the inlet zone under starvation. The numerical simulation of the transient behavior of transverse limited micro-grooves shows agreement with experimental results. On the other hand, introducing micro-grooves as closed texture cells on one of rubbing surfaces results in a friction reduction in the reciprocating motion. The reduction of friction is substantially attributed to the film thickness enhancement.     

石墨烯作为轧钢机轴承润滑脂添加剂的研究*

为改善轧钢机轴承用润滑脂的性能,采用不同质量分数的石墨烯对润滑脂进行了改性,测定各润滑脂样品的锥入度和滴点,使用四球摩擦试验机研究石墨烯对润滑脂摩擦学性能的影响,使用扫描电子显微镜、白光干涉仪和拉曼光谱仪等分析石墨烯在润滑脂中的减摩抗磨机制。结果表明:石墨烯作为添加剂能提高润滑脂的滴点和改善润滑脂的极压性能以及减摩抗磨性能。当石墨烯质量分数为0.2%时,对润滑脂极压性能的提升效果最好,表现为烧结负荷和综合磨损值最大,较基础脂分别提高了29.0%和24.0%;当石墨烯质量分数为0.3%时,对润滑脂减摩抗磨性能的提升效果最好,摩擦因数和磨斑直径较基础脂润滑时分别下降了22.4%和13.0%,磨损体积减少了43.0%,且最大无卡咬负荷提高了21.2%。石墨烯在摩擦过程中,吸附在摩擦表面,形成保护薄膜阻止了摩擦副材料的直接接触,减少了磨损,同时提高了润滑脂的承载能力。     

Friction in starved hydrodynamically lubricated line contacts

The hydrodynamic friction coefficient, which determines the friction coefficient at high Sommerfeld numbers (viscosity⁎velocity/load) has a unique solution for the fully flooded case. As such the friction coefficient can be predicted as a function of the above number. As shown by Cameron (1976) [1] the friction coefficient in the fully flooded regime increases as the square root of the Sommerfeld number. For very low Sommerfeld numbers, the asperity interaction causes the friction coefficient to increase when entering the mixed lubrication regime.Even though a unique (and low) friction coefficient exists in the fully flooded regime, the situation is more complex in the starved regime. First of all the friction coefficient is higher in the starved regime, and secondly the coefficient depends on the degree of starvation.This paper analyses the load carrying capacity, the Poiseuille flow based friction and the Couette flow based friction, as a function of the degree of starvation. It is shown that the Poiseuille friction force diminishes fastest with starvation, followed by the load carrying capacity, and finally the Couette term diminishes slowest of all three terms.As a consequence the friction coefficient for sliding starved conditions is dominated by the Couette term.The current paper analyses the friction coefficient evolution as a function of starvation for line contact conditions, using analytical and numerical tools. Finally, curve fitted equations are given for the friction as a function of the starvation level.     

S-N型润滑添加剂的合成及其摩擦学性能研究

合成一种新型环境友好型、无灰、非磷极压抗磨剂——含羟基二烷基二硫代氨基甲酸衍生物(DDCSD)。采用红外光谱仪对其结构进行表征,利用热分析仪考察其热稳定性,使用四球试验机及SRV考察其在复合锂基润滑脂中的摩擦学性能,并用扫描电子显微镜及X射线光电子能谱分析摩擦表面形貌及表面化学成分。结果表明,DDCSD具有良好的热稳定性,能有效提高基础脂的抗磨、减摩及极压性能,可作为多功能润滑油脂添加剂ZDDP的替代品。这是由于DDCSD在摩擦过程中发生化学吸附及摩擦化学反应,在金属表面上形成了一层具有抗磨减摩性能的边界润滑膜,从而起到抗磨减摩的作用。