Grease degradation in a bearing simulation device

In this study, a ball-on-disc traction (MTM) device has been used to degrade grease under controlled thermal and shear conditions over an extended period. The tests were run under both fully flooded and semi-starved conditions to simulate the lubricant supply levels found in bearings. A simple lithium hydroxystearate grease with and without an additive package was used. At the end of the test Infrared micro-reflection spectra were taken from the track and surrounding grease to determine lubricant film composition. These results were compared to IR reflection analysis of lubricant films in used bearings. The MTM results show that in the semi-starved tests the grease “runs-in” during the first few cycles as the friction coefficient drops giving a low, stable value comparable to the fully flooded condition. During initial overolling the grease is shear degraded releasing mobile lubricant, which replenishes the contact and reduces starvation. IR analysis of the lubricant film in and around the track has shown evidence of the local degradation, the formation of thickener-rich layers and new chemical species. The unadditised grease failed towards the end of the test due to incipient starvation, which was exacerbated by the formation of oxidised thickener deposits in the track. The IR spectrum from this film was very similar to that found in some bearing samples.     

A New Form of Rolling Contact Damage in Grease-Lubricated,Deep-Groove Ball Bearings

A new form of rolling contact damage was discovered in the fatigue tests of series 6206 deep groove ball bearings under pure radial load with grease lubrication. The appearance of the damage reveals a few cracks at right angles to the rolling direction of the ball, along with the formation of a dent about 20 μ m deep in the raceway surface. This is found to occur only on the stationary outer ring raceway and the ball surface and is distributed widely within the load zone. Furthermore, under the raceway surface several cracks propagating into the substrate at an angle of about 60-80 degrees relative to the raceway surface are observed not only under the damage site but also in other nearby locations. Only the cracks at the damage position open up to the surface. The grease used for the test contained a lithium complex thickener with mineral oil as the base oil with a kinematic viscosity of 141 mm²/s at 40°C. On the test bearings two pure radial load levels of 9.14 and 12.13 kN were applied. In order to prevent the occurrence of seizure at each load, the speed of the inner ring of the test bearing was maintained at 1800-2500 min^{? 1} and 600-800 min^{? 1}, respectively, to keep the outer ring circumference temperature below 65°C. It is suggested that the damage is caused by metal-to-metal contacts due to lubricant starvation under grease lubrication and to a decrease in oil film thickness due to local increases in temperature.     

Grease lubrication of rolling element bearings — role of the grease thickener

The contribution of grease thickener to lubricant film formation was examined in this paper. Lubricant film thickness and friction were measured for different grease thickener types in a bearing simulation device. The results showed that the greases formed thick (20–80nm), low friction surface layers at low speeds, which were much greater than the corresponding base oil film. These films appeared to be formed by the physical deposition of thickener in the track during overrolling of the grease. This was confirmed by infrared reflection analysis, which showed the deposited films to have increased thickener content. The ability of grease to form renewable physically deposited solid films has significant implications for optimising lubricant formulation for certain applications, e.g. bearings operating at high temperatures and low speeds where a conventional elastohydrodynamic lubricating film would be inadequate. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Starvation and Reflow in a Grease-Lubricated Elastohydrodynamic Contact

The lubrication mechanisms of a grease in a rolling-element bearing has been studied through the measurement of film thickness in a rolling point contact. To simulate bearing conditions the contact runs under fully starved conditions; there is no attempt to maintain bulk flow of the grease into the inlet using an external supply. In consequence the film thickness drops off rapidly as the contact progressively starves. After a few minutes rolling (at constant speed) an equilibrium film thickness is attained which has two components: a residual film (h_R) comprised of degraded grease thickener and a hydrodynamic component (h_EHD) due to the liquid phase from the grease. The hydrodynamic contribution represents a balance between lubricant lost from the contact and replenishment from the grease close to the track. The ability of the grease to replenish the rolling track has been inferred from measurements of lubricant reflow around the static contact. These results are discussed in light of current starvation and grease lubrication models.     

Friction torque in grease lubricated thrust ball bearings

Thrust ball bearings lubricated with several different greases were tested on a modified Four-Ball Machine, where the Four-Ball arrangement was replaced by a bearing assembly. The friction torque and operating temperatures in a thrust ball bearing were measured during the tests. At the end of each test a grease sample was analyzed through ferrographic techniques in order to quantify and evaluate bearing wear.A rolling bearing friction torque model was used and the coefficient of friction in full film lubrication was determined for each grease, depending on the operating conditions.The experimental results obtained showed that grease formulation had a very significant influence on friction torque and operating temperature. The friction torque depends on the viscosity of the grease base oil, on its nature (mineral, ester, PAO, etc.), on the coefficient of friction in full film conditions, but also on the interaction between grease thickener and base oil, which affected contact replenishment and contact starvation, and thus influenced the friction torque.     

Microstructure Characterization of Degraded Grease in Axle Roller Bearings

Abstract

Aged mineral-oil-based, lithium-hydroxystearate-thickened grease was collected from used axle spherical roller bearings, which were used for urban commuter trains. Three types of aged grease were categorized based on the total distance that the bearing had traveled, as early life (<0.05 million km [M.km]), medium (0.3–0.6 M.km), and heavily used (1.82 and 2.0 M.km). The microstructure of degraded grease from 20 bearings was characterized in this project using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Base oil of each grease sample was released by a centrifugation method and the oxidation of bled oil was measured by infrared analysis. A notable change in grease microstructure was observed by AFM and SEM. The thickener morphology changed from an entangled helical fibril structure to particle-like nanofragments. The variation in thickener microstructure was observed in the early life grease, which suggested grease can experience an inconsistent aging process in the real-life bearings. Overall, 70.5?±?1.37?wt% base oil bled from the fresh grease, 68.2?±?0.73?wt% from the early life grease, 58.1?±?2.33?wt% from the medium used grease, and 60.0?±?6.35?wt% from the heavily used grease. The results suggest that the densely packed microstructure observed in the aged grease affects the capability of base oil bleeding from the grease. The retardation of base oil flow due to degraded grease may result in the lubricating ability of grease becoming compromised and hence result in an increased wear rate of the bearings.     

The Performance of Lubricated and Dry Ball Bearings at 450 F in Oxidizing and Inert Atmospheres at Various Pressures

The performance of grease lubricated and unlubricated ball bearings has been examined under various conditions of atmosphere and pressure. Data showing the effect on bearing life by the substitution of “self-lubricating” retainers for standard metallic cages are also included. The tests were run in atmospheres of oxygen, nitrogen, and air, at pressures from 0.5–1 mm Hg absolute to 33 inches Hg, The majority of tests were conducted at 232 C.

A general theory of bearing failure is proposed to explain the rather large variations in lubricant and bearing life brought about by the changes in the environment in which they operate.     

Chemical Analysis of Hydrocarbon Grease from Spin Bearing Tests

The rotor bearing running torque levels of certain spin bearing units were found to increase significantly during extended life testing. Samples of the greases from these tests were analyzed to determine if lubricant degradation was linked with the increased torque levels. By means of chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques, we were able to determine that oxidation of some of the greases had occurred and that the oxidative degradation was most easily observed in the soap-thickener portion of the grease. A correlation between the disappearance of the fatty acid salts and the appearance of degradation products was observed. Polymerization of the greases war observed in all samples. We also determined that the grease degradation was symptom of adverse mechanical condition in the bearings and not the primary cause of mechanical problems.     

Grease lubrication of the high-speed ball bearing for small turbomachines

The feasibility of the operation of a mainshaft ball bearing with grease lubrication at high speed has been demonstrated by rig tests. Angular contact ball bearings of 8 mm bore were used under the 137 N axial load. In order to achieve a good reliability of the grease lubrication at very high speed, the bearings have been subjected to a variety of hostile tests, including the snap accelerations from 0 to 100000 rpm within 10 seconds, extended operation at high axial loading, operation at high speed, and operation exposed to hot air at turbine inlet. From extensive experiments, it was found that the bearings could be operated up to the speed of 0.87 million DN with grease lubrication, and a low-cost grease lubrication system was developed for an expendable small turbomachine.     

往复冲击对脂润滑成膜性能影响的试验研究

冲击现象广泛存在于工业链、滚动轴承等机械零部件中,严重的情况下会引起冲击磨损。为探究冲击载荷对脂润滑条件下成膜性能的影响,在点接触光干涉弹流试验台上对锂基脂润滑条件下的膜厚演化进行冲击试验研究。试验时钢球和玻璃盘的初始间隙设置为0,冲击载荷按三角波往复变化。结果发现：在第一个冲击周期内,接触区存在大块的增稠剂纤维团,该纤维团造成接触区内的脂膜凹陷;随着冲击周期的增加,接触区内的大块增稠剂纤维团消失,脂膜厚度逐渐降低,润滑状态进入到薄膜润滑状态,最后发生了表面损伤;在任何一个冲击周期内,中心膜厚和最小膜厚大部分的时间都呈现固定值;中心膜厚随着冲击周期数的增加而减小,最小膜厚在最初的100个周期内变化很小,此后逐渐降低,最后为0。     

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.     

Effect of lubricant viscosity grade on mechanical vibration of roller bearings

This work aims to characterize vibration behavior of roller bearings as a function of lubricant viscosity. Experimental tests were performed in NU205 roller bearings, lubricated with mineral oil of three different viscosity grades (ISO 10, 32 and 68). The mechanical vibration was determined through the processing and analysis of bearing radial vibration data, obtained from each of the lubrication conditions, during 2 h of test run for temperature stabilization and under several bearing shaft speeds. The applied radial load was 10% of the bearing nominal load. Through root mean square (RMS) analysis of the vibration signals, it was possible to identify specific frequency bands modulated by the change in lubricant viscosity, which was related to change in oil film thickness.     

滚动轴承保持器磨损对轴承失效的影响

针对滚动轴承运行特点,采用XRF技术调查和分析铜、铁及尼龙为主体材料的保持器在脂润滑条件下的磨损,研究保持器磨损与轴承滚动体磨损之间的相关性及对轴承磨损失效过程的影响,并对不同材料保持器所产生的磨损颗粒对轴承及润滑脂的影响进行初步分析和探讨。统计数据分析结果表明,不同结构或材料构成的保持器在脂润滑轴承运转过程中始终存在着一定程度的磨损,且与轴承滚动体的磨损在磨损相对数量上显著相关;高聚物尼龙保持器所形成的磨损颗粒的影响,更多地反映为保持器材料中硬质填料的机械作用,而钢制保持器因其磨损颗粒具有金属活性和催化性,磨损颗粒同时还加速润滑脂的化学氧化过程及对脂稠化剂网状结构的破坏。     

An analysis of the mechanisms of grease lubrication in rolling element bearings

There are over eighteen billion bearings in use in the world, and most are grease lubricated. Grease is chosen for a variety of reasons: it gives low friction, is easily confined, and has a long lubricating life at low cost. In many applications, the grease is expected to lubricate effectively over a wide range of conditions and for extended periods. For such applications, lubricant failure leads to instantaneous and rapidly increasing damage of the components and eventually breakdown. Thus, an improved understanding of the fundamental aspects of grease lubrication has far-ranging technical and economic implications. Despite the overwhelming importance of this subject, very little is known about the mechanisms of grease lubrication and the relationship between composition, lubrication performance, and life. This paper attempts to summarise current understanding of grease lubrication mechanisms in rolling element bearings and to consolidate the different aspects of this complex topic.     

Grease Lubrication of Ultra-High Speed Rolling Contact Bearings

The failure mechanisms of grease lubricated ball bearings operating in the DN range from 1.0 × 10⁶ to 2.0 × 10⁶ was studied. A new rig capable of controlled operation of 20 and 25 mm ball bearings at speeds up to 100,000 rpm is described. Ball separator design seems to be a very important factor and a lightweight single piece machines outer ring controlled ball separator appeared to give the best results. In general, mechanical factors such as vibration, bearing design, bearing fit and tolerances, dynamic balance, load alignment, etc., have more influence on the performance of the bearings studied than gross grease variables. Under ideal conditions it is indicated that adequate lubrication with grease is possible for periods over 100 hours. However, under the test conditions generally in existence in the ultra high speed rigs grease lubrication was only adequate for very short periods.

Grease compositional factors leading to better performance are smooth texture and hard consistency. At the temperature investigated diester type oil was slightly superior to mineral oil and greatly superior to silicone oil.     

A new method for determining the mechanical stability of lubricating greases

Mechanical stability is of central importance when dealing with the long-term service-length of grease-lubricated roller bearings. Poor stability will lead to consistency degradation of the grease, because of mechanical forces between the rolling parts of the bearing. The result can be leakage of grease through seals, or at worst a total failure of the bearing. The present investigation was initiated because present-day methods for prediction of mechanical stability show weak correlation with real service-length. The aim of the project was to develop a useful alternative. In order to fulfil this, both field tests and laboratory tests were carried out. In the field tests, nine different commercial greases were examined in the wheel bearings of five ore waggons, used for transporting ore by railroad from the Kiruna Mine in northern Sweden to Narvik in northern Norway for shipping to foreign markets. The test ore waggons travelled a distance of about 300,000 km during a period of 3 years. Small samples of greases were taken, on eight different occasions, for consistency testing. After the end of the test period, the damage on the bearings was also studied. In the laboratory tests, new undestroyed greases of the same brand as in the field tests were examined using conventional methods, such as the V2F, the Roll Stability Test and the Grease Worker. Comparisons between the field tests and these laboratory tests indicate poor correlation. In addition to these conventional methods, the relevance of the shear strength of the greases to the prediction of the mechanical stability was also tested. The shear stress τ_L depends on the applied pressure p, thus τ_L=τ₀+γ·p where τ₀ is the shear stress at atmospheric pressure. γ is a property of the lubricant in the same way as viscosity or density. It was found that γ correlates well with the mechanical stability in service. Increased γ values lead to a decrease in the mechanical stability. One reasonable explanation is that high γ values correspond to high shear stresses in the grease, and thus severe conditions for the thickener.     

Chemical Degradation of a Multiply Alkylated Cyclopentane (MAC) Oil During Wear: Implications for Spacecraft Attitude Control System Bearings

The wear-induced chemical degradation process was examined using deliberately under-lubricated thrust ball bearings to create wear in a reasonable time frame. The liquid-phase products were analyzed using infrared spectroscopy and gel-permeation chromatography. Our results indicate that oil molecules react with the freshly created clean Fe surface produced during wear, and fragment into radicals by breaking C–C bonds. These free radicals produce alkenes, which can then be further attacked by radicals, leading to the formation of larger molecules (oligomers and eventually polymers). A side reaction, production of iron carboxylate salts, also occurred during wear. Additional experiments indicate that organic acids can be produced by radical reaction with the oxidized areas of the bearing surfaces and wear particles, and these acids can then attack the clean Fe surfaces created by wear to form iron carboxylate salts. We used our experimental results to estimate the amount of degradation likely to be produced in attitude control system bearing tests under conditions that produce wear and poor performance. We find that multiply alkylated cyclopentane (MAC) oil chemical degradation is an effect of wear, and is insufficient to be a cause of failure itself. Life predictions for MAC-lubricated attitude control system bearings must be based on predictions of oil transport and wear since failures are due to the failure of the lubrication system, not of the lubricant itself.     

Running Torque of Ball Bearings with Polymer Lubricant (Effect of the Enclosure Form of Polymer Lubricant)

This article deals with the running torque of ball bearings with polymer lubricant (solid composite material composed of plastic impregnated with a large amount of oil or grease). The results of the experiment showed that the measured running torque of ball bearings with polymer lubricant was affected by the enclosure form of the polymer lubricant. With regard to ball bearings with different enclosure forms of the polymer lubricant, the measured running torque difference was not affected significantly by the rotational speeds or the axial loads. The analytical results showed that the running torque difference was caused mainly by the friction (depending on the enclosure form of the polymer lubricant) between the balls and the polymer lubricant (or cage).     

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.     

Non-Newtonian Effects of Powder-Lubricant Slurries in Hydrostatic and Squeeze-Film Bearings

This paper presents the result of pressure measurements made in hydrostatic and squeeze-film bearings lubricated with a powder-lubricant slurry. The powder lubricant was powdered graphite and the carrier fluid was ethylene glycol. Pressure measurements compared favorably with analytical predictions based on a power law rheological model.

The behavior of ethylene glycol acting alone as a lubricant was also analyzed to provide a baseline for comparing the effects of the graphite powder additive on pressure and flow rate.

The hydrostatic bearing test showed that the addition of graphite powder into ethylene glycol can raise the load-carrying capacity of a lubrication system however pumping requirements are also raised. Squeeze-film bearing tests showed that the damping factor is increased with the addition of powdered graphite into the carrier fluid.