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.     

Experimental study of the behaviour of real asperities within lubricated contacts

Thin film colorimetric interferometry was used in combination with phase shifting interferometry for the detailed experimental investigation of changes in real surface microgeometry within the elastohydrodynamic conjunction formed between a real, random, rough surface, a steel ball and a smooth glass disc. Three real roughness features were studied in detail — the transverse ridge, transverse groove and longitudinal groove. The ridge was found to be heavily deformed within lubricated contact and its height increased with increasing rolling speed. For the transverse groove, a local reduction in film thickness at the leading edge was observed, while the longitudinal groove maintained its undeformed shape. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of surface roughness upon the lubrication of rigid cylindrical rollers. II. Experimental

An experimental study is made of hydrodynamic effects on the motion of rough cylindrical rollers on an inclined plane submerged in a bath of viscous lubricant. The observations are analysed in relation to the theoretical predictions for lubricated rollers having surface roughness characteristics represented by circumferential grooves presented in Part I. The results demonstrate that the “rigid” lubrication theory for rough rollers predicts, in qualitative terms, many of the features of the roller motion in this mixed lubrication regime, but that it fails to predict the hydrodynamic resistance with adequate accuracy. It is suggested that the reasons for this discrepancy are to be found in the inadequate representation of the surface topography by the V-shaped circumferential grooves on the model roller and the difficulty of determining the hydrodynamic lubrication force components when the peak to valley roughness is close to twice the mean minimum film thickness.     

Experimental study of real roughness attenuation in concentrated contacts

The understanding of the processes involved in the in-contact deformation of surface roughness represents one of key factors in increasing lubrication capabilities of highly loaded machine components. Two main approaches have been developed in an effort to understand the changes of initial surface topography within highly loaded contacts to provide detailed information about lubrication film thickness and pressure distribution in the vicinity of roughness features. The first approach considers the real surface topography while the other uses the simplified topography features. Numerical solutions based on measured topography data can provide the film thickness and pressure distribution around asperities of realistic scale; nevertheless, obtained results are typically limited to the specific topography configuration measured from a very small area of rubbing surface. That is why some researchers have considered harmonic features of various wavelength and amplitudes to explain the behaviour of real roughness.This study is focused on the experimental validation of an approach based on Fourier decomposition of the surface roughness into harmonic components. Two optical measurement techniques—phase shifting interferometry and thin film colorimetric interferometry are combined to provide the undeformed surface topography and film thickness data within the elastohydrodynamic contact formed between a smooth disk and a ball having a real rough surface. The results obtained under pure rolling conditions not only confirmed the general principle that roughness deformation is component dependent and that long wavelengths deform more than short wavelengths, also the observed deformation for different components agreed well with the data predicted by the theory.     

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.     

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.     

渐开线直齿轮瞬态微观热弹流润滑分析

考虑了瞬态效应、轮齿表面油膜温度场和轮齿表面纵向粗糙度等因素,对渐开线直齿圆柱齿轮的弹流润滑问题进行研究。载荷由双齿或单齿承担,根据实际载荷谱简化的轮齿载荷曲线,利用压力求解的多重网格法和弹性变形求解的多重网格积分法以及温度求解的逐列扫描技术,得到渐开线直齿轮瞬态微观热弹流润滑问题的完全数值解,讨论了轮齿间油膜的厚度、压力、温度沿啮合线的变化规律。数值计算结果表明,齿轮表面纵向粗糙度对轮齿间油膜的压力、膜厚、温升都有较大影响。考虑轮齿表面粗糙度后,油膜压力和温升明显增大,并随压力的增加而影响越来越显著,粗糙峰使油膜压力分布和温度分布产生振荡,轮齿表面的粗糙峰对摩擦因数影响较小,摩擦因数和最高温升在节点两侧最大。     

Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication of Rough Surfaces under Oscillatory Line Contact with Non-Newtonian Lubricant

This paper presents the results of a transient analysis of elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) of two parallel cylinders in line contact with a non-Newtonian lubricant under oscillatory motion. Effects of the transverse harmonic surface roughness are also investigated in the numerical simulation. The time-dependent Reynolds equation uses a power law model for viscosity. The simultaneous system of modified Reynolds equation and elasticity equation with initial conditions was solved using the multigrid, multilevel method with full approximation technique. The film thickness and the pressure profiles were determined for smooth and rough surfaces in the oscillatory EHL conjunctions, and the film thickness predictions were verified experimentally.

For an increase in the applied load on the cylinders or a decrease in the lubricant viscosity, there is a reduction in the minimum film thickness, as expected. The predicted film thickness for smooth surfaces is slightly higher than the film thickness obtained experimentally, owing primarily to cavitation that occurred in the experiments. The lubricant film under oscillatory motion becomes very thin near the ends of the contact when the velocity goes to zero as the motion direction changes, but a squeeze film effect keeps the fluid film thickness from decreasing to zero. This is especially true for surfaces of low elastic modulus. Harmonic surface roughness and the viscosity and power law index of the non-Newtonian lubricant all have significant effects on the film thickness and pressure profile between the cylinders under oscillatory motion.     

表面凹槽对滚子链套筒-销轴摩擦副热弹流润滑影响的数值模拟

以工业滚子链为工程背景,研究表面沟槽对套筒-销轴铰链副在充分供油条件下的热弹流润滑问题的影响。分析基于长椭圆接触假设,建立稳态热弹流润滑的数学模型,采用纵向和横向2种凹槽的表面织构形式。结果表明:在椭圆接触区长轴两端布置2个对称的纵向凹槽时,可以起到储油的作用,增加局部油膜厚度;在椭圆接触区长轴两端各布置3个对称的横向凹槽时,会引起油膜厚度、压力与温度的急剧变化,增加了动压效应。在接触区端部设置横向凹槽的效果要好于设置纵向凹槽。     

Effect of surface texturing on rolling contact fatigue within mixed lubricated non-conformal rolling/sliding contacts

The rolling contact fatigue (RCF) life of highly loaded machine components is significantly influenced by the surface roughness features so that there is a continuous effort to design the topography of rubbing surfaces to enhance lubrication efficiency and prolong the operation of machine components. It can be suggested from the recent experimental results that lubricant emitted from shallow micro-dents could effectively lift off the real roughness features and reduce the asperities interactions within rolling/sliding mixed lubricated contacts. Thereby the additional supply of lubricant from surface features could help to reduce the risk of surface damage through the reduction of the interaction of rubbing surfaces during start-up or starvation. However, the introduction of such roughness features into the rubbing surfaces of highly loaded non-conformal contacts should consider not only the effects on lubrication film thickness but also on RCF.That is why this study is focused on the effects of surface texturing on RCF within non-conformal rolling/sliding contacts operated under mixed lubrication conditions. The principal task has been whether possible beneficial effect on film thickness is not accompanied by the reduction in RCF life. Textures with various sizes of micro-dents and their arrangement within the contacts have been considered. It has been found that results obtained with textured surfaces have exhibited no obvious reduction in RCF. Conversely, some increase in RCF using textured surfaces was observed that could be attributed to the positive contribution of micro-dents working as lubricant micro-reservoirs that reduce asperities interactions. Nevertheless, further experiments are necessary to confirm this possible beneficial contribution of surface texturing on RCF.     

Analysis of the thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication of a finite line contact

A complete numerical solution for the thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) problem of a finite line contact between an infinite plane and an axially profiled cylindrical roller is obtained. The pressure profile and the film shape in the middle part of the roller are very different from those at the ends. However, the finite line contact results in the middle part of the roller are nearly the same as those of the corresponding infinite line contact. It is revealed that, in a finite line contact, the maximum pressure, the highest film temperature and the minimum film thickness all occur at the end regions of the roller. A comparison is made between isothermal and thermal solutions of a finite line contact. In addition, variations in the minimum film thickness, the maximum pressure and the highest temperature with the dimensionless velocity parameter, the slide/roll ratio and the radius of the end profiles of the roller are discussed.     

考虑表面粗糙度和热效应的线接触非牛顿混合润滑分析

为了研究表面粗糙度及热效应对非牛顿混合润滑的影响,基于平均流量模型,考虑表面粗糙度以及热效应,建立线接触非牛顿混合润滑模型。研究表面粗糙度对膜厚、膜厚比、平均摩擦因数、载荷比以及温度分布的影响,并与等温解进行比较。结果表明:随着表面粗糙度的增大,油膜温度逐渐升高,尤其是出口区与入口区的温升最为显著,且油膜温升越大,载荷比及平均摩擦因数越大,膜厚比越小;与等温解相比,热解的膜厚比及平均摩擦因数小,载荷比大;等温与热条件相比,中心膜厚与最小膜厚随表面粗糙度的变化趋势差异显著,说明热效应对混合润滑的影响不可忽略。     

Influence of surface roughness on normal-sliding lubrication

Contact between machine components can involve normal, sliding and rolling motion, either singly or in combination. Combined normal and sliding motion, which occur for example in the meshing of gear teeth and in heavily-loaded rolling elements, can present problems for lubrication. The purpose of the present experimental study was to investigate how surface roughness affects the lubricant film characteristics under conditions of combined normal and sliding motion. The experimental arrar gement consisted of a rotating roller which impacted a stationary ball in the presence of a lubricant. Under the same conditions of normal surface approach, increasing the surface roughness significantly decreased the level of roller sliding that could occur without breakdown of the lubricating film. This behaviour was similar to a step function. Of the several surface roughness parameters investigated, only those which involved the maximum peak-to-valley height correlated well with experimental results. In general, surface roughness had a greater effect on oil film breakdown than did either viscosity or load.     

Effect of surface texturing on mixed lubricated non-conformal contacts

The behaviour of surface texturing based on shallow micro-dents was observed within mixed lubricated non-conformal contacts and compared with results obtained under thin film elastohydrodynamic conditions. Thin film colorimetric interferometry was used to observe the changes in lubrication film thickness. It was found that lubricant emitted by micro-dents could effectively lift off the real roughness features that provided an increase in average but also the local minimum film thicknesses. On the contrary to smooth contact conditions no film thickness reduction is obvious either downstream or upstream the micro-dent. The possible beneficial effect of surface texturing on mixed lubricated contact was checked through the qualitative wear test. It confirmed that an array of shallow micro-dents reduced asperity interactions of rubbing surfaces. Moreover, the effect of micro-dents on rolling contact fatigue was also considered in this study. It has been shown that individual dents would have to be much deeper compared to those used in surface texturing experiments to cause reduction in contact fatigue life. It can be suggested from the obtained results that properly designed surface texturing could help to increase the separation of rubbing surfaces under mixed lubrication conditions.     

Investigation into the Normal Contact Stiffness of Rough Surface in Line Contact Mixed Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication

In this work, the statistical asperity microcontact models in combination with the acoustic spring model and the load sharing concept are utilized to study the interfacial normal contact stiffness for a rough surface in line contact elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL). Two different statistical microcontact models of Greenwood and Williamson (GW) and Kogut and Etsion (KE) are employed to derive the normal contact stiffness expressions for a dry rough line contact considering the purely elastic contact and the multiple regimes elastic–elastoplastic–fully plastic contact, respectively. The liquid film stiffness is calculated based on the relationship between film thickness and bulk modulus of the lubricant. The lubricant film thickness equations are employed in conjunction with the load sharing concept and the empirical formulas for the maximum contact pressure in a dry rough contact are fitted for the GW model and the KE model, to evaluate the relationship between film thickness and motion velocity for the purely elastic GW microcontact model and the multiregime KE microcontact model, respectively. The comparison with experimental results shows that the KE model predicts closer total contact stiffness results than the GW model. The stiffness contributions from the solid asperity contact and lubricant film are obtained and effects of surface roughness, applied load, motion velocity, and type of lubricant on the normal contact stiffness are analyzed.     

The effect of surface texturing on thin EHD lubrication films

Surface texturing has been successfully used for conformal contacts in many tribological applications in an effort to diminish friction and wear. However, the use of such a surface modifications are still in nascent as far as highly loaded contacts between non-conformal surfaces are concerned. It is mainly caused by the fact that the presence of such micro-features within these contacts can significantly influence the pressure distribution within the contact. Nevertheless, it has been shown in recent studies that the surface texturing can also have beneficial tribological effects if the depth of micro-features is properly designed. This paper is devoted to the experimental study of the effect of the micro-dents of various depths on thin lubrication films to find an experimental evidence of the micro-feature depth threshold for surface texturing applications in highly loaded non-conformal surfaces. The behaviour of an array of micro-dents within thin EHD contacts has been studied by thin film colorimetric interferometry. The influence of surface texturing on lubricant film formation has been observed under sliding/rolling conditions. The significant effect of micro-dents depth on lubricant film thickness is observed for positive slide-to-roll ratio when the disc is moving faster than the micro-textured ball. The presence of deep micro-dents within lubricated contact results in film thickness reduction downstream. As the depth of micro-dents is reduced, this effect diminishes and beneficial effect of micro-dents on film thickness formation has been observed. No significant influence of micro-dents depth on lubricant film shape has been observed in case of negative slide-to-roll conditions when micro-dents do not cause film thickness reduction regardless of their depths.     

Experimental and Numerical Study of Micropitting Initiation in Real Rough Surfaces in a Micro-elastohydrodynamic Lubrication Regime

Micropitting is a form of surface fatigue damage that happens at the surface roughness scale in lubricated contacts in commonly used machine elements, such as gears and bearings. It occurs where the specific film thickness (ratio of smooth surface film thickness to composite surface roughness) is sufficiently low for the contacts to operate in the mixed lubrication regime, where the load is in part carried by direct asperity contacts. Micropitting is currently seen as a greater issue for gear designers than is regular pitting fatigue failure as the latter can be avoided by control of steel cleanliness. This paper describes the results of both theoretical and experimental studies of the onset of micropitting in test disks operated in the mixed lubrication regime. A series of twin disk mixed-lubrication experiments were performed in order to examine the evolution of micropitting damage during repeated cyclic loading of surface roughness asperities as they pass through the contact. Representative measurements of the surfaces used in the experimental work were then evaluated using a numerical model which combines a transient line contact micro-elastohydrodynamic lubrication (micro-EHL) simulation with a calculation of elastic sub-surface stresses. This model generated time-history of stresses within a block of material as it passes through the contact, based on the instantaneous surface contact pressure and traction at each point in the computing mesh at each timestep. This stress time-history was then used within a shear-strain-based fatigue model to calculate the cumulative damage experienced by the surface due to the loading sequence experienced during the experiments. The proposed micro-EHL model results and the experimental study were shown to agree well in terms of predicting the number of loading cycles that are required for the initial micropitting to occur.     

双唇Y形拉杆密封的密封性能研究*

建立双唇Y形拉杆封的混合润滑模型,并进行流体力学、接触力学、变形力学分析。利用MatLab软件实现对模型的求解,得到密封区域的流量、膜厚和接触压力分布,并分析不同密封件粗糙度对轴向往复双唇Y形密封圈的摩擦力矩、泄漏量的影响。结果表明:在双唇Y形往复密封中,两唇在密封过程中均处于混合润滑状态,且第一内唇处的膜厚大于第二内唇处;第二内唇静态接触压力近似于对称分布,且第二内唇最大接触压力大于第一内唇最大接触压力,表明第二内唇作为密封的第二道防线可以保证良好的密封效果;密封件粗糙度是影响矩形密封性能的重要因素,随表面粗糙度的增加,直线往复密封的摩擦力和泄漏量增大,存在一个临界粗糙度使泄漏方向改变。     

Calculation of mixed lubrication at piston ring and cylinder liner interface

This paper reports on the theoretical analysis of mixed lubrication for the piston ring. The analytical model is presented by using the average flow and asperity contact model. The cyclic variations of the nominal minimum oil film thickness are obtained by numerical iterative method. The total friction is calculated by using the hydrodynamic and asperity contact theory. The effects of the roughness height, pattern, and engine speed on the nominal minimum film thickness, friction force, and frictional power losses are investigated. As the roughness height increases, the nominal oil film thickness and total friction force increase. Also, the effect of the surface roughness on the boundary friction is dominant at low engine speed and high asperity height. The longitudinal roughness pattern shows lower mean oil film pressure and thinner oil film thickness compared to the case of the isotropic and transverse roughness patterns.     

核电循环泵行星齿轮热弹流润滑研究

核电齿轮箱的良好润滑性能是核电循环泵可靠运行的重要保障,充分考虑齿面形貌和齿廓修形等因素对内/外啮合齿轮副的影响是准确评估其润滑特性的前提。建立典型工况下核电循环泵行星传动系统斜齿轮热弹流润滑模型,首先将斜齿轮副的啮合状态几何等效为圆锥滚子的接触问题,然后考虑斜齿轮接触变形和齿廓偏差,计算得到内/外啮合齿轮副接触区域不同位置的油膜厚度、承载压力、摩擦应力和闪温等参数。考虑齿面磨合作用,采用移动平均滤波方法对未经磨合的初始形貌进行光滑处理,分析了齿面形貌对润滑行为的影响,最后采取齿廓修形改善润滑特性。结果表明：粗糙度和齿廓修形均会对润滑特性产生明显的影响,齿面粗糙形貌会造成油膜厚度减小,进而影响其润滑特性,弱化润滑油膜的承载能力;通过齿廓修形可以改善齿轮啮合边界处的几何过渡,降低该区域的应力集中和表面温度,从而明显改善啮合线终端的润滑状态。