A Study of Roughness and Non-Newtonian Effects in Lubricated Contacts

2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 575-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malal Kane ◽  
Benyebka Bou-Said

This article is concerned with the simulation of a lubricated contact considering the fluid to be non-Newtonian of the Maxwell type. Severe operating conditions lead to very small surface-to-surface distances. In this situation it is necessary to take roughness effects into account. A popular method consists in averaging the film thickness following Patir and Cheng (ASME J. Lubr. Technol., 100, pp. 12–17, 1978), or more recently Wang et al. (Tribol. Trans., 45(1), pp. 1–10, 2000), with good reported results compared with experimental data. To overcome certain limitations that become apparent at very small film thickness, notably when the roughness is two-dimensional, in 1995 Jai (Math. Modell. Numer. Anal., 29(2), pp. 199–233, 1995) introduced a new technique based on a rigorous homogenization theory in the case of compressible fluid flow. This procedure was further mathematically developed by Buscaglia and Jai (Math. Probl. Eng., 7(4), pp. 355–377, 2001) and applied to tribological problems by Jai and Bou-Saı¨d (ASME J. Tribol., 124, pp. 327–355, 2002). In this paper, we propose a similar homogenized approach in the case of non-Newtonian fluids to avoid numerical problems which are often encountered in other approaches. Results in the homogenized roughness case are obtained and compared with direct numerical solutions.

1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 456-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian (Jane) Wang ◽  
Fanghui Shi ◽  
Si C. Lee

Numerical analyses of finite journal bearings operating with large eccentricity ratios were conducted to better understand the mixed lubrication phenomena in conformal contacts. The average Reynolds equation derived by Patir and Cheng was utilized in the lubrication analysis. The influence function, calculated numerically using the finite element method, was employed to compute the bearing deformation. The effects of bearing surface roughness were incorporated in the present analysis for the calculations of the asperity contact pressure and the asperity contact area. The numerical solutions of the hydrodynamic and asperity contact pressures, lubricant film thickness, and asperity contact area were evaluated based on a simulated bearing-journal geometry. The calculations revealed that the asperity contact pressure may vary significantly along both the width and the circumferential directions. It was also shown that the asperity contacts and the lubricant film thickness were strongly dependent on the bearing width, asperity orientation, and operating conditions.


Volume 1 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malal Kane ◽  
Benyebka Bousaid

This article is concerned with the simulation of a lubricated contact in severe running conditions considering the fluid as Non-Newtonian of Maxwell type. To overcome some limitations that become apparent at very small film thickness, notably when the roughness is two-dimensional, Jai in 1995 introduced a new technique based on a rigorous homogenization theory in the case of compressible fluid flow. This procedure was mathematically developed by Jai [1] and Buscaglia and Jai [2], and applied to tribological problems by Jai and Bou-Sai¨d [3]. The theoretical developments have been presented and discussed elsewhere [6] of this work and we present here some numerical results obtained from the homogenized technique. The obtained results were discussed and compared with the direct methods of calculation, and seem to us valid for a definitive validation of this method said about homogenization. These results have been compared to the exact solution obtained from a numerical simulation. By direct inspection it is clear that the symmetry predicted by the homogenization method is not present in the exact solution which qualitatively agrees with the homogenized solution.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 1061-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilya I Kudish ◽  
Sergey S Volkov ◽  
Andrey S Vasiliev ◽  
Sergey M Aizikovich

Over the last couple decades coatings attract more and more attention in practical applications. The present study addresses a question which is not well studied: how coated surfaces behave in lubricated contacts? In other words, this is a study of the effectiveness of functionally graded materials in heavily loaded point elastohydrodynamically lubricated contacts with straight lubricant entrainment. As a part of the study, some criteria of coating effectiveness are introduced and discussed. More specifically, the behavior of main parameters such as the lubrication film thickness and the frictional force in point heavily loaded lubricated contacts of functionally graded elastic materials are considered. The problem is studied based on the method of matched asymptotic expansions which allows us to split the problem into two separate problems: a dry contact problems for functionally graded elastic materials and an elastohydrodynamically lubricated problem for functionally graded materials. The elastohydrodynamically lubricated problem uses as input data not only the operational and physical parameters of the materials and lubricant but also the asymptotic behavior of the dry contact problem solution near the contact boundaries. Therefore, a sequence of two problems must be solved: the dry contact problems for functionally graded elastic materials and the elastohydrodynamically lubricated problem for functionally graded materials. Similar methods have been used for the analysis of an elastohydrodynamically lubricated problem for heavily loaded line contacts of functionally graded materials. The dry contact problem will be analyzed in Part 1 of the paper based on a semi-analytical bilateral method which produces correct asymptotic solutions for thin and thick coatings. The analytical expressions for contact pressure are obtained and analyzed for various combinations of coating thicknesses and elastic properties. The elastohydrodynamically lubricated problem will be considered in Part 2 of the paper based on the method of matched asymptotic expansions. In the analysis of the elastohydrodynamically lubricated problem, as in the case of homogeneous contact materials, it is shown that the whole contact region can be subdivided into three subregions: the central one which is adjacent to the other two regions occupied by the ends of the zones. The central region can be subdivided into the Hertzian region and then adjacent to it inlet and exit zones which, in turn, are adjacent to the inlet and exit boundaries of the contact, respectively. In the Hertzian region the elastohydrodynamically lubricated problem solution is very close to the solution of the corresponding dry (i.e. non-lubricated) contact problem for functionally graded elastic materials which have been analyzed. In the central region in the inlet and exit zones of a heavily loaded point elastohydrodynamically lubricated contact, the elastohydrodynamically lubricated problem for functionally graded elastic materials using certain scaling transforms can be reduced to asymptotically valid equations identical to the ones obtained in the inlet and exit zones of heavily loaded line elastohydrodynamically lubricated contacts for homogeneous elastic materials. Therefore, many of the well known properties of heavily loaded line elastohydrodynamically lubricated contacts for homogeneous elastic materials are also valid for heavily loaded point elastohydrodynamically lubricated contacts for functionally graded elastic materials. These asymptotically valid equations can be analyzed and numerically solved based on stable methods using a specific regularization approach, which were developed for lubricated line contacts. Also, this asymptotic analysis leads to an easy analytical derivation of formulas for the lubrication film thickness which take into account the inhomogeneity of the elastic materials. As a result of this analysis, some criteria for lubrication film thickness increase and friction force reduction are proposed. These criteria depend on lubricant properties as well as the properties of functionally graded elastic materials involved in lubricated contacts. Such a sequential solution of the elastohydrodynamically lubricated problem for functionally graded materials makes it perfectly clear what the dependence is of elastohydrodynamically lubricated contact parameters on the solid material (including the coating) and lubricant properties.


Author(s):  
A Félix-Quiñonez ◽  
G E Morales-Espejel

A simplified semi-analytical solution for the film thickness fluctuations in the normal-approach problem of elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) contacts has been obtained. The model is based on an inlet analysis to include squeeze-film effects together with the variation of lubricant entrainment speed that is induced by the changes of contact radius as the load oscillates. The results obtained are in excellent agreement with numerical solutions and suggest that the fluctuations in entrainment speed are the main cause for the observed film modulations. The modified semi-analytical solution seems applicable in many practical cases. The amplitude of the film thickness fluctuations produced by fluctuations in the load is in this way related to a single parameter.


Author(s):  
Mihai Arghir ◽  
Omar Benchekroun

Abstract This paper presents a new structural bump foil model that can handle all operating conditions from start-up to full speed. The model is based on a nonlinear contact algorithm with friction and gaps. The top foil is modeled as a curved beam while bump foil uses a coupled truss model. The model considers the gaps between the bump foil and the bearing casing, between the bump foil and the top foil and between the rotor and the top foil. Thus, any numerical interference between the rotor and the top foil is avoided. A mixed lubrication model is used for the thin film pressures. Following this algorithm, contact pressures appear if the film thickness is less than three times the equivalent roughness of the rotor and of the top foil. Fluid pressures are calculated from numerical solutions of Reynolds equation while contact pressures, if present, are calculated with the model of Greenwood and Williamson. The model is validated by comparisons with the experimental results obtained for start-up operating conditions of a first-generation foil bearing of 38.1 mm diameter with static loads of 10–50 N. Theoretical predictions of the start-up torque and takeoff speed compare well with experimental results. It is also shown how manufacturing bump height errors can explain the differences between theoretical and experimental predictions. Further validations are presented for the same bearing operating at high speeds (30, 45, and 55 krpm) and heavy static loads (up to 200 N). The calculated minimum film thickness and attitude angle are compared with experimental data from the literature.


Author(s):  
Mihai Arghir ◽  
Omar Benchekroun

Abstract The paper presents a new structural bump foil model that can handle all operating conditions from start-up to full speed. The model is based on a non-linear contact algorithm with friction and gaps. The top foil is modeled as a curved beam while bump foil uses a coupled truss model. The model considers the gaps between the bump foil and the bearing casing, between the bump foil and the top foil and between the rotor and the top foil. Thus, any numerical interference between the rotor and the top foil is avoided. A mixed lubrication model is used for the thin film pressures. Following this algorithm, contact pressures appear if the film thickness is less than three times the equivalent roughness of the rotor and of the top foil. Fluid pressures are calculated from numerical solutions of Reynolds equation while contact pressures, if present, are calculated with the model of Greenwood and Williamson. The model is validated by comparisons with the experimental results obtained for start-up operating conditions of a first generation foil bearing of 38.1 mm diameter with static loads of 10 N to 50 N. Theoretical predictions of the start-up torque and take-off speed compare well with experimental results. It is also shown how manufacturing bump height errors can explain the differences between theoretical and experimental predictions. Further validations are presented for the same bearing operating at high speeds (30, 45 and 55 krpm) and heavy static loads (up to 200 N). The calculated minimum film thickness and attitude angle are compared with experimental data from the literature.


2008 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce W. Drinkwater ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Katherine J. Kirk ◽  
Jocelyn Elgoyhen ◽  
Rob S. Dwyer-Joyce

This paper describes the measurement of lubricant-film thickness in a rolling element bearing using a piezoelectric thin film transducer to excite and receive ultrasonic signals. High frequency (200 MHz) ultrasound is generated using a piezoelectric aluminum nitride film deposited in the form of a very thin layer onto the outer bearing raceway. This creates a transducer and electrode combination of total thickness of less than 10 μm. In this way the bearing is instrumented with minimal disruption to the housing geometry and the oil-film can be measured noninvasively. The high frequency transducer generates a fine columnar beam of ultrasound that has dimensions less than the typical lubricated contact ellipse. The reflection coefficient from the lubricant-layer is then measured from within the lubricated contact and the oil-film thickness extracted via a quasistatic spring model. The results are described on a deep groove 6016 ball bearing supporting an 80 mm shaft under normal operating conditions. Good agreement is shown over a range of loads and speeds with lubricant-film thickness extracted from elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory.


Lubricants ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Gonçalves ◽  
Armando Campos ◽  
Jorge Seabra

The film thickness of a ball-on-disc contact lubricated with four greases of different formulations was measured under different operating conditions until starvation. Two polymer-thickened greases and two lithium-thickened greases, formulated with base oils of different nature and/or viscosity, were tested. The central film thickness was measured under constant operating conditions (load, temperature, slide-to-roll ratio) varying only the entrainment speed. In a separate test, the film thickness was measured over time with all operating conditions set to constant. Pictures of the film thickness profile across the contact area were also registered. The results were compared with the fully flooded results. The coefficient of friction (COF) was measured in a ball-on-disc contact under equal operating conditions and the results were correlated with the film thickness findings. The different grease formulations and the influence of the operating conditions on the film thickness and COF were discussed. The polymer thickened the greases, promoting lower COF and higher film thickness, especially when there is thickener material crossing the contact which happens quite often for these greases.


2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Zhu ◽  
Jiaxu Wang ◽  
Q. Jane Wang

The “Stribeck curve” is a well-known concept, describing the frictional behavior of a lubricated interface during the transition from boundary and mixed lubrication up to full-film hydrodynamic/elastohydrodynamic lubrication. It can be found in nearly every tribology textbook/handbook and many articles and technical papers. However, the majority of the published Stribeck curves are only conceptual without real data from either experiments or numerical solutions. The limited number of published ones with real data is often incomplete, covering only a portion of the entire transition. This is because generating a complete Stribeck curve requires experimental or numerical results in an extremely wide range of operating conditions, which has been a great challenge. Also, numerically calculating a Stribeck curve requires a unified model with robust algorithms that is capable of handling the entire spectrum of lubrication status. In the present study, numerical solutions in counterformal contacts of rough surfaces are obtained by using the unified deterministic mixed elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) model recently developed. Stribeck curves are plotted in a wide range of speed and lubricant film thickness based on the simulation results with various types of contact geometry using machined rough surfaces of different orientations. Surface flash temperature is also analyzed during the friction calculation considering the mutual dependence between friction and interfacial temperature. Obtained results show that in lubricated concentrated contacts, friction continuously decreases as speed and film thickness increase even in the full-film regime until extremely high speeds are reached. This is mainly due to the reduction of lubricant limiting shear stress caused by flash temperature rise. The results also reveal that contact ellipticity and roughness orientation have limited influence on frictional behaviors, especially in the full-film and boundary lubrication regimes.


Author(s):  
G E Morales-Espejel

The effects of time-varying normal approach on the film formation of rolling elastohydrodynamically lubricated (EHL) contacts are studied by means of an inlet analysis. A modified Ertel—Grubin scheme is used to calculate the variation of central film thickness as a response of time-varying normal approach. The inlet shape approximation from Crook is used to derive simple analytical and semi-analytical solutions for the calculation of central film thickness and inlet pressures for situations of prescribed normal rigid-body displacement or prescribed load variation. The methodology is also adopted to model the pressure and clearance wave transport phenomenon shown earlier only with the use of full numerical solutions.


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