Formation of Lubricant Film in Rotary Sealing Contacts: Part I—Lubricant Film Modeling

1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 280-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Gabelli ◽  
G. Poll

The lubricant film developed in rotary lip seals is a vital element in achieving long-lasting seals with low friction. In this paper the basic principles controlling the development of a lubricant film in lip seals are studied using a micro-hydrodynamic model. This model takes into account the visco-elastic effects of the rubber on the development of the sealing pressure. Central to the model’s hypothesis is the assumption of the predominant action of the surface micro-geometry in the formation of the lubricant film. Optical observations of the contact area of a lip seal, using blue light induced fluorescence, supported this concept. Using this basic lubrication model, the minimum and average film thickness and shear stress are calculated for different loading conditions, material stiffnesses and statistical parameters characterizing the micro-geometry of the sealing surfaces. In the model the effect of the viscoelastic properties of the rubber on the dynamic response of the seal and resulting pressure is also considered. To support the predictions of the theory, a new experimental method for the determination of the film thickness in elastomeric contacts is applied. Comparison between experimental and theoretical results indicates the ability of the model to deal with effects previously excluded from the analysis. The correlation between measured film thicknesses and thicknesses predicted using the present model was found to be good for the full range of speeds tested.

1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 290-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Poll ◽  
A. Gabelli

The development of models for the elastohydrodynamic lubrication of rotary lip seals requires the measurement of the film thickness under a real seal. A new method has been developed for this purpose which is based on the use of lubricant oils in which magnetite particles are suspended (so-called magnetic fluids). A change in the fluid film thickness will create a change in the impedance of the coil of the measuring circuit, the magnetic flux of which is directed through the oil film of the contact area. The advantage of this technique is that minimal modifications have to be applied to the tribological system under examination. Initial measurements carried out with a model rubber lip seal provided new insight into the build-up of a lubricant film as a function of the rotary speed and allowed comparison with the results of a theoretical model for the analysis of lip seal lubrication developed in parallel.


Author(s):  
M. Vrbka ◽  
M. Vaverka ◽  
R. Poliscuk ◽  
I. Krupka ◽  
M. Hartl

This paper is concerned with elastohydrodynamic lubrication, especially determination of lubricant film thickness and contact pressure within a point contact of friction surfaces of machine parts. A new solution technique for numerical determination of contact pressure is introduced. Direct measurement of contact pressure is very difficult. Hence, input data of lubricant film thickness obtained from the experiment based on colorimetric interferometry are used for calculation of pressure using the inverse elasticity theory. The algorithm is enhanced by convolution in order to increase calculation speed. The approach gives credible results on smooth contact and it is currently extended to enable the study of contact of friction surfaces with dents.


1998 ◽  
Vol 188 ◽  
pp. 388-389
Author(s):  
A. Kubota ◽  
K. Makishima ◽  
T. Dotani ◽  
H. Inoue ◽  
K. Mitsuda ◽  
...  

About 10 X-ray binaries in our Galaxy and LMC/SMC are considered to contain black hole candidates (BHCs). Among these objects, Cyg X-1 was identified as the first BHC, and it has led BHCs for more than 25 years(Oda 1977, Liang and Nolan 1984). It is a binary system composed of normal blue supergiant star and the X-ray emitting compact object. The orbital kinematics derived from optical observations indicates that the compact object is heavier than ~ 4.8 M⊙ (Herrero 1995), which well exceeds the upper limit mass for a neutron star(Kalogora 1996), where we assume the system consists of only two bodies. This has been the basis for BHC of Cyg X-1.


1996 ◽  
Vol 165 ◽  
pp. 263-269
Author(s):  
Simon Johnston

PSR B1259-63 is a 47-millisecond pulsar which was discovered in a high frequency survey of the galactic plane (Johnston et al. 1992a) and was subsequently found to be in a highly eccentric orbit with a main-sequence Be star known as SS 2883 (Johnston et al. 1992b). Radio observations of the pulsar led to a phase connected timing solution which predicted the epoch of periastron to be 1994 January 9 (MJD 49361.2); optical observations of the Be star led to a determination of its mass and of the size of its circumstellar disk (Johnston et al. 1994a): the star is of approximate spectral type B1e, with mass 10 M⊙ and radius 6 R⊙. If this mass is correct and the pulsar has a mass of 1.4 M⊙, then the inclination angle of the plane of the orbit with respect to the sky is 35°. This pulsar has an unusually flat radio spectrum compared to most pulsars, which makes it easily detectable up to 8.4 GHz. The narrow pulse permits dispersion and scattering measurements for studying the ionized plasma in the system. Moreover, the pulses are highly linearly polarized and permit determination of the rotation measure (RM), allowing measurements of the magnetic field along the line of sight. The 3.5-yr orbit of the pulsar around its companion thus provides us with an excellent probe of the stellar wind of the Be star over a wide frequency range.


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