Lubricants, Volume 8, Issue 2 (February 2020) – 11 articles

Additively produced Ti6Al4V implants display mechanical properties that are economically infeasible to achieve with conventional subtractive methods. The aim of the present research work was to characterize the tribocorrosion behaviour of the newly produced Ti6Al4V, also known as titanium grade 5, by a selective laser melting (SLM) technique and compare it with another specimen produced by a conventional method. It was found that the tribological properties were of the same order, with the wear rate being k= 6.3 × 10⁻⁴ mm³/N·m and k = 8.3 × 10⁻⁴ mm³/N·m for respectively, SLM and conventional method. Regarding the friction behaviour, both methods exhibited similar COF in the order of 0.41–0.51. However, electrochemically, the potentiodynamic polarization curves presented some differences mainly in the potential range of the passive films and passive current density formed, with the passive current density being lower for the SLM method. Full article

A dynamic model based on mass balance of fine aerosol particles was developed in order to tackle the problem of accurate quantification of mechanically stimulated particle emission (MSPE) from nanofunctionalized and solid lubricating materials. In contrast to the conventional approach, the model accounts for the effect of air turbulization caused by moving parts of the experimental tribological setup on the enhancement of particle deposition velocity. The increase of the velocity of the moving parts results in an increase of the deposition velocity that leads to a significant underestimation of experimentally measured particle emission rates. The developed model was experimentally verified using natural and artificial nanoparticle aerosols. Finally, the new methodology of particle emission rate quantification was employed for the analysis of fine particle emission produced when the solid lubricating materials were tested against a sliding steel surface. The developed method paves the way for defining a standard method of experimental assessment of nanoparticle triboemission enabling the experimental results obtained in various laboratories to be compared. It also bridges the gap between the phenomenological models and experimental measurements. Full article

Energy efficiency and functional reliability are the two key requirements in the design of high-performance transmissions. Therefore, a representative analysis replicating real operating conditions is essential. This paper presents the thermoelastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) of meshing spur gear teeth of high-performance racing transmission systems, where high generated contact pressures and lubricant shear lead to non-Newtonian traction. The determination of the input contact geometry of meshing pairs as well as contact kinematics are essential steps for representative TEHL. These are incorporated in the current analysis through the use of Lubricated Loaded Tooth Contact Analysis (LLTCA), which is far more realistic than the traditional Tooth Contact Analysis (TCA). In addition, the effects of lubricant and flash surface temperature rise of contacting pairs, leading to the thermal thinning of lubricant, are taken into account using a thermal network model. Furthermore, high-speed contact kinematics lead to shear thinning of the lubricant and reduce the film thickness under non-Newtonian traction. This comprehensive approach based on established TEHL analysis, particularly including the effect of LLTCA on the TEHL of spur gears, has not hitherto been reported in literature. Full article

In literature the lubrication of rotary lip seals is explained by hydrodynamic action on a microscopic scale. This theory assumes perfect concentricity between the seal and the shaft which in reality seldomly occurs. Focusing on the stern tube seals application, an analysis is performed on the phenomena distorting the axisymmetric operation of rotary lip seals. Radial and angular shaft misalignments together with pressure and temperature gradients have been modelled. The model predictions are validated using a dedicated setup. Additionally, applying the soft-EHL film thickness expressions at the asperity level, an equivalent film thickness along the circumferential direction is estimated. The Reynolds PDE is solved to predict the misalignment-induced hydrodynamic pressure build-up. The film thickness variation derived and accompanying non-uniform contact pressure distribution was shown to be sufficient for hydrodynamic action and, depending on the minimum film thickness, the hydrodynamic pressure build-up can exceed the static contact pressure. Additionally, significant differences were observed between the radial and angular misalignment configurations. Full article

In the present study, the effect of the radius of railway curved tracks on the slip of a wheel on a rail is studied. A 3D finite-element model of a wheelset-track system is established when the creep force between the wheel and rail is saturated. The occurrence propensity of the self-excited vibration of the wheelset-track system is predicted. It is concluded that the radius of curved tracks has a strong effect on the slip of wheels on rails. In the tightly curved tracks, the slip of the wheel of the leading wheelset on the rail always occurs. The wheelset-track system has a strong occurrence propensity for unstable vibrations on the tightly curved tracks. The accuracy of the rail corrugation prediction based on the unstable vibrations of wheelset-track systems is determined to be 85–90% or higher. Full article

The viscosity and tribological behavior of nanofluids formed by dispersed nano-diamond particles within Poly-Alpha-Olefin (PAO6) lubricant is studied at different concentrations. The variation of coefficient of friction with nanoparticle concentration is measured using pin-on-disc tribometry under boundary, mixed, and hydrodynamic regimes of lubrication. A multi-scale multi-physics thermo-mixed lubrication model is developed to provide fundamental understanding of the measured tribometric results. The analytical approach combines continuum contact mechanics, thermal-mixed lubrication comprising the interaction of rough surfaces, as well as a thermal network heat transfer model. In particular, Einstein’s viscosity model for dispersed hard particles together with Vogel’s viscosity-temperature dependence model for fluid viscosity containing nanoparticles represent new contributions to knowledge. This integrated numerical-experimental study of nanofluid thermal and tribological assessment has not hitherto been reported in literature. It is shown that improved heat transfer capability of nanofluids is particularly effective in the reduction of friction under a mixed regime of lubrication. Full article

Adhesive wear in dry contacts is often described using the Archard or Fleischer model. Both provide equations for the determination of a wear volume, taking the load, the sliding path and a set of material parameters into account. While the Fleischer model is based on energetic approaches, the Archard formulation uses an empirical factor—the wear coefficient—describing the intensity of wear. Today, a numerical determination of the wear coefficient is already possible and both approaches can be deduced to a local accumulation of friction energy. The aim of this work is to enhance existing energy-based wear models into the mixed lubrication regime. Therefore, the pressure distribution within the contact area will be determined numerically taking real surface topographies into account. The emerging contact area will be divided into one part of solid and a second part of elastohydrodynamically lubricated (EHL) contacts. Based on the resulting pressure and shear stress distribution, the formation of micro cracks within the loaded volume will be described. Determining a critical number of load cycles for each asperity, a locally resolved wear coefficient will be derived and the local wear depth calculated. Full article

Radial shaft sealing rings (RSSR) are important machine elements used in rotating and oil lubricated systems. Their main task is to prevent oil from exiting the system and dirt particles from entering the system. When this function is not fulfilled, a leakage can occur and cause excessive damage after certain operating times, such as gear failure due to insufficient lubrication. This is the reason for the high level of current research interest in seals. The sealing function of RSSR occurs in the contact area between the sealing lip and the shaft. The contact takes place over a very small contact width of approximately 1 μm. These extremely small dimensions and the complex relationships between the functional influencing variables on the radial shaft sealing system make it difficult to simulate wear on the sealing ring. The energetic consideration of the wear process offers the possibility of quantifying influencing variables more easily by their energetic contribution, which can be determined experimentally. Based on experimentally measured total friction moments, and with the help of a semi-analytical (SA) solid contact model based on the half-space theory, this paper presents a modelling approach for the calculation of wear at the sealing ring. The model presented in this work differs from the existing models in two ways. The first particularity is the coupling of SA method with finite element method (FEM) for the resolution of the contact between the sealing lip and the shaft, allowing a fine discretization of the contact zone (by SA method) and the consideration of the structural behavior (by FE method). The SA method compared to the commonly used FEM presents a great saving in computation time. The second particularity is the use of the real data obtained during the wear tests. Most existing simulation models are based purely on contact pressure. This means that through the contact pressure obtained by simulation and a given sliding distance value, a friction energy will be estimated which will be used in a next step using a wear model such as Archad’s to calculate the wear rate. In this publication the value of friction energy was obtained directly on an experimental basis and a more appropriate wear law, such as Fleischer’s, taking into account the friction conditions, was used to estimate the wear rate. Full article

Aerodynamic bearings have received considerable attention in recent decades and are increasingly being used in applications where high speed, low loads and high precision are required. Aerodynamic applications mainly concern auxiliary power units (APU) and air-conditioning machines (ACM). From the industrial point of view, the static and dynamic characteristics of these bearings rotating at very high speed must be determined. According to the literature, studies carried out on this type of bearing consider the elastic deformations of the foils due to the pressure generated in the air film. The linear approach is from time to time adopted for the prediction of the dynamic behavior of these bearings, which is not always justified. This paper aims to present a step towards a better mastery of the non-linear dynamic behavior of a flexible rotor-air bearing system. We will focus on finite element modeling (FEM) of the non-linear isothermal elasto-aerodynamic lubrication problem in the case of a radial bearing operating in a dynamic regime. We will present the effects of rotational speed, unbalance eccentricity, and rotor mass on the non-linear response of rigid and compliant bearings. We use a partitioned approach which treats fluid and structure as two computation domains solved separately; reducing the development time needed for a monolithic code which is difficult to manage when the geometries or the physical properties of the problem to be treated become complex. Full article

In the following study, green carbon nanotubes and green few-layer reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were synthesized through simple, sustainable, and scalable processes starting from recycled plastic and charcoal, respectively, and with the highest number of steps involving non-harmful substances. After an extensive physicochemical characterization, which evidenced that both nano-carbons exhibit structures comparable with that of materials produced through more traditional methods and from pure sources, the samples were dispersed in two types of conventional base oils, in particular group I and group III, in order to carry out, for the first time on these green nanomaterials, an accurate study on their tribological performance. Tribological tests evidenced a remarkable reduction of coefficient of friction and wear scar diameter, especially for the green rGO dispersed at 0.1 wt% in the group III oil along with SDBS-Tween 80 surfactants mixture: 18% and 15% at ambient temperature, 12% and 13% at 80 °C, respectively. Furthermore, the tribological performance of the synthesized samples in both oils remained high for 160 min of investigation. A comparison with the same material obtained with a traditional synthesis revealed the absence of fouling phenomena in the lubrication chambers in our case, confirming the higher tribological performances of the green rGO sample, probably, as a consequence of its less ordered nature. Full article

This paper deals with an experimental study of film thickness and friction of commercial-grade grease and its base oil in a highly loaded contact. In-situ measurements were conducted for two surface textures on a ball-on-disc optical tribometer at the border of mixed lubrication. At high speeds, the film thickness and the friction of grease correspond with the base oil, while, the thickener enters the contact area and locally affects the film thickness and friction at low speeds. It was found out that the thickener starts to enter the contact area approximately at the same speed when the base oil friction increases on Stribeck curve but without direct solid to solid contact. It indicates that both effects can have the same origin. Change of lubricant flow in contact inlet area was discussed as a possible explanation. Full article