Effect of wear on EHD film thickness in sliding contacts

A theoretical solution to the elastohydrodynamic (EHD) lubrication problem in sliding contacts, which takes into consideration the effect of the change in shape of the gap due to wear on the load‐carrying capacity, is presented. The model of such a contact is based on assumptions of Grubin and Ertel (von Mohrenstein). The resultant dimensionless Reynolds and film profile equations have been solved numerically for a number of cases with several values of thickness of the worn layer. Iteration of the EHD film thickness is performed by means of the secant method. Values of the calculated dimensionless film thickness are presented as a function of dimensionless wear. The conclusions concern the influence of the linear wear on the film thickness in heavily loaded sliding contacts. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Laser-induced fluorescence for film thickness mapping in pure sliding lubricated, compliant, contacts

A laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) technique has been used to measure fluid film thickness in a compliant, sliding contact under low-load/low-pressure conditions. The soft contact between an elastomer hemisphere and a glass disc is lubricated by a liquid containing fluorescent dye. The contact is then illuminated with 532 nm laser light through the glass disc, and viewed with a fluorescence microscope. From the intensity of emitted radiation, film thickness maps of the contact are determined. Previous calibration procedures have used a separate calibration piece and test specimen with possible errors due to differences in reflectivity between the calibration and test specimens. In the work reported in this paper a new calibration process is employed using the actual test sample, thereby avoiding such errors.Results are reported for a sliding contact between PDMS and glass, lubricated with glycerol and water solutions under fully flooded and starved conditions. It was found that, for glycerol, the measured film thickness is somewhat lower than numerical predictions for both lubrication conditions. It is suggested that a combination of thermal effects and the hygroscopic nature of glycerol may cause the lubricant viscosity to drop resulting in thinner films than those predicted for fully flooded contacts. Starvation occurs above a critical entrainment speed and results in considerably thinner films than predicted by fully flooded I-EHL theory. A numerical study has been carried out to determine the effect of the observed starvation on film thickness. Predicted, starved film thickness values agree well with those obtained experimentally.     

Transient elastohydrodynamic lubrication film thickness in sliding and rolling line contacts

The contact behavior between cam and follower is greatly influenced by the kinematics and dynamics of the whole valve train system. This is the reason that both shape and thickness of the fluid film in the contact gap are mainly determined by applied loads and relative contact speeds as well as the curvatures of contacting elements. Most of the studies about lubricant film behavior between cam and follower have been performed without a consideration of transient effects in the contact gap. For the computational difficulties of transient effects, most contact conditions such as relative contacting speeds have been regarded as quasi-steady state during the whole operating cycle. In this work, in order to obtain stable convergence, a multigrid multi-level method is used for the computation of load capacity in the lubricant film. Nonlinear valve spring dynamics are also considered in the same way as Hanachi’s. From the computational results, transient EHL film thicknesses under the conditions of different contact geometries are computed for a pushrod type valve train system during an engine cycle. Several results show the squeeze film effect, which is generally not found with conventional EHL computations of the cam and follower contact. The results are also compared with those by the Dowson-Hamrock (D-H) formula, which does not consider the dynamic film effect. Without the dynamic film effect as in D-H’s formula, the minimum film thickness is highly dependent on the entraining lubricant velocity, whereas the minimum film thickness including the squeeze film effect is dependent on the applied load.     

On the critical thickness of protective films at sliding interfaces

Friction and wear experiments were conducted on couples consisting of Invar and Fe-3%Si steel pins sliding against a tool steel disk in a mild vacuum (0.1 mmHg) at room temperature. At loads below a critical value, protective films, identified as compacted oxides, were observed on the sliding surfaces. The resulting friction and wear values were very low. A critical film thickness was observed that was thinner for Invar (6 μm) than for Fe-3%Si steel (22 μm), presumably because of a larger difference between the thermal expansion coefficients of oxide and metal for Invar than for Fe-3%Si steel. This critical thickness was found to be independent of sliding speed or applied load. However, at higher loads, the critical thickness was reached at lower sliding times, probably as a result of a higher flash temperature.     

Effect of interconnecting area between the ends of a sliding bearing on film thickness

The effect of the area of interconnections between the ends of fast-acting bearings, such as those of concentric recoil mechanisms used with American tank guns, has been studied. It was found that the bearings do not ‘starve’ with a small interconnection area, but larger areas produced thicker fluid films. However, if the interconnection area was greater than 15–20 mm² with the system studied (5.08 cm diameter shaft), the resulting film-thickness decreased from the maximum. With this system, there was a definite minimum at 7.4 mm². There was also probably another at about 26 mm², but it was not so well-defined. In addition, the film-thickness usually continued to increase for a time even after the movement of the sliding shaft has stopped.     

The influence of soot and dispersant on ZDDP film thickness and friction

The effect of dispersed soot in engine oils is an increasingly important issue in terms of both engine durability and fuel efficiency. Using carbon black as a soot analogue, a study has been carried out to investigate the main factors that determine the impact of soot on friction and ZDDP film formation in formulated oils. It has been found that dispersed carbon black can rapidly remove ZDDP reaction films by abrasion. However, this removal can be prevented or limited by the choice of an optimal dispersant additive.     

Measurement of the influence of sliding velocity on oil film thickness in an elastohydrodynamic point contact

Experiments have been carried out to measure the film thickness between a sapphire disc and a polished steel ball when slippage is permitted between the two surfaces. The velocity sum of the two surfaces was kept constant during the measurements. The method used to determine the oil film thickness in the contact zone is optical interferometry. It was observed that the change in minimum film thickness was slight. When the sliding velocity was increased, the decrease in central film thickness was considerably larger than that of the minimum film thickness. In addition, the two side lobes, in which the minimum film thickness area occurs, were observed to become flatter as the sliding velocity was increased.     

指定摩擦系数下富锌漆漆膜厚度的计算研究

对富锌漆接触面间的摩擦系数进行了测量,结果表明：不同处理方式的富锌漆接触面间的摩擦系数差异较大,并且摩擦系数与接触面积成正比。对某2 MW风机主轴与轮毂栓接面间异响的研究表明：喷砂后球型无机富锌漆接触面间的摩擦系数有时可接近于0。通过推导栓接面间的摩擦系数与粗糙度的数学解析表达式,结合球型无机富锌漆膜厚度与粗糙度在一定条件下近似相等的特性,找到了一种指定摩擦系数下富锌漆漆膜厚度的计算方法,保证了栓接面间在喷涂富锌漆后其摩擦系数的可靠性和可计算性。通过测量某塑性材料的摩擦系数,得到了一种简洁的估算该塑性材料的临界应力强度因子的方法。     

On the current status of quartz crystal microbalance studies of superconductivity-dependent sliding friction

Recent observations of superconductivity-dependent friction in nitrogen films adsorbed on lead substrates have inspired a number of theoretical and experimental efforts to understand the origins of this phenomenon. The status of these efforts is discussed, focussing on the role of electronic contributions to friction.     

Experimental discrimination of plowing friction and shear friction

The friction of a diamond spherical indenter sliding on CrN coated nitrided steel was investigated. A friction model was proposed that takes into account plowing and shear friction. With the model the separate contributions of substrate properties and surface condition to the friction were successfully extracted: the shear friction coefficient μ _sh was found to depend exclusively on the surface condition, i.e., not on load on the indenter, hardness of the substrate, and thickness of the coating. On the other hand, the plowing component of friction was independent on surface condition.     

Optimum film thickness of thin metallic coatings on silicon substrates for low load sliding applications

The frictional behaviour of thin metallic films on silicon substrates sliding against 52100 steel balls is presented. The motivation of this work is to identify an optimum film thickness that will result in low friction under relatively low loads for various metallic films. Dry sliding friction experiments on silicon substrates with soft metallic coatings (silver, copper, tin and zinc) of various thickness (1–2000 nm) were conducted using a reciprocating pin-on-flat type apparatus under a controlled environment. A thermal vapour deposition technique was used to produce pure and smooth coatings. The morphology of the films was examined using an atomic force microscope, a non-contact optical profilometer and a scanning electron microscope. Following the sliding tests, the sliding tracks were examined by various surface characterization techniques and tools. The results indicate that the frictional characteristics of silicon are improved by coating the surface with a thin metallic film, and furthermore, an optimum film thickness can be identified for silver, copper and zinc coatings. In most cases ploughing marks could be found on the film which suggests that plastic deformation of the film is the dominant mode by which frictional energy dissipation occurred. Based on this observation, the frictional behaviour of thin metallic coatings under low loads is discussed and friction coefficients are correlated with an energy based friction model.     

Thermally activated phenomena in nanoscopic sliding friction

The role of thermal activation for a nanoasperity sliding on a flat surface with low speed is discussed. If the asperity slides in a vacuum, thermal vibrations may excite slipping from an equilibrium position to the next one along the sliding path. This effect is reduced if the velocity increases and leads to a logarithmic increase of friction with the sliding velocity. This is not always the case in a humid environment, where the formation of capillaries between tip and surface acts as an obstacle for thermally activated jumps. Depending on the wettability of the surface, different behaviors are observed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On friction and metal transfer of sliding surfaces undergoing subsurface plastic deformation

Results of sliding experiments under high normal pressure using a sapphire ball on a modified Brinell hardness testing machine and different work materials are reported. A rational approach to the mechanism of metal build-up on Al₂O₃ abrasive developed recently has been extended in the present sliding tests to verify the hypothesis, and good agreement was found. The results of this study show a wide range of behaviour relative to the equilibrium level of friction and the time required to reach equilibrium when different materials are rubbed against the sapphire ball.     

The dependence of equilibrium film thickness on grain orientation at interphase boundaries in ceramic-ceramic composites

High-resolution transmission electron microscope observations of hexagonal boron nitride - 3C silicon carbide interphase boundaries suggest that where one or more phases is highly anisotropic, an orientation dependence on equilibrium film thickness can arise. Theoretical considerations of this phenomenon in terms of the equilibrium thickness of an amorphous film between two crystalline media are consistent with the trend seen experimentally.     

Central film thickness formula for shear thinning lubricants in EHL point contacts under pure rolling

Based upon an extensive set of full EHL point contact simulations, this paper offers a central film thickness formula pertaining to shear-thinning lubricants with Carreau-type behavior. In order to develop a more generic and accurate version of film thickness formula, a recent work is extended by carrying out the simulations for widely varying operating loads and piezo-viscous coefficients along with the more realistic Doolittle's free volume based pressure–viscosity model. This equation is found to conform very well with the published experimental data for EHL lubricants with widely varying rheological and piezo-viscous behaviors, i.e., polyalpha olefins and polydimethyl siloxane.     

Pre-sliding friction control using the sliding mode controller with hysteresis friction compensator

Friction phenomenon can be described as two parts, which are the pre-sliding and sliding regions. In the motion of the sliding region, the friction force depends on the velocity of the system and consists of the Coulomb, stick-slip, Streibeck effect and viscous frictions. The friction force in the pre-sliding region, which occurs before the breakaway, depends on the position of the system. In the case of the motion of the friction in the sliding region, the LuGre model describes well the friction phenomenon and is used widely to identify the friction model, but the motion of the friction in the pre-sliding such as hysteresis phenomenon cannot be expressed well. In this paper, a modified friction model for the motion of the friction in the pre-sliding region is suggested which can consider the hysteresis phenomenon as the Preisach model. In order to show the effectiveness of the proposed friction model, the sliding mode controller (SMC) with hysteresis friction compensator is synthesized for a ball-screw servo system.     

On the influence of test parameters on friction and wear of ceramics in oscillating sliding contacts

The tribological behaviour of different ceramics in contact with steel was studied for the case of oscillating sliding motion with a ball-on-disc apparatus. The influence of several test condition parameters was investigated by a systematic variation of the stroke, frequency, and normal load at room temperature in laboratory air at different levels of relative humidity. Each of the four parameters was varied in three stages. While the coefficient of friction was only mildly influenced by the operational variables, the coefficient of wear showed great variations and depended strongly on the humidity of the surrounding air. The effect of the operational variables and of the humidity on friction and wear varied for the different materials under investigation.     

Relative statistic fluctuation of sliding friction force

The relative fluctuation of sliding friction force in a stationary friction regime has been estimated by the statistic theory of the fluctuation of adaptive physical variables. General mathematical equations and corresponding estimations of relative fluctuations have been given for various friction regimes, such as the regime of mixed and boundary friction, including friction with cladding metal nanoparticles in lubricant and friction with selective transfer. It has been found that relative fluctuations of friction forces are fairly high compared with the fluctuation of physical variables related to the volume of thermodynamic systems. Relative fluctuations for a mixed friction regime are particularly high and can reach 1–10% of the average friction force.