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Thermoelastohydrodynamics of grease-lubricated concentrated point contacts

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journal contribution
posted on 2010-04-28, 13:42 authored by B.K. Karthikeyan, M. Teodorescu, Homer Rahnejat, Steve Rothberg
Isothermal and thermoelastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) analyses of grease lubricated bearings are presented. A grease plug flow is formed in the conjunction that, with no shear at the boundaries with the solid surfaces, adheres to them in the region of high pressures under isothermal conditions. The elastohydrodynamic lubrication grease pressure distribution conforms fairly closely to that of its base oil alone, with the exception of inlet trail and pressure spike regions. The dependency of film thickness on speed (rolling viscosity) and load parameters for the base oil agrees with previously reported findings of the research community. For grease there are subtle differences with the base oil film thickness load and speed dependencies. However, it is clear that extrapolated oil film thickness formulae for oils can be used reasonably for the prediction of grease films, at least as a first approximation. The results presented agree well with optical interferometric measurements reported in the literature for grease-lubricated contacts at low temperatures and low surface velocities. TEHL analysis shows breakdown of the plug flow and significant reduction in film thickness, which can lead to changes in the regime of lubrication to mixed or boundary conditions.

History

School

  • Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering

Citation

KARTHIKEYAN, B.K.....et al., 2010. Thermoelastohydrodynamics of grease-lubricated concentrated point contacts. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, 224(3), pp. 683-695

Publisher

Professional Engineering Publishing / © IMechE

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

Publication date

2010

Notes

This article was published in the journal, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science [© IMechE]. It is also available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1243/09544062JMES1748

ISSN

0954-4062;2041-2983

Language

  • en