Abstract
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.
Highlights
Grease is the most widely used lubricant in rolling element bearings
Grease is widely applied to rolling bearings because it ensures the separation of two surfaces and low friction
It is well known that the base oil and the thickener contribute to film formation in some way [1]
Summary
Grease is the most widely used lubricant in rolling element bearings. Grease is widely applied to rolling bearings because it ensures the separation of two surfaces and low friction. Grease is a multi-phase lubricant consisting of two main components, a base oil, and a thickener. The biggest advantage of grease compared to base oil only is that it stays in place and it cannot leak out of a bearing because of its consistency. The complex structure of grease provides significant lubrication advantages compared to the base oils. Many studies focus on the film thickness and friction with the aim to obtain knowledge of grease behavior under different operating conditions
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