Roller bearing lubrication with shear thinning lubricants

Abstract

Lubricants are continually being subjected to increasing mechanical shearing forces. Consequently the interest in materials of variable viscosity has increased. The problem of a roller bearing lubricated by a Casson fluid, which is a shear thinning lubricant, has been investigated; the non-sliding steady state and the squeezed film situation have been studied. At high speeds the load capacity of the Casson fluid is equal to that for a Newtonian fluid of the same viscosity. At low speeds the difference is significant; the Casson fluid film has a load capacity even if the velocities of both cylinders in contact are zero.