The Effect of Lubrication on the Vibration of Roller Bearings

Abstract

Proper lubrication is crucial to ensure smooth operation in machineries. In rolling bearing, the improper lubrication may induce high friction and vibration level due to metal to metal contact between the rolling elements. In this study, the roller bearings with and without lubrication are investigated. the natural surface degradation of the roller bearing is monitored and the surface roughness is measured for the lubricant film thickness calculation. the film thickness is determined by the Hamrock-Dowson equation which showed that the grease lubricated bearing operated under the elastro-hydrodynamic lubrication, with the ratio of lubrication film thickness to the surface roughness of λ in the range of 0.9 to 3.65. the un-lubricated bearing was damaged after 20 minutes whereas the grease lubricated bearing continued to operate for 6600 minutes. the observation under microscope showed that the surface underwent smoothening process where the surface roughness decreases initially (running-in state) followed by roughening at the steady state where the surface roughness increases. At damage, the value of λ = 0.9 can be associated with the high level of the bearing vibration. the increase of vibration level becomes rapid at the critical value of λ = 1.6. As such the overall vibration level of the bearing can be related to the surface degradation and low film thickness.