Thermal Modeling and Effects From Debris Particles in Sliding/Rolling EHD Line Contacts—A Possible Local Scuffing Mode

Abstract

The damage caused by debris particles in concentrated contacts has been studied extensively in the past, both theoretically and experimentally. Most of the theoretical studies, in which the damage on the surfaces was calculated in the form of dents, were performed isothermally. It is known that sliding asperity contacts, which resemble third body contacts, reach high local temperatures that can affect local material properties which, in turn, will affect the way damage is generated on the surfaces of machine elements. In the present work the heat transfer of lubricated, rolling/sliding line contacts in the presence of a ductile spherical particle is modeled. The particle is assumed to be significantly softer than the counterfaces that squash it. The local flash temperatures due to the combined sliding and squashing of a debris particle are calculated. It is found that high temperatures caused from small and soft particles are rather the rule than the exception.