Mixed Lubrication Regime Research Articles

Experimental Investigation for Tribological Properties in Mixed Regime of Lubrication with VG-46 and VG-32.

Experimental Investigation for Tribological Properties in Mixed Regime of Lubrication with VG-46 and VG-32.

Correlation Between Tribological and Vibration Behaviors in Sliding Lubricated Contacts

Abstract The tribological and vibration behaviors of a lubricated system are often studied separately. However, in recent years, the combination of tribology and mechanical vibration significantly contributes in analyzing and solving many practical problems. The main objective of this study is to establish empirical equations that describe friction–-vibration interactions under dynamic (sliding) lubricated contacts. The effects of operating conditions on the tribological and vibration behaviors of lubricating oils having different viscosities were experimentally investigated using a four-ball wear test machine. The results indicated that the vibration velocity tends to increase with the sliding velocity. With a lower combination of ratio of the vibration velocity to the sliding velocity and the specific film thickness, lower friction coefficients were observed in the boundary and mixed lubrication regimes. The mean wear scar diameters exhibited positive correlations with the amplitudes of vibration accelerations. The empirical equations provide basic information for the prediction of friction variation by measuring vibration signals.

Synthesis of N-doped carbon quantum dots as lubricant additive to enhance the tribological behavior of MoS2 nanofluid

In this study, a novel lubricant additive nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dot (N-CQD) nanoparticle was prepared by the solvothermal method. The synthesized spherical N-CQD nanoparticles in the diameter of about 10 nm had a graphene oxide (GO)-like structure with various oxygen (O)- and nitrogen (N)-containing functional groups. Then N-CQDs were added to MoS2 nanofluid, and the tribological properties for steel/steel friction pairs were evaluated using a pin-on-disk tribometer. Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations for the friction system with MoS2 or MoS2 + N-CQD nanoparticles were also conducted. The results showed that friction processes with MoS2 + N-CQD nanofluids were under the mixed lubrication regime. And MoS2 nanofluid containing 0.4 wt% N-CQDs could achieve 30.4% and 31.0% reduction in the friction coefficient and wear rate, respectively, compared to those without N-CQDs. By analyzing the worn surface topography and chemical compositions, the excellent lubrication performance resulted from the formation of tribochemistry-induced tribofilm. The average thickness of tribofilm was about 13.9 nm, and it was composed of amorphous substances, ultrafine crystalline nanoparticles, and self-lubricating FeSO4/Fe2(SO4)3. NEMD simulation results indicated the interaction between S atoms in MoS2 as well as these O- and N-containing functional groups in N-CQDs with steel surfaces enhanced the stability and strength of tribofilm. Thereby the metal surface was further protected from friction and wear.

Methyltrioctylammonium Octadecanoate as Lubricant Additive to Different Base Oils

This study investigates the use of an ionic liquid obtained from fatty acids (FAIL) as an additive at 2 wt.% in two different base oils: a mineral oil (M1) and a polyol ester (E1). Physicochemical characterization of the base oil–FAIL blends confirmed the miscibility of the FAIL in the base oils. The addition of the FAIL hardly changed the density of the base oils and the viscosity slightly increased at lower temperatures. The tribological performance of the base oils and their blends with the FAIL was determined using three different tests: Stribeck curve determination and tribofilm formation tests, both under sliding/rolling motion, and reciprocating wear tests. The M1 + FAIL blend showed the lowest friction values under the mixed lubrication regime due to its higher viscosity, while the E1 + FAIL showed the lowest friction values under the elastohydrodynamic lubrication regime, which may well have been due to its higher polarity. Only the E1 + FAIL blend outperformed the antiwear behavior of the base oil, probably because it has better chemical affinity (higher polarity) for the metallic surface. SEM images showed that the predominant wear mechanism was adhesive-type with plastic deformation and XPS studies proved that the presence of increasing amounts of organic oxygen on the wear scar caused better antiwear performance when the E1 + FAIL blend was used.

Scuffing resistance of polyalphaolefin (PAO)-based nanolubricants with oleic acid (OA) and iron oxide nanoparticles

The development and application of nanolubricants has shown great potential to reduce friction and wear, especially in the automotive field for systems operating under boundary and mixed lubrication regimes. The search for additives that do not attack the environment has motivated the use of nanoparticles, especially metallic oxides, because of their characteristics such as low toxicity, high surface area, high wettability, and easy dispersion. The objective of this work was to evaluate the addition of iron oxide nanoparticles as additive to pure PAO 8 base oil. The nanoparticle action mechanisms, lubrication efficiency, friction, and wear rates were evaluated. The concentration of nanoparticles in the oil and the addition of oleic acid as a dispersing agent were varied. The synthesis of the nanoparticles was done by aqueous precipitation; characterization was performed by XRD, FTIR, Raman and SEM analyses. Tribological tests were performed in a reciprocating tribometer (Plint TE 67) using AISI 1020 prismatic samples and AISI 52100 chrome steel balls of 5 mm diameter. Test conditions resulted in boundary lubrication regime, for a starved contact with limited lubricant supply (0.5 µL). Concentrations of 0.4 and 1.6 wt% of nanoparticles were added to the base oil with and without the presence of oleic acid. Friction coefficient was not sensitive to the presence of nanoparticles, with statistically similar values for all the fluids tested. On the other hand, the presence of nanoparticles increased scuffing resistance and reduced wear rates. The lubricants with nanoparticles proved able to withstand relatively high loads, keeping the friction coefficient low for longer test durations due to the formation of protective tribolayers between the worn surfaces. The addition of nanoparticles reduced wear rates by around 27% when compared to tests using pure PAO 8.

Formulation of lyotropic liquid crystal emulsion based on natural sucrose ester and its tribological behavior as novel lubricant

The tribological behavior of oil-in-water emulsions formulated with natural lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) emulsifiers based on natural sucrose ester was studied for the first time. Polarized optical microscopy, synchrotron radiation small-angle X-ray scattering, wide-angle X-ray scattering, and synchrotron radiation infrared microspectroscopy demonstrated that LLC emulsifiers were tightly ordered at the oil—water interface with a distinct nematic texture. The viscosity of emulsion was observed to change over time. Moreover, the zeta potential and laser particle size distribution verified the emulsion’s satisfactory stability. The frictional shearing test proved that the coefficient of friction of the emulsion versus pure oil decreased by 34.2%. The coefficient of friction of the emulsion with liquid crystal decreased 10.1% versus that without liquid crystal. Although liquid crystal emulsion did not exhibit outstanding anti-wear performance compared with pure oil, its wear volume was 29.4% less than the emulsion without liquid crystal. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope—energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM—EDS) proved that the tribo-film of the emulsion with liquid crystal was formed synergistically by the liquid crystal phase with the base oil. The formulation affecting the lubricant quality was further studied by orthogonal experiments. The resulting Stribeck curve behavior suggested that proper composition with a slightly higher viscosity can better reduce friction in both boundary lubrication and mixed lubrication regimes. The lubrication mechanism indicated that the periodically ordered liquid crystal was transported to the sliding asperity in the form of emulsion droplets, which bored the pressure and released the oil to form a tribo-film. This LLC emulsion is environmentally friendly and potentially non-irritant to the skin. Thus, it has promising application prospects as novel water-based and biological lubricants.

Effect of particle concentration on lubrication performance of cellulose nanocrystalline (CNC) water-based lubricants: mixed lubrication regime

Effect of particle concentration on lubrication performance of cellulose nanocrystalline (CNC) water-based lubricants: mixed lubrication regime

Improving tribological properties and shear stability of base lubricant using Eichhornia crassipes carboxylmethyl cellulose polymer under different conditions

In response to the global environmental issues over inorganic additives in lubrication process in solving friction and wear challenges. There is growing interest in the development of polymer additives, particularly bio-polymer, to address the issues given by friction and wear of contact surfaces exposed to boundary and mixed lubrication regimes. The investigation employed a unidirectional ball on disc tribo-tester machine. Using rapeseed lubricant as a base oil sample, this study examined the effect of bio-based Eichhornia crassipes carboxylmethyl cellulose (EC-CMC) polymer to inorganic polyphosphate as well as mixing the two to determine their synergetic and antagonistic effect on reducing friction and wear. The additives were tested for tribological enhancement in terms of friction and wear reduction, and load-carrying effect. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were used to examine the substrate morphology and elemental distribution of worn surfaces. Introducing 1 wt% EC-CMC, 1 wt% polyphosphate, and 1 wt% EC-CMC + 1 wt% polyphosphate into the base lubricant resulted in improved lubricant performance and reduced friction and wear. However, as compared to base rapeseed oil, the polyphosphate sample provided the best friction (44.8%), while EC-CMC gives better wear reduction (0.3073). The higher the operating capacity, the better the tribological properties of nanoparticles, according to the findings. The best tribofilm creation performance, notably with EC-CMC, is achieved when a load of 100 N is applied, resulted in outstanding tribological performance. When compared to polyphosphate, the strong and efficient nature of EC-CMC results in excellent shear stability.

Rolling Bearing Condition Monitoring Technique Based on Cage Rotation Analysis and Acoustic Emission

The objective of this paper is to present an approach for the detection of change in rolling element bearings (REB) operating conditions that can lead to premature failure. The developed technique is based on the measurement of the kinematics of the bearing cage. The rotational motion of the cage is driven by the traction forces produced in the contacts of the rolling elements with the races. It is known that the cage angular frequency relative to shaft angular frequency is dependent of the bearing load, the bearing speed and the lubrication condition, as these factors are determinant for the lubricant film thickness and the associated traction forces. As an important part of REB failures are caused by misalignment or lubrication problems, any evidence of these conditions should be interpreted as an incipient fault. In this paper a novel method for the determination of the instantaneous angular speed (IAS) of the cage is developed. The method is evaluated in a deep grove ball bearing test rig equipped with the cage IAS sensor, as well as custom acoustic emission (AE) transducer and a piezoelectric accelerometer. The cage IAS is analyzed under different bearing loads and shaft speed, showing the dependence of the cage angular speed with the calculated lubricant film thickness. Typical bearing faulty operating conditions (mixed lubrication regime, lubricant depletion and misalignment) are recreated and it is shown that the cage IAS is dependent on the lubrication regime and is sensitive to misalignment. The AE signal is used as a lubrication regime evaluator as well. Experimental results show that the proposed technique can be used as a condition monitoring tool to detect abnormal REB conditions that can lead to premature failure.

Transient mixed-lubrication analysis of low-viscosity lubricated bearings under impact load with consideration of turbulence

For heavy-duty bearings with low-viscosity lubricant, asperities may contact near the minimum nominal film thickness, while turbulence may develop in the area with large film thickness. When bearings encounter transient impact or unsteady loads, the influence of turbulence and surface roughness is relatively complex. To investigate transient lubrication and dynamic characteristics of mixed-lubricated bearings with turbulent flow, a transient mixed-lubrication model considering turbulence is proposed in this paper. A transient generalized average Reynolds equation is derived based on the Ng-Pan turbulence model. The transient journal center positions are obtained by solving the journal's dynamic equation. The numerical procedure is established. Based on the proposed model, the effect of turbulence, surface roughness, and transient impact load direction as well as the magnitude on transient lubrication and dynamic characteristics of mixed-lubrication bearings is analyzed. The results show that turbulence increases the transient minimum nominal film thickness and may decrease the transient friction force in the mixed-lubrication regime. Surface roughness modifies the dynamic trajectory of the journal center and increases both the transient minimum nominal film thickness and the friction force in the mixed-lubrication regime. The impact load direction significantly affects transient characteristics of the bearing. An increase in the load-deflection angle destabilizes the bearing operation state.

Trimethylolpropane trioleate as eco-friendly lubricant additive

Approximately 17.9% of fuel energy is used to overcome engine friction in passenger cars with engine frictional losses further broken down into losses along hydrodynamic (40%), elastohydrodynamic – due to pure sliding motion (40%), mixed (10%) and boundary (10%) lubrication regimes. Therefore, to assess the tribological influence of TMP trioleate as an eco-friendly additive to a low viscosity Polyalphaolefin (PAO) at different lubrication regimes, the present study adopted a Stribeck-type analysis. Through this study, the viscosity index of PAO was found to increase significantly when blended with 5-vol% TMP trioleate. Tribologically, across the tested conditions at different sliding velocities and applied normal loads, it was determined that this blend could potentially reduce friction power and wear scar diameter by up to 6.09% and 39.65%, respectively, when compared with the neat PAO. Such an improvement was demonstrated to also synergistically enhance the friction modifier effect of this blend at the mixed lubrication regime, delaying the onset of boundary lubrication regime when the contact is lubricated by this mixture.

Friction model of elastic-plastic line contact in mixed lubrication regime with non-Newtonian lubricant

The friction characteristics of the lubricated rough surfaces are of great significance for the lubrication design of mechanical structures. To study the behaviour of friction coefficient in the rolling-sliding coexisting line contact rough surfaces under mixed lubrication regime, the Kogut-Etsion elastic-plastic model and the Carreau rheological model are utilized to describe the dry rough contact and the non-Newtonian characteristics of the lubricant film, respectively. A mixed lubrication model for predicting friction coefficient is proposed based on the load-sharing concept at which the normal load is shared by the lubricant film and the asperity component. The effects of normal load, surface roughness and lubricant inlet viscosity on hydrodynamic scaling factor, film thickness parameter and the coefficient of friction were analyzed. The dimensionless predictive expression for the critical sliding velocity is derived by nonlinear regression. The research results provide theoretical guidance for the lubrication design and optimization of mechanical structures.

Roles of viscosity, applied load and surface wettability on the lubrication behaviour of model liquid/semi-solid foods: Measurements with a bespoke tribo-cell fixture and rotational rheometer

Thin film sliding and friction phenomena of food bolus confined between tongue-palate surfaces during oral processing can be explored using tribological measurements. However, these measurements are still limited within the food industry due to the requirement of expensive commercial instruments which are not commonly used in the food industry. This work has designed and manufactured a modular “tribological cell” (tribo-cell) that can simulate lubricated soft-hard contact interfaces and can be mounted on a rotational rheometer to perform tribological measurements. The tribo-cell was validated by performing tribological measurements using a range of corn syrup solutions as model liquid foods. It was shown that the Stribeck curve describing the change in friction behaviour with entrainment speed or with the product of entrainment speed and liquid viscosity could be obtained. Since tribology deals with surface property, the cell was then used in the further studies to demonstrate the effects of applied normal load and surface wetting on the tribological response of lubricated hard-soft contact of the designed fixture. These parameters were shown to have a marked influence on in the boundary and mixed-lubrication regimes. The designed tribo-cell was also used to illustrate the impact of fat content on the lubrication properties of commercial liquid and semi-solid foods with different fat contents, thus, pointing out to the importance of tribology as a vital tool for product formulation designs in food and beverage industry.

Effect of Coating and Low Viscosity Oils on Piston Ring Friction under Mixed Regime of Lubrication through Analytical Modelling

This paper presents the impact of coating topography in piston ring-liner conjunction under mixed regime of lubrication using low viscosity oils. The study provides a time efficient analytical model including mixed-hydrodynamics regime of lubrication under different contact conditions. The method modified the expressions of the contact load and area of Greenwood-Tripp model in order to capture the real asperities interaction into contact. The model represents the tribological behavior of a thin top ring at Top Dead Centre, where boundary and mixed conditions are predominant. Electroplated CrN and PVD TiN coated rings were studied to predict the ring friction. The results are compared with an uncoated steel ring. The CrN coating shows slighter coefficient of friction, due to the coating morphology and roughness parameters. The TiN coating presents thicker lubricant films and higher coefficient of friction because the surface topography is quite rough with high peaks. This can be explained because of the major contribution of the roughness parameter and asperity slope in the boundary friction prediction.

Verschleißsimulation grenz- und mischreibungsbehafteter Wälzkontakte

This contribution presents an approach for the numerical wear calculation of rolling/sliding-contacts. The finite element method based simulation model of Winkler [1] is extended to include contacts subject to boundary lubrication in addition to contacts subject to mixed lubrication. Using the example of an axial cylindrical roller bearing and two load cases, wear-modeling results of the mixed and boundary lubrication regime are illustrated.

Tribological Characteristics and Load-Sharing of Point-Contact Interface in Three-Body Mixed Lubrication

Abstract The third particle occurred at the interface of contacting surfaces is common situations in relative motion part. This study involved developing an analysis framework to investigate the contact characteristics in the full range of 3-body mixed lubrication. Conventional 2-body mixed lubrication is a special case of 3-body mixed lubrication analysis with particle size of zero. This study revealed that the values of real contact area, film thickness, contact mode, and the solid contact load in 3-body contact were larger than those in ideal 2-body contact in mixed lubrication, and they increased with an increasing particle size or density under the study conditions. The initial stages and transition processes of four types of 3-body contact modes under mixed lubrication were significantly different for different particle sizes and densities. The size of the third particle increased the values of both minimum and maximum values, λmin and λmax, of film parameter in the mixed lubrication regime. The particle density did not have a significant effect on the λmax value in mixed lubrication. Higher particle density led to a larger λmin value in mixed lubrication. The conventional film parameter, λ, was not a sufficient indicator of the different lubrication regimes in 3-body contact.

Wear Behaviors of Stainless Steel and Lubrication Effect on Transitions in Lubrication Regimes in Sliding Contact

The wear behavior of AISI304 stainless steel was investigated under dry, water-, and oil-lubricated conditions. A block-on-disk wear test was conducted in this work, since the test conditions could be controlled easily. For oil-lubricated contact, a significant amount of thin and elongated cutting chip-like debris was observed. This is attributed to the high lubricating effect of oil. Strain-induced martensitic (SIM) transformation was observed for all AISI304 blocks after the wear test, while AISI304 consisted of a single γ-austenite phase prior to the wear test. The Stribeck curve and the corresponding lubrication regimes were also considered to explain the wear behaviors and lubrication effect of AISI304. In comparison to the dry or water-lubricated conditions, which fall in the boundary lubrication regime at a low rotation speed, it is considered that the high viscosity of the oil-based lubricant causes the lubrication condition to enter the mixed lubrication regime early at a lower speed, thus reducing the specific wear rate over the 100–300 rpm range.

Rheological and Tribological Properties of Nanocellulose-Based Ecolubricants.

Based on the response surface methodology, a rheological and tribological study carried out on eco-friendly lubricants is described. Such ecolubricants consisted of fibrillated or crystalline nanocellulose in vegetable oil (castor oil, high oleic sunflower oil or their mixtures). Cellulose nanoparticles showed noticeable friction-reducing and anti-wear properties within the boundary and mixed lubrication regimes, which were found to be dependent on nanocellulose concentration, base oil composition and applied normal force. In general, both types of nanocellulose performed equally well. An excellent tribological performance, with large wear scar diameter reductions, was achieved with 3.3 wt.% (or higher) nanocellulose dispersions in castor oil-rich mixtures. The observed behavior was explained on the basis of enhanced viscosity of castor oil-rich suspensions and the preferential action of the most polar components, nanocellulose and ricinoleic acid, in the vicinity of the contact surfaces.

The Hydrodynamic Lubrication Performance of Protruded Surface Microtexturing Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting Ink-Printed Copper Nanoparticles

Surface texture is a valid way of improving hydrodynamic lubrication performance and reducing friction. In this work, a novel micro-additive manufacturing technique, selective laser melting ink-printed (SLM-IP) copper (Cu) nanoparticles (NPs) method, was developed to fabricate Cu protruded microtextures on stainless steel surface. The physical effects of texture geometry parameters on the hydrodynamic lubrication performance were investigated by theoretical calculation and experiments. The theoretical results indicated that the triangle-shaped microtexture exhibited better hydrodynamic effects compared to circular and square-shaped ones. The use of a complicated ring structure resulted in a noticeable increase in hydrodynamic pressure. For each individual shape, the friction coefficient was measured and calculated as a function of texture area or radius ratio. The experimental results, supported by the theoretical analysis, provides evidence that the protruded surface microtexture fabricated by SLM-IP Cu NPs helped improve the tribological performance. The geometric parameters of the protruded microtexture’s size should be taken into account for the optimum size of texture structure. Furthermore, the operating condition of the protruded surface texture were evaluated. A transition point of sliding speed and load existed between mixed and hydrodynamic lubrication regimes. This study suggests that the SLM-IP Cu NPs method is a promising approach for friction reduction surface microtexture manufacturing.

Tribological Behavior of Novel CNTs-Based Lubricant Grease in Steady-State and Fretting Sliding Conditions

The tribological behavior of novel 7.5 wt% carbon nanotube-based lubricant greases in PAO (polyalphaolefin) oil with and without 1.0 wt% MoS2, together with several other commercial greases such as calcium, lithium, were studied. The test results showed a marked reduction of frictional coefficient achieved by the CNTs based grease samples with an average benefit of around 30% compared to conventional greases. The steady state test under 1.00 GPa average contact pressure in a mixed lubrication regime and the fretting test showed the best results in terms of friction reduction obtained by CNTs greases. Steady state tests at higher average contact pressure of 1.67 GPa proved to have a lower friction coefficient for CNTs grease containing MoS2; otherwise CNTs grease without MoS2 showed an average value of CoF comparable to calcium and lithium greases, both in a boundary and a mixed regime. The protection against wear, a considerable decrease (−60%) of reference parameter was measured with CNTs grease with MoS2 (NLGI 2) in comparison with the worst conventional grease and −22% in comparison with the best conventional grease. The data indicated that our novel carbon nanotube greases show superior tribological properties and will have promising applications in the corresponding industry.