Slider Bearing Research Articles

Effect of the infill percentage of 3D printed Polyetheretherketone under the dry sliding condition

Sliding bearings made of advanced polymers like Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) are preferred for medium and heavy-duty applications. The high-temperature additive manufacturing process permits the efficient fabrication of lighter porous parts using high-cost materials like PEEK. Customised geometries and surface features are easily achievable using an additive manufacturing process and facilitate design for the required performance. The 3D-print parameters employed affect the surface characteristics and are investigated. The variation in infill porosity is found to affect the crystallinity, hardness, modulus, and surface roughness of the printed samples. The friction coefficient variation, wear resistance, and temperature rise in the 3D-printed PEEK samples are studied when slid against steel discs under dry sliding conditions. The material transfer between surfaces varies based on the sample's surface properties and porosity, significantly affecting friction and wear behaviour. Accumulation and strong adhesion of wear debris in the groves of PEEK samples contribute to improved wear resistance. The temperature rise in the polymer sample also depends on the infill porosity, and a reduced temperature rise is observed in porous samples, which will improve the life when used in bearings.

Effect of Shot‐Peening Process and Nanoparticle‐Added Lubricant on the Tribological Performance of Aluminium‐Based Sliding Bearing Material

ABSTRACTIn this study, it is aimed to increase the wear and fatigue performance of aluminium‐based sliding bearing material by using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) added lubricant and shot‐peening process. The main purpose is to minimise the wear of the bearing material by penetrating AgNPs added lubricants into the rough surfaces formed by shot peening. Almen intensity, coverage and shot size parameters in the shot‐peening process were analysed in terms of hardness, surface roughness and fatigue strength. The shot‐peened aluminium bronze was subjected to wear experiments under dry, pure water and AgNPs added lubricant conditions. The wear test results were analysed in terms of friction coefficient, wear volume and surface roughness parameters, and the interaction of lubricant and shot‐peening parameters was evaluated. According to the results of the shot‐peening experiments, the Almen intensity was the most effective parameter in terms of hardness and surface roughness (91.62%). It was concluded that the hardness value was 8% higher at high Almen (12–14A) intensity compared with low Almen intensities, and the shot‐peening process could increase the fatigue strength by ~21 times. According to the wear tests, the most effective parameters were 4–6 Almen intensity and AgNP‐added lubricant.

Ultrasound enabled simultaneous measurement of coating wear depth and lubricant film thickness in a sliding bearing

Sliding bearings, serving as critical supporting components in rotating machinery, often work by riding on an ultra-thin oil film. The rupture of this oil film can cause wear of the soft coating on the bearing and even lead to catastrophic failures. This paper introduces a novel ultrasonic reflection-based approach to simultaneously measure both lubricant film thickness and coating wear depth. Through an analysis of the ultrasonic wave propagation in a worn bearing, it is observed that the echo waveform remains independent of wear depth but correlates with changes in the time of flight back to the transducer. Given this, the captured time or phase shift between the reflected and incident waves, together with the reduction in the wave amplitude, enables a simultaneous calculation of both oil film thickness and coating wear depth. The efficacy of the proposed method is validated through acoustic simulations and experiments with varied coating roughness.

Estimation of Friction for a Hydrodynamic Sliding Bearing for the Turbulent Regime From Single-Phase and Two-Phase Fluid Flow Behaviour

The hydrodynamic plain bearing relies on the generation of a lubricant film through the rotational movement of the journal. As the journal rotates, it creates a layer of lubricant between the bearing and journal surfaces. This lubricant film separates the two surfaces, preventing direct contact and minimizing friction and wear. The high speeds can lead to severe conditions such as cavitation due to rapid oil evaporation, which introduces a new phase into the flow. In this study, it is anticipated that a two-phase flow will occur through the shaft-bushing conjunction because of the rupture of the lubricating film near the contact outlet. Pressure disturbances above these rupture zones may induce vapor-cavity formation at a small scale. A numerical analysis was conducted by solving Navier–Stokes continuity equations and vapor-transport equations. The k-epsilon model was used to analyze friction at the fluid-bearing interface for the turbulent regime. The results indicate that higher flow velocity values and pressure were observed in the case of two-phase flow compared to one-phase flow.

Influence of the dimple cross-sectional profile on the behavior of gas parallel slider bearings

This paper studies the effect of the dimple cross-sectional profile on the behavior of gas parallel slider bearings using the numerical method. The numerical method is performed in MATLAB software. The influence of geometrical parameters of dimples on the dimensionless average pressure is studied for different dimple cross-sectional profiles. The geometrical parameters of dimples include dimple depth, dimple area density, transversal textured ratio, and longitudinal textured ratio. It is found that the hydrodynamic lubrication of dimple-textured gas parallel slider bearings is controlled by the dimple depth, dimple area density, transversal textured ratio, longitudinal textured ratio, and dimple cross-sectional profile. Furthermore, the impact of sliding speed on the hydrodynamic lubrication is studied for different dimple cross-sectional profiles. The results indicate that the optimum sliding speed for maximizing the hydrodynamic pressure is controlled by the dimple cross-sectional profile.

Shake Table Testing of Bidirectional Ductile Diagraphs with Buckling‐Restrained Braces in V-shaped configuration

The Bidirectional Ductile Diaphragm concept relies on Buckling Restrained Braces (BRBs) used at ends of spans in common multi‐span bridges to provide seismic resilient damage‐free bridges at low cost, while minimizing displacement demands to levels that can be easily accommodated by conventional expansions joints. This paper reports on the results of a shake-table testing program of Bidirectional Ductile Diaphragms designed with Buckling Restrained Braces (BRBs) deployed in a V-shaped layout. A single span taken from a scaled straight bridge with no skew, simply supported on slider bearings, and BRBs end connection details was subjected to: (1) earthquakes scaled to match the design level; (2) BRB deformation demands corresponding to 75 years of cycles of bridge thermal expansions, and: (3) earthquake scaled to levels exceeding the design level such as to bring the BRB to fracture upon repeated cycles of large inelastic deformations at extreme ductility demands. Results demonstrate that bridges using the bidirectional ductile end diaphragm concept with BRBs in a V-shaped configuration can develop a stable hysteretic response, with inelastic deformations concentrated in the BRBs. These bridges would experience no loss of functionality following an earthquake, resulting in fully resilient bridges that remain in service throughout and after the earthquake.

Preparation of inorganic oil-containing carbon nanocapsules and tribological properties of PA6 composites

Oil-containing polymer composites have garnered significant attention in the field of tribology due to their remarkable environmental stability and outstanding self-lubricating performance. It is important to develop an oil-containing polymer composite with excellent self-lubricating properties and mechanical properties. In this study, we successfully synthesized hollow mesoporous carbon nanospheres (HMCNs) with a particle size of about 200 nm and explored the key factors affecting their preparation. Subsequently, an impregnation technique was employed to create oil-containing nanocapsules (Oil@C) by using PAO40 lubricant as core material and HMCNs as wall material. Self-lubricating PAO40@HMCNs nanocapsules have an oil content of approximately 51.6 wt%. The unique mesoporous structure of HMCNs facilitates the controlled release of lubricants. During friction, the Oil@C in the polymer composites continuously provided lubricant to the worn surface, resulting in a remarkable 72.8 % reduction in the coefficient of friction and an 83.2 % decrease in wear rate. Analysis of the friction pair revealed that the PAO40 lubricant released from the nanocapsules played a crucial role in improving the tribological properties of the composites. The prepared PA6 composites exhibit outstanding tribological and self-lubricating properties, making them promising candidates for applications in mechanical parts, such as self-lubricating slide bearings.

Wear Detection of Bridge Sliding Bearing Based on Temporal Variation of Thermally Induced Daily Displacement Amplitude

Wear Detection of Bridge Sliding Bearing Based on Temporal Variation of Thermally Induced Daily Displacement Amplitude

The Development of Novel Cu/GO Nano-Composite Coatings by Brush Plating with High Wear Resistance for Potential Brass Sliding Bearing Application.

Low friction and high wear resistance are critical properties for sliding bearings. In this research, advanced Cu/GO nanocomposite coatings have been developed by a brush plating method to improve the tribological performance of brass-based sliding bearings. A series of brush plating studies under voltages from 2 to 6 V with different GO concentrations (0.2-0.8 g/L) was conducted, and the coating microstructures were characterised by SEM, EDX, GDOES and XRD and the tribological behaviour of the Cu/GO composite coatings were evaluated using dry ball-on-plane tribological tests The experimental results have demonstrated that GO can be successfully introduced into the whole composite coating layer; the Cu/GO composite coatings can reduce the friction of brass and increase its wear resistance by two orders of magnitude, mainly due to the self-lubricating GO added into the coatings.

Analysis of Lubrication Regimes for Porous Sliding Bearing

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the lubrication quality of porous sliding bearings, starting from the bearing model and in combination with experimental results aimed at analyzing the lubrication regimes of different working conditions. The separation between the surfaces by the lubricant layer is what determines the regime. The quality and type of lubrication regime are determined by parameters in the mathematical model including typically speed, load, motion, materials, environment, etc., which have an impact on friction. Besides those elements, important parameters such as coefficient of friction (COF) and working temperature are to be measured due to experimental investigations to detect an equilibrium working state. The self-lubrication mechanism in porous metal bearings improves their service life and lubrication processes; however, the COF still varies within a wide interval. This variability can be understood, considering that during bearing operation it operates within a broad range of lubrication regimes. Those findings are explained in the paper by using a combination of calculated parameters according to the bearing model and in combination with our own results of experimental investigations. With the obtained results for particular working conditions, the authors are trying to explain, in the form of a diagram with the limit line as an important outcome of the work, that the lubrication regime for porous metal bearings could arise from boundary lubrication (BL) close to hydrodynamic lubrication (HDL).

Utjecaj ekscentrične porivne sile na odabir statvenog kliznog ležaja

Stern tube slide bearing of the shaft line of the ship's propulsion system causes losses during operation. Friction and material wear of the tribosystem occur. One of the reasons is the different navigating regimes of the ship, which have an influence on the formation of the velocity field on the ship's propeller. The variable velocity field defines the magnitude and the position of the thrust force. The methodology presented in this paper is based on the fact of the existence of the eccentricity of the thrust force, i.e. loads due to the action of the moment of the eccentric thrust force. Due to the changing position of the thrust force, the curvature of the elastic line of the sleeve inside the stern tube bearing, which is mostly spatial, changes. Spatial elastic line of the sleeve has an influence on the working area of the slide bearing. Therefore, the importance of a sufficient thickness of the lubricant layer for lubrication in relation to these changes was highlighted. In this paper, this is the initial criterion for the selection of materials and lubricants of the stern tube bearing. An equally important criterion would be to define the possible harmful impact of lubricant leakage with particles of bearing bush material on the ecosystem. In order to facilitate the whole process, the simplified analytical model is presented, which can be used in the initial stage of stern tube bearing selection. Such a model allows a simpler analysis of the influence of the elastic line on the condition of the stern tube bearing due to the loading by the weight of the ship's propeller and by the moment of the eccentric thrust force. The procedure for the initial selection of the stern tube bearing created by this methodological approach could have its practical application. For this reason, the paper analyzed different navigating regimes and their influence on the working area of the stern tube slide bearing. The obtained results can be useful in the selection of materials and lubricants for the stern tube bearing tribosystem.

An Intelligent Diagnostic Method for Wear Depth of Sliding Bearings Based on MGCNN

Sliding bearings are vital components in modern industry, exerting a crucial influence on equipment performance, with wear being one of their primary failure modes. In addressing the issue of wear diagnosis in sliding bearings, this paper proposes an intelligent diagnostic method based on a multiscale gated convolutional neural network (MGCNN). The proposed method allows for the quantitative inference of the maximum wear depth (MWD) of sliding bearings based on online vibration signals. The constructed model adopts a dual-path parallel structure in both the time and frequency domains to process bearing vibration signals, ensuring the integrity of information transmission through residual network connections. In particular, a multiscale gated convolution (MGC) module is constructed, which utilizes convolutional network layers to extract features from sample sequences. This module incorporates multiple scale channels, including long-term, medium-term, and short-term cycles, to fully extract information from vibration signals. Furthermore, gated units are employed to adaptively assign weights to feature vectors, enabling control of information flow direction. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the traditional CNN model and shallow machine learning model, offering promising support for equipment condition monitoring and predictive maintenance.

Seismic Fragility Reduction for Base Isolated RC Frame Buildings by Curved Surface Sliding Bearings with Over-Stroke Displacement Capacity

ABSTRACT Recently, experimental studies on failure conditions of buildings equipped with curved surface sliding isolators have shown that when no displacement restraining elements are employed and the concave plates feature a flat rim, the inner slider can run on the edge of the sliding surfaces producing lateral displacement larger than the nominal isolator capacity. The over-stroke displacement capacity reduces the probability of seismic collapse of code-conforming base-isolated buildings for earthquake stronger than the design one. In order to quantify the benefit of the over-stroke displacement capacity of double concave curved surface slider (DCCSS) bearings on the seismic fragility of base isolated buildings, four case studies of six-storey reinforced concrete framed structures, consisting of new constructions and retrofit of existing structures located in high and medium hazard seismic sites, have been investigated in this paper. In all cases, two configurations of the isolation system have been considered, with end-stop displacement or with over-stroke displacement capacity. The seismic performance of the buildings has been investigated by multi-stripe nonlinear time-history analysis. The results of the nonlinear dynamic analysis at the collapse limit state have been compared with nonlinear static analysis in terms of maximum displacement and corresponding base shear. Fragility curves highlight a higher safety margin against collapse for seismic intensities beyond the design limit state of the isolation system with over-stroke capacity.

Dynamics of pivoted slider bearings

We obtain the full equations of motion for a wide, pivoted, slider bearing. These are used to review the choice of the optimal position for the pivot point, to discuss its response to time-dependent sliding velocity, and to determine the stability of the motion. The case of an abrupt acceleration of the slider, which results in a large transient increase in the resistive force, is surprisingly complicated. We also discuss a general transversion formula for changing the dependent variables in Stokes flow problems.

Effects of Kozeny–Carman’s porous structure and Rosensweig’s viscosity on the ferrofluid-based various pad stators under dynamic conditions

The present article intends to scrutinize various bearing configurations considering Rosensweig’s viscosity and Kozeny–Carman’s porous structure under dynamic conditions. The variable field is used to retain the contributions of all magnetic terms in the Shliomis model. The above system would have the advantage of creating a maximum field at the desired active contact zones. Rosensweig’s extension of Einstein’s viscosity is taken into consideration to enhance the fluid’s viscosity. The mathematical expressions for pressure and lifting force are derived by modifying the Reynolds equation using Beavers and Joseph’s boundaries. Under these dynamic conditions, results for various sliders for different parameters are obtained and compared vis-à-vis. The volume concentration and field strength improve the lifting force but the inlet–outlet ratio, slip, and porosity have the converse effects. The obtained results indicate that the lifting force with Rosensweig’s viscosity stays better than in the case of Einstein’s viscosity model. This model with varying field supports a higher load for Parallel in comparison to Exponential and Inclined pad stators. With the proper choice of the porosity parameter and the suspension of the particles, the higher load capacity of the Parallel slider bearing can be ensured.

Calculation of operational parameter variation of infinitely long slider bearings with stochastic roughness

In the framework of stochastic representation of surface roughness, a novel Reynolds-type Equation has been derived recently by the authors and utilized to calculate the average values of a bearing’s operational parameters. To acquire an improved insight to the hydrodynamic lubrication phenomena in rough bearings, the stochasticity of the operational parameters should be described, by calculating their higher-order moments, such as the variation. The present work aims at deriving equations for calculation and quantification of these higher-order moments. More specifically, in the present paper equations for the variation of a slider bearing operational parameters (pressure, load carrying capacity, friction force and friction coefficient) are derived. The obtained results are validated against the deterministic Reynolds Equation solution, for a series of bearings with different random Gaussian surface roughness profiles, over a wide range of bearing design and operational parameters.

Fault diagnosis of nuclear power plant sliding bearing-rotor systems using deep convolutional generative adversarial networks

Sliding bearings are crucial rotating mechanical components in nuclear power plants, and their failures can result in severe economic losses and human casualties. Deep learning provides a new approach to bearing fault diagnosis, but there is currently a lack of a universal fault diagnosis model for studying bearing-rotor systems under various operating conditions, speeds and faults. Research on bearing-rotor systems supported by sliding bearings is limited, leading to insufficient fault data. To address these issues, this paper proposes a fault diagnosis model framework for bearing-rotor systems based on a deep convolutional generative adversarial network (TF-DLGAN). This model not only exhibits outstanding fault diagnosis performance but also addresses the issue of insufficient fault data. An experimental platform is constructed to conduct fault experiments under various operating conditions, speeds and faults, establishing a dataset for sliding bearing-rotor system faults. Finally, the model's effectiveness is validated using this dataset.

Influence of Glyceryl Monostearate Adsorption on the Lubrication Behavior of a Slider Bearing

Glyceryl monostearate (GMS) was used as an organic friction modifier (OFM) and added to the base oil (PAO10, polyα-olefin) in this study. The film thickness and friction coefficient of the base oil added with GMS (PAO10G) under different slider inclinations and loads were investigated experimentally by using a slider-on-disc contact lubricant film measurement system, and the effect of the adsorption of GMS on the friction behavior of lubricant was studied. Contact angle hysteresis (CAH) was used to evaluate the wettability of the solid–liquid interface, and its correlation with the coefficient of friction was analyzed. The results show that CAH is in good agreement with the wettability of the solid–liquid interface. Compared with the base oil, the wettability of POA10G is weak, which can effectively reduce the coefficient of friction. However, different from the classical lubrication theory, the film thickness of PAO10G is higher than that of PAO10; this unusual phenomenon is preliminarily explained by the interface slippage in this paper.

Thermohydrodynamic performance of convergent slider bearings using different placement of square micro-textures and slip boundary

The present numerical study investigates the thermohydrodynamic performance of inclined/convergent slider bearings using different placing of textures and slip region. Mass-conserving Elrod cavitation model with slip boundary is used to analyze the static performance variables. Due to better fluid retain-ability, Square-shaped micro-textures have been used. The slip coefficient for the slip boundary on the bearing surface is taken as 9 μm. As reported previously for convergent bearings, the optimal convergence ratio (K) value for maximum bearing performance lies between 1 and 1.4. Therefore, in the present paper, the value of K is taken as 1.2. It was observed that the location of micro-textures and slip boundary greatly influence the bearing performance. When textures and slip regions are placed near the inlet region of the bearing, with a reduction in shear stress and the availability of the lubricant near the inlet, the resistance to the lubricant flow reduces, increasing lubricant intake. Further, for partial slip bearing, an abrupt obstruction to the lubricant flow occurs at the location of the slip/no-slip interface, which increases the hydrodynamic pressure and improves the load-bearing capacity of the bearing. Moreover, due to less friction observed, various slip-textured bearings showed a reduction in the average lubricant temperature compared to conventional bearing. In the end, an updated combined slip-textured bearing surface is presented for maximum bearing performance in terms of different performance variables. The findings of the current work would be helpful for researchers in selecting the optimum slip-textured surface for inclined slider bearings under the current operating conditions.

Performance Analysis of Thermal and Surface Roughness Effect of Slider Bearings with Unsteady Fluid Film Lubricant Using Finite Element Method

The streamline upwind Petrov‐Galerkin (SUPG) finite element method was used in this study to investigate the thermal and surface roughness effects on an inclined slider bearing with an unsteady fluid film. One‐dimensional transverse and longitudinal surface roughness models were considered with the supposition that roughness is stochastic and has a Gaussian random distribution. For simplicity of numerical computation, the irregularity caused by the texture of the surface is transformed into a regular domain. The bearing performance of the combined effect is lower than the thermal and surface roughness effects of the one‐dimensional longitudinal surface roughness for all modified Reynolds numbers of nonparallel slider bearings; this means that for nonparallel (w = 0.4) between the surface roughness effect and the combined effect condition, there is a decrease of 13% in load‐carrying capacity performance and a minimal change in friction force, respectively. However, in the case of nonparallel one‐dimensional transverse type slider bearings, the bearing performance of the thermal effect is lower than the combined and surface roughness effects for all modified Reynolds numbers, where between the combined effect and the thermal effect condition, there is a reduction of 19% in load‐carrying capacity performance and 2% in friction force practically for all changed Reynolds values, respectively. Furthermore, the combined effects at various temperatures have been investigated. As a result, in both longitudinal and transverse models, in the case of the pad temperature being lower than the slider, the load‐carrying capacity performance is higher than in other cases for nonparallel slider bearings, whereas when the slider temperature is lower than the pad temperature, the drag frictional force is the leading one in both models. In general, considering surface texture and inertial effects will increase the performance of a slider. The results obtained are displayed using figures and tables.