The Friction and Wear Properties of the Spherical Plain Bearings with Self-lubricating Composite Liner in Oscillatory Movement

A test method based on the condition simulation and a friction and wear test machine featuring in oscillatory movement were set up for self-lubricating spherical plain bearings (SPB). In the machine the condition parameters such as load, angle and frequency of oscillation and number of test cycles can be properly controlled. The data relating to the tribological properties of the bearing, in terms of friction coefficient, linear wear amount, temperature near friction surface and applied load, can be monitored and recorded simultaneously during test process by a computerized measuring system of the machine. Efforts were made to improve the measurement technology of the friction coefficient in oscillating motion. In result, a well-designed bearing torque mechanism was developed, which could reveal the relation between the friction coefficient and the displacement of oscillating angle in any defined cycle while the curve of friction coefficient vs number of testing cycles was continuously plotted. The tribological properties and service life of four kinds of the bearings, i.e, the sampleⅠ-Ⅳ with different self-lubricating composite liners, including three kinds of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fiber weave/epoxy resin composite liners and a PTFE plastic/copper grid composite liner, were evaluated by testing, and the wear mechanisms of the liner materials were analyzed.

Investigation on MoS_2 and Graphite Coatings and Their Effects on the Tribological Properties of the Radial Spherical Plain Bearings

With constant enlargement of the application areas of the spherical plain bearings,higher quality lubrication of the bearings is required.To solve the lubricating problems of spherical plain bearings under high temperature,high vacuum,high speed,heavy loads and strong oxidation conditions,it is urgent for us to develop more excellent self-lubricating technologies.In this paper,the bonded solid lubricant coatings,which use inorganic phosphate as the binder,the mixture of MoS2 and graphite with two different weight proportions as the solid lubricant,are prepared by spraying under three different spray gun pressures.The bonding strength tests on the coatings show that the best spraying pressure is 0.2 MPa and the better mixing proportion of MoS2 to Graphite is 3：1.Then for the radial spherical plain bearings with steel/steel friction pair,after the coatings are made on the inner ring outer surfaces,the friction coefficient,the wear loss and the friction temperature of the bearings under four oscillating frequencies are investigated by a self-made tribo-tester.The test results,SEM of the worn morphologies and EDS of worn areas show that tribological properties of the bearing are obviously improved by the bonded solid lubricant coatings.When sprayed under the spray gun pressure of 0.2 MPa,the bearings have better anti-friction and anti-wear properties than those sprayed under 0.1 MPa and 0.3 MPa.Further as proved from the XPS analysis,between the coating with 3：1 mixing ratio of MoS2 to Graphite and the coating with 1：1 ratio,the former has less oxidation occurred on the surface and therefore has better tribological characteristics than the latter.This paper provides a reference to developing a new product of the radial spherical plain bearings with high bonding strength,oxidation resistance and abrasion resistance.

Thermal Error Compensation of the Wear-Depth Real-Time Detecting of Self-Lubricating Spherical Plain Bearings

The spherical plain bearing test bench is a necessary detecting equipment in the research process of self?lubricating spherical plain bearings. The varying environmental temperatures cause the thermal deformation of the wear?depth detecting system of bearing test benches and then a ect the accuracy of the wear?depth detecting data. However, few researches about the spherical plain bearing test benches can be found with the implementation of the detect?ing error compensation. Based on the self?made modular spherical plain bearing test bench, two main causes of ther?mal errors, the friction heat of bearings and the environmental temperature variation, are analysed. The thermal errors caused by the friction heat of bearings are calculated, and the thermal deformation of the wear?depth detecting sys?tem caused by the varying environmental temperatures is detected. In view of the above results, the environmental temperature variation is the main cause of the two error factors. When the environmental temperatures rise is 10.3 °C, the thermal deformation is approximately 0.01 mm. In addition, the comprehensive compensating model of the thermal error of the wear?depth detecting system is built by multiple linear regression(MLR) and time series analysis. Compared with the detecting data of the thermal errors, the comprehensive compensating model has higher fitting precision, and the maximum residual is only 1 μm. A comprehensive compensating model of the thermal error of the wear?depth detecting system is proposed, which provides a theoretical basis for the improvement of the real?time wear?depth detecting precision of the spherical plain bearing test bench.

Bayesian inference-based wear prediction method for plain bearings under stationary mixed-friction conditions

This study introduces a method to predict the remaining useful life(RUL)of plain bearings operating under stationary,wear-critical conditions.In this method,the transient wear data of a coupled elastohydrodynamic lubrication(mixed-EHL)and wear simulation approach is used to parametrize a statistical,linear degradation model.The method incorporates Bayesian inference to update the linear degradation model throughout the runtime and thereby consider the transient,system-dependent wear progression within the RUL prediction.A case study is used to show the suitability of the proposed method.The results show that the method can be applied to three distinct types of post-wearing-in behavior:wearing-in with subsequent hydrodynamic,stationary wear,and progressive wear operation.While hydrodynamic operation leads to an infinite lifetime,the method is successfully applied to predict RUL in cases with stationary and progressive wear.

Finite element simulation and experimental test of the wear behavior for self-lubricating spherical plain bearings

In this study, based on the classical Archard adhesion wear theory, a three-dimensional finite element model was established, with the aim of simulating the failure process of self-lubricating spherical plain bearings in the swinging wear condition. The results show that the self-lubricating spherical plain bearings go through two different stages during the wear process, namely, initial wear stage and stable wear stage. Because the large contact points wear out during the initial wear stage, the maximum contact pressure decreases as the test period increases. The relatively larger wear depth region shows elliptical distribution, and the maximum distribution appears in the central contact area. The wear depth reaches 0.974 mm after swinging 25,000 times. PTFE fibers, which possess a good friction performance but poor abrasion resistance, abundantly exist on the friction surfaces of the fabric liner. Consequently, the friction torque during the initial wear stage is slightly smaller than the friction torque during the stable wear stage; however, the wear rate during the initial wear stage is high. The reliability and effectiveness of the finite element model are verified by experiment. The developed finite element model can be used for the analysis of the wear mechanisms of bearings and the prediction of the service life of bearings.

Modeling and verification of comprehensive errors of real-time wear-depth detecting for spherical plain bearing tester

Because of various error factors,the detecting errors in the real-time experimental data of the wear depth affect the accuracy of the detecting data.The self-made spherical plain bearing tester was studied,and its testing principle of the wear depth of the spherical plain bearing was introduced.Meanwhile,the error factors affecting the wear-depth detecting precision were analyzed.Then,the comprehensive error model of the wear-depth detecting system of the spherical plain bearing was built by the multi-body system theory(MBS).In addition,the thermal deformation of the wear-depth detecting system caused by varying the environmental temperature was detected.Finally,according to the above experimental parameters,the thermal errors of the related parts of the comprehensive error model were calculated by FEM.The results show that the difference between the simulation value and the experimental value is less than 0.005 mm,and the two values are close.The correctness of the comprehensive error model is verified under the thermal error experimental conditions.