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.

Emerging and Innovative Materials for Hydropower Engineering Applications:Turbines,Bearings,Sealing,Dams and Waterways,and Ocean Power

The hydropower sector is currently experiencing several technological developments.New technologies and practices are emerging to make hydropower more flexible and more sustainable.Novel materials have also been recently developed to increase performance,durability,and reliability;however,no systematic discussions can be found in the literature.Therefore,in this paper,novel materials for hydropower applications are presented,and their performance,advantages,and limitations are discussed.For example,composites can reduce the weight of steel equipment by 50%to 80%,polymers and superhydrophobic materials can reduce head losses by 4%to 20%,and novel bearing materials can reduce bearing wear by 6%.These improvements determine higher efficiencies,longer life span,waste reduction,and maintenance needs,although the initial cost of some materials is not yet competitive with respect to the costs of traditional materials.The novel materials are described here based on the following categories:novel materials for turbines,dams and waterways,bearings,seals,and ocean hydropower.

High Water Content Material Based on Ba-Bearing Sulphoaluminate Cement

A new type of high water content material which is made up of two pastes is prepared, one is refute from lime and gypsum, and another is based on Ba-bearing sulphoaluminate cement. It has excellent properties such as slow single paste solidifing ,fust double pustes solidifing ,fast coagulating and hardening, high early strength, good suspeasion property at high W/C ratio and low cost. Meanwhile, the properties and hydration mechanism of the material were analyzed by using XRD, DTA- TG and SEM. The hydrated products of new type of high water content material are Ba-bearing ettringite, BaSO4 , aluminum gel and C-S-H gel.

In vitro evaluation of a new resilient, hard-carbon, thin-film coating as a bearing material for ventricular assist devices ——In Vitro Bearing Evaluation of BioMedFlex

Our aim was to evaluate the potential use of BioMedFlex? (BMF), a new resilient, hard-carbon, thin- film coating, as a blood journal bearing material in Cleveland Heart’s continuous-flow left and right ven- tricular assist devices (VADs). BMF is not classified as a diamond-like carbon (DLC) and differs from other thin-film carbon coatings by its high flexural strength, radiopacity, and wear resistance. A 2- to 4-μm-thick BMF adhesion layer was deposited on the VAD journal bearing surfaces. A commercial DLC coating used in other clinical blood pump applications was used as a control. Durability and reliability of the BMF coating was verified in severe pump start/stop testing using 20 BMF-coated journal bearing pairs. The BMF-coated surfaces showed no coating failures, whereas 57% of the DLC bearing pairs developed scratches through the carbon coating, documenting that BMF can provide a durable coating in our blood journal bearing application. In conclusion, BMF has shown qualities that support its significant advantages as an alternative journal bea- ring material in Cleveland Heart pumps. Our plan includes biocompatibility testing with ongoing animal studies, endurance testing with submerged pumps running in saline, and assessment of batch coating processing capability.

Isotope Geochemical Characteristics and Material Sources of Tin--Bearing Porphyries in South China

Tin-bearing porphyries in South China can be divided into the F-rich and F-poorsubtypes. They are high-silica (SiO_2>71%), peraluminous (A/NKC>1.0) and rich inincompatible elements (Rb, Zr, U, W, Sn) and have weak Ce (δCe=0.68-0.82) and strong Eu(δEu=0.01-0.38) negative anomalies. Meantime, they also have low δ_(Nd)(-6.3- -8.4), high^(207)Pb/^(204)Pb (15.588-15.790), medium to high (^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr)_i (0.7084-0.7287) and relatively highδ^(18)O(9.1-10.3‰). These characteristics clearly suggest that the two subtypes of tin-bearingporphyries were derived from the crustal materials. Their differences lie only in the existence ofcertain different components in their source materials. Therefore, there is only one type oftin-bearing prophyry in South China. that is continental crust transformation type.

Study on Solid Self-Lubricating Material for Plasma Facing Components in EAST

In this study, the friction performance of self-lubricating material with the counterpart steel ball-plate rubbing was investigated in vacuum conditions and the thermal distortion of the heat sink sample was tested. The analysis and test results show that the self-lubricating ma- terial has excellent anti-friction properties in high vacuum condition and can decrease the thermal stress and avoid damage to the PFCs during physical experiments.

Tribological Properties of Self-lubricating Laminated Ceramic Materials

In order to improve the tribological properties of ceramic composites, Al2O3/TiC-Al2O3/ TiC/CaF2 self-lubricating laminated ceramic composites were prepared by vacuum hot pressing sintering. Experiments were conducted to get mechanical properties and the friction and wear properties were also measured with friction and wear tester. The worn surfaces were observed by scanning electron microscope （SEM） and energy dispersion spectrum （EDS）. The wear resistance properties and the self-lubricating effect of ceramic composites were analyzed. Results show that the Al2O3/TiC-Al2O3/TiC/CaF2 self-lubricating laminated ceramic composites layers are well-defined with a higher bonding strength and the mechanical performances are uniform enough to overcome the anisotropy of weak laminated ceramic composites. In addition, the fracture toughness of Al2O3/TiC layers is also improved. Its friction coefficient and wear rates decrease with the increase of rotation speed and load. Al2O3/TiC-Al2O3/TiC/CaF2 self-lubricating laminated ceramic composites have good wear resistance because of the tribofilm formed by the CaF2 solid lubricants. The wear mechanisms of Al2O3/TiC/ CaF2 layers are abrasive wear and Al2O3/TiC layers are adhesive wear.

Effects of copper-coated MoS_(2) on friction performance of bronze-graphite-MoS_(2) self-lubricating materials

Two kinds of bronze-graphite-MoS_(2) self-lubricating materials with copper-coated MoS_(2) and uncoated MoS_(2) were prepared by powder metallurgy.Friction and wear experiments were carried out under 4 N and 10 N loads respectively,and the effects of copper-coated MoS_(2) on the friction performances of the materials were studied.Results showed that the way of copper-coated on the surface of MoS_(2) could reinforce the bonding between MoS_(2) and matrix,and inhibited the formation of MoO_(2).Moreover,both materials formed a MoS_(2) lubricating film on the surface during the friction process.While the lubricating film formed after copper coating on MoS_(2) was thicker and had uneven morphology,it was more conducive to improving the friction performance of the material.Compared with conventional materials,the wear rate of copper-coated materials was reduced by one order of magnitude,and the friction coefficient was also reduced by 22.44% and 22.53%,respectively,when sliding under 4 N and 10 N loads.It shows that copper-coated MoS_(2)can improve friction properties of bronze-graphite-MoS_(2)self-lubricating materials furtherly.

Effect of Alternation of Aging and Seawater Erosion on Properties of Rubber Material Used in Lead Rubber Bearing

An artificially accelerated alternation of aging and seawater erosion test of rubber materials used in lead rubber bearing(LRB)was performed,mainly to study the time-varying laws of rubber materials mechanical properties.Time-varying laws of the Mooney–Rivlin and Neo-Hookean constitutive parameters of rubber materials under the alternation of aging and seawater erosion were also analyzed.Results indicate that the rubber material mechanical properties were significantly affected by alternation of aging and seawater erosion.Hardness and elongation stress increased exponentially with test time.And 120 days after the test,the hardness increased by 14%,the maximum percentage increase in stress of 124.76%occurred at 100%constant elongation and the minimum percentage increase in stress of 68.32%occurred at 300%constant elongation;Tensile strength and elongation at break decreased by 44.96%and 53.09%.Besides,constitutive parameters of Mooney–Rivlin and Neo-Hookean all changed greatly with test duration.Finally,time-varying laws of constitutive parameters were verified by comparing the simulated and experimental results of the lead rubber bearing’s stiffness.Research results are of great significance to the seismic performance research and life-cycle performance analysis of offshore traffic engineering such as cross-sea bridges and bridges in the marine environment.

Experimental Study of Moso Bamboo to-Steel Connections with Embedded Grouting Materials

Moso bamboos have attracted excessive attention as a renewable green building material to the concept of sustainable development.In this paper,the 20 bolted Moso bamboo connection specimens with embedded steel plates and grouting materials were designed according to connection configurations with different bolt diameters and end distance of bolt holes,and their bearing capacities and failure modes were analyzed by static tension tests.According to the test results of all connectors,the failure modes of the specimens are divided into four categories,and the effects of bolt diameter and bolt hole end distance on the connection bearing capacity and failure mode are analyzed.The test results show that the deformation and failure process can be divided into four stages.The main influence factor of connector bearing capacity is bolt diameter.Connectors can be divided into four failure modes,and brittle failure can be avoided by adopting certain structural measures.Filling with grouting material can improve the bearing capacity of joints.Due to the large variability of bamboo,further experiments are needed.

Wear behavior of SiC/PyC composite materials prepared by electromagnetic-field-assisted CVI

Silicon carbide/pyrolytic carbon (SiC/PyC) composite materials with excellent performance of self-lubrication and wear resistance were prepared on SiC substrates by electromagnetic-field-assisted chemical vapor infiltration (CVI). The composition and microstructure of the SiC/PyC materials were investigated in detail by XRD, SEM and EDS, etc. The effects of the deposition temperature on the section features and wear resistance of the SiC/PyC were studied. The results show that the PyC layers were deposited onto SiC substrates spontaneously at a lower deposition temperature. The SiC substrates deposited with PyC can significantly reduce the wear rate of the self-dual composite materials under dry sliding condition. The wear tests suggest that the SiC/PyC composite materials own a better wear resistance property when the deposition temperature is 800 °C, and the wear rate is about 64.6% of that without the deposition of PyC.

An Overview of Performance Characteristics, Experiencesand Trends of Aerospace Engine Bearings Technologies

In this paper, the operating conditions, technical requirements, performance characteristics, design ideas, application experiences and development trends of aerospace engine bearings, including material technology, integration design and reliability, are reviewed. The development history of aerospace engine bearing is recalled briefly at first. Then today＇s material technologies and the high bearing performances of the bearings obtained through the new materials are introduced, which play important roils in the aeroengine bearing developments. The integration design ideas and practices are explained to indicate its significant advantages and importance to the aerospace engine bearings. And the reliability of the shaft-bearing system is pointed out and treated as the key requirement with goals for both engine and bearing. Finally, as it is believed that the correct design comes from practice, the pre-qualification rig testing conducted by FAG Aerospace GmbH ＆ Co. KG is briefly illustrated as an example. All these lead to the development trends of aerospace engine bearings from different aspects.

MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF HIGH BORON BEARING STEEL

High boron bearing steel, in which boron homogeneously distributed, wassuccessfully produced in the vacuum induction furnace. The microstructural observations of cast andhot rolled steels showed that the addition of titanium can eliminate the quantity of ferrous boridesprecipitated at the grain boundaries and break the net microstructure, as a result, its hotworkability is improved. The titanium boride TiB_2 homogeneously distributes in the matrix ofalpha-Fe. The parameters of hot rolling process, including preheated temperature, initial rollingtemperature, finished rolling temperature and the total deformation, have been optimized.

Axial response and material efficiency of tapered helical piles

Different techniques have been proposed to increase the bearing capacity of open-ended piles.Welding helices to the shaft and tapering the pile shaft could be used simultaneously to enhance the static and dynamic behaviors of these piles.This paper subjects the bearing capacity,stiffness,frictional behavior,and material efficiency of the tapered helical piles to scrutiny.Tapered helical piles are introduced herein as an alternative option to improve the material efficiency of hollow piles.Based on the Taguchi method,a series of experiments was designed and conducted.The axial responses of tapered helical piles are also investigated using finite element analyses.The results derived from loadedisplacement curves and strain gages are used to characterize the axial compression responses of tapered helical piles.The effects of tapered angle,helices diameter and helices distance are examined using dimensionless parameters,and the degree of contribution of these factors is calculated on each of the enumerated variables individually.Experimental results show that the shaft friction resistance of tapered helical piles increases continuously with the pile head settlement.Furthermore,the effect of tapered wall on the shaft friction resistance is more tangible at low stress levels.The results showed that the relative material efficiency factor of the optimum pile could be 2.5 times that of unoptimized pile with a similar quantity of material.

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.

Role of Rare Earth in Low Sulphur Nb-Ti-Bearing Steel

The effect of rare earth on the microstructures, mechanical properties and inclu sions in low sulphur Nb-Ti-bearing steel were investigated. It is shown that t h e transverse yield point, the traverse tensile strength and elongation of testin g steels decrease initially and then rise with increasing content of rare earth. The impact energy values of the testing steels exhibit a contrary trend. Proper amount of rare earth in the steels can improve the anisotropy of impact toughne ss above -20 ℃ and it does not affect the type of microstructures which ar e st ill composed of ferrites and pearlites, but the pearlite amount increases. On one hand, rare earth cleans the molten steel and reduces the amount of inclusions; on the other hand, rare earth makes the inclusions spheroidizd, refi ned and dispersed, and thus improves the distribution of inclusions.

EFFECT OF SULFUR ON PROPERTIES OF BALL BEARING STEEL

5 heats of GCr15 bearing steel of different sulfur contents ranging from 0.009-0.092% （wt.）were smelted. The role of sulfur in bearing steel and its effect on contact fatigue properties andfracture toughness KICWere studied. It was shown that as the sulfur content increases the sulfur content dissolved in the steelsubstrate remains unchanged. The best contact fatigue property appears at the sulfur content of0.045% （wt.）, and the influence of sulfur content on the fracture toughness of bearing steel is notobvious. Finally, the mechanism of the role of sulfur was investigated.

MEASURING AND MODELING OF THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF COMPOSITE BEARING PAD MADE OF PLASTIC MATRIX AND FINE BRONZE ELASTIC SPRINGS

The viscoelastic properties of the normal PTFE plastic and strengthened PTFEplastic for bearing pad are measured. The mechanical properties of the composite material forbearing pad, which is made of the aforementioned plastics as matrix reinforced by fine bronzeelastic springs, are modeled and relaxation modulus of the material are presented. The differencebetween these two kinds of PTFE is studied. The results show that the complex modulus of PTFEplastics for bearing pad is higher than that of normal PTFE plastics.

Modeling of Rolling Contact Friction of Ball Bearings at Elevated Temperature

In order to predict the rolling friction coefficient and analyze the effects of material compatibility on the friction coefficient at elevated temperature(from room temperature to 600℃),a theoretic computation model was developed based on bearing's elastic contact hysteresis and related material characteristic parameters.Some examples were carried out to verify the feasibility of the model.The research results show that the material compatibility has significant effects on rolling friction coefficient,especially the modulus of elasticity and the expansion coefficient of material,and results also show the rolling friction coefficient of the matched pair between GCr15 and Si3N4 is the smallest comparing with that between GCr15 and M50(or ASP-23,or GCr15) when making GCr15,M50,ASP-23,and Si3N4 materials as bearing's rolling balls and GCr15 material as bearing's inner and outer rings.Further research indicates that the working temperature also has played an important role in the rolling friction coefficient of the ball bearing,moreover,the friction coefficient of the matched pair of M50 and Si3N4 behaves most stably at elevated temperature.

Numerical simulation and experimental verification of a novel double-layered split die for high-pressure apparatus used for synthesizing superhard materials

Based on the principles of massive support and lateral support, a novel double-layered split die(DLSD) for high-pressure apparatus was designed to achieve a higher pressure-bearing capacity and larger sample cavity. The stress distributions of the DLSDs with different numbers of divided blocks were investigated by the finite element method and compared with the stress distributions of the conventional belt-type die(BTD). The results show that the cylinders and first-layer supporting rings of the DLSDs have dramatically smaller stresses than those of the BTD. In addition, increasing the number of divided blocks from 4 to 10 gradually increases the stress of the cylinder but has minimal influence on the stress of the supporting rings. The pressure-bearing capacities of the DLSDs with different numbers of divided blocks, especially with fewer blocks, are all remarkably higher than the pressure-bearing capacity of the BTD. The contrast experiments were also carried out to verify the simulated results. It is concluded that the pressure-bearing capacities of the DLSDs with 4 and 8 divided blocks are 1.58 and 1.45 times greater than that of the BTD. This work is rewarding for the commercial synthesis of high-quality, large-sized superhard materials using a double-layered split high-pressure die.