Investigation on the operational behaviour of grease lubricated radial lip seals using a modified ring on disc tribometer

摘要

Radial lip seals are complex tribological Systems. Therefore the friction and wear behaviour for grease lubrication was examined using a simplified model. Greases with known compositions were used. It was observed that the worked penetration has a negligible influence on friction coefficient and hydrodynamic film formation. The influence of the thickener type is far higher. The operational behaviour is described by the height of friction, the transition from mixed to hydrodynamic lubrication and the wear rate. Correlations for these values with grease properties could be found. It is concluded, that thickener particles are present in the tribocontact and have a strong impact on friction and wear mechanisms.