Lubricant for Heavily Loaded Slow-Speed Journal Bearing

摘要

Slow-speed journal bearings subjected to heavy loads operate in a mixed/boundary lubrication regime. Clearance and lubricant play very important roles in reducing the wear and friction in these bearings. In the present article, an experimental study on heavily loaded slow-speed journal bearings with various radial clearances lubricated with three different lubricants is presented. Lubricants with varying viscosities and containing different percentages of antiwear additives have been used. Bearing surface roughness and out-of-roundness are treated as noise parameters. The results of friction coefficient and total wear have been reported. The experimental results suggest that a lubricant with high viscosity and antiwear additives significantly reduces the coefficient of friction and amount of wear under varying bearing clearances, circularity, and cylindricity. The use of such a robust lubricant may obviate the effect of manufacturing uncertainties. This results in reduction of manufacturing and measurement costs.