This diploma thesis deals with the study of film formation in compliant contact. Primary attention is dedicated to the influence of the entrainment speed and slide-to-roll ratio (SRR) on the central film thickness. Based on a research study of the available experimental methods, the fluorescence microscopy was used to achieve the aim of the work. Experiments were realized in ball-on-disk configuration. Firstly, a validation of the method was performed where the solid contact of the ceramic ball and the glass disk was analyzed. Since the measured values were in a good agreement with the theoretical prediction, a ball of NBR rubber material, which is commonly used for production of lip seals and o-rings, was subsequently used. The experimental measurements were performed under pure rolling and rolling/sliding conditions when the entrainment speeds varied in the range from 10 to 400 mm / s. A constant load of 0.2 N was applied. The measured data were then compared to the theoretical predictions for compliant contacts. The results showed that the thickness of the lubricating film gradually increases with increasing entrainment speed, which corresponds to theoretical assumption. Against expectations, evident influence of SRR on the film formation has been observed. In the last part of the thesis the measured data are confronted with previously published studies. Finally, some limitations of this study are discussed and recommendations for further improvement of the used experimental method are suggested.

Disertační práce se zabývá chováním a odezvou elastohydrodynamického (EHD) mazacího filmu za neustálených provozních podmínek. V úvodní části práce jsou shrnuty poznatky z oblasti EHD mazání; od jeho historie, přes základní mechanismy mazání a používané experimentální metody, až po nedávno publikované studie zaměřené na transientní podmínky. Hlavním cílem práce bylo experimentálně objasnit vliv provozních parametrů a reologických vlastností maziv na chování mazacího filmu v bodovém kontaktu při jeho nárazovém zatěžování a vystavení příčným vibracím. Za tímto účelem byla vyvinuta laboratorní zařízení umožňující měření rozložení mazacího filmu a tření za kontrolovaných nestacionárních podmínek. Experimenty odhalili zásadní roli přibližovacích a zatěžovacích rychlostí na formování stlačených mazacích filmů při nárazovém zatěžování. Výsledky byly srovnávány s nedávným teoretickým řešením. Bylo ukázáno na jeho nedostatky, jež byly následně odstraněny implementací empirických vztahů zohledňujících reologii maziv. V případě příčných vibrací byly nalezeny hranice selhání mazacího filmu a určeny vztahy popisující vliv příčných vibrací na centrální tloušťku filmu a její fluktuace jednotně pro všechny maziva. Závěrečná část práce poskytuje nový pohled na reologii maziv pomocí inovativního přístupu měření třecích reakcí maziva současně ve dvou směrech kontaktu za podmínek příčných vibrací. Tyto původní výsledky rozšiřují pochopení mechanizmů EHD mazání a mohou být použity k dokonalejším návrhům strojů, a vylepšit tak jejich účinnost, spolehlivost a životnost.

The diploma thesis deals with the analysis of the effects surface texturing on starved contact. Experimental verification was realized on apparatus simulating contact between a steel ball and glass disc using colorimetric interferometry and high-speed camera. The work deals with lubrication regimes, problems with starved contacts and surface texturing which can reduce effects of starvation on non-conformal surface contacts.

This work deals with construction of an experimental measuring stand. This stand will be used for research focused on wheel flange lubrication improvement. The construction is based on wheel flange lubrication system Tribotec OK-02. First part treats of rail vehicle dynamics and wheel flange lubrication problematics, second part describes construction itself.

This diploma thesis deals with the proposal of methodology for film thickness eva- luation within compliant contacts. With respect to characteristics of such contact pairs, like variable film thickness, high surface roughness, or poor conductivity and reflectivity, the usage of conventional experimental methods is particularly complicated. In present study, an optical method based on the principle of fluo- rescent microscopy was employed in present thesis. An evaluation algorithm in- volving background normalization and calibration of fluorescent intensity to film thickness was created in a form of experimental software. The proposed algori- thm was validated by using elastohydrodynamic contact formed between ceramic ball and glass disc. The measured film thickness was compared with theoretical prediction, while very good agreement of obtained data was observed. Further, a series of experiments with compliant samples was conducted, while the central film thickness was evaluated as a function of mean speed, applied lubricant, ap- plied load and slide-to-roll ratio. The last part of the thesis is focused on results analysis and discussion considering the previously published literature.

This PhD thesis deals with elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) under the conditions that occur between mated hypoid gear teeth. The aim is to describe experimentally the behaviour of lubricating film and mechanisms of its formation. The focus is mainly placed on clarifying the influence of direction and magnitude of sliding velocity in circular and elliptical contacts. Generally, it is still assumed that the direction of sliding velocity has no effect on the resulting lubricant film. In this study optical interferometry is used to determine distribution of lubricant film thickness. This work includes new and original results which clarify the studied problem. It was found that the direction of sliding velocity affects shape of the film at high speeds. This relates to the effect on heat flow through the contact. The results have an impact on the development of general EHL theory and provide knowledge applicable in film thickness prediction in the design of real tribological nodes.

<p><a href="">This work investigates the effect of surface features such as roughness, pits, and cracks on the tribological and fatigue behavior of machine components. It comprises of three main investigations: (i) effect of roughness on non-contacting fatigue, (ii) lubricated contact fluid structure interaction (FSI) behavior in presence of surface cracks, and (iii) the equivalence between non-contacting and contacting fatigue and the effect of roughness.</a></p><p>For the first investigation, a novel microstructure-based approach was developed to model surface roughness. It used a finite element fatigue damage model to predict the effects of roughness on tensile fatigue. AISI 4130 steel specimens with different surface finishes were fabricated and tested in axial fatigue using an MTS machine. The experimental results demonstrated the detrimental effect of roughness on fatigue lives, which was predicted by the model accurately.</p><p>In the second investigation, a partitioned CFD-FEM based FSI solver was developed using Ansys Multiphysics software to model and investigate elastohydrodynamically lubricated contacts typical in gears and cylindrical roller bearings. The FSI model relaxes Reynolds assumptions, and uses Navier-Stokes equations to determine the lubricant flow and utilizes finite element method to model the structural response. The FSI model was evaluated for robustness under various operating conditions. The effect of material plasticity, subsurface features, etc. were also investigated. The model was then extended to investigate the effects of surface cracks in rolling/sliding EHL line contacts. Using CFD based approach enabled the investigation of surface cracks with inclined geometries, overcoming the limitations of standard Reynolds-based solvers. The effects of crack geometry parameters such as crack location, crack length, crack width, crack tip radius and crack orientation on fluid pressure distribution were studied. This investigation identified the crack geometries that affect the contact fatigue behavior by predicting the location and severity of stress concentrations in the material.</p><p>Finally, the relationship between contacting fatigue and non-contacting fatigue was investigated. A test rig was designed and developed to simulate rolling contact fatigue (RCF) surface damage. Experimental investigation revealed that the RCF surface damage stress-life (SN) results can be predicted using torsional fatigue results 10 times faster. A computational contact mechanics model was developed to incorporate the effect of roughness in this prediction, and corroborated against experimental RCF results at different roughness levels.</p>

No description available.

Journal bearings are being used in various locations of an internal combustion engine. They contribute to a large portion of total engine friction and lowering it means a significant contribution to CO2 reduction. Operating under heavy loads, journal bearings are often subject to mixed regime of lubrication where a part of bearing load is carried by asperities. This necessitates accurate modelling of asperities contact in order to get more realistic predication of friction losses in journal bearings contact. The evaluation method at Scania couples 3D confocal measurement of bearings’ surface roughness to a Multi-body Dynamic Analysis of journal bearings lubrication utilizing AVL EXCITE. During running-in, asperity peaks are reduced due to wear caused by metal-to-metal contact resulting in change of bearing surface profile and different contact zones in axial and circumferential direction. The aim of this thesis is to include these different contact zones and run-in wear profile of the bearing to the existing evaluation method at Scania to simulate run-in effects more precisely. Surface measurements were made on a run-in big end bearing surface at edges, center and region after oil hole. From these measurements, using the existing Local Scale Model at Scania, asperity pressure curve and flow factors were obtained, which were used to perform AVL EXCITE big end bearing simulations with multiple surface contact patches. The results show that the inclusion of multiple surface patches and run-in wear profile lead to a significant change in distribution and also magnitude of bearing performance parameters e.g. pressure, friction losses, clearance height. / Glidlager är en av de mest använda komponenterna i motorer. De bidrar till en stor del av motorns totala friktion och en minskning av denna bidrar i hög grad till minskade utsläpp av CO2. Glidlager som arbetar under hög last utsätts ofta för blandfilmssmörjning där en del av lasten bärs av mekanisk kontakt mellan ytornas asperiteter. Detta kräver en noggrann modellering av asperitetskontakter för att få en realistisk prediktion av friktionsförluster i glidlager.Utvärderingsmetoden på Scania kopplar ihop 3D-mätning av lagrets ytfinhet i ett konfokalmikroskåp med en dynamisk tribologiberäkning i MBS-programvaran (Multi Body Simulation) AVL Excite.Under inkörning nöts asperiteterna ner på grund av metallkontakten mellan ytorna vilket påverkar lagerytans profil och ger olika kontaktzoner i axiell och periferiell riktning.Syftet med examensarbetet är att inkludera de olika kontaktzonerna och lagrets profil efter inkörning i Scanias befintliga utvärderingsmetod i syfte att noggrannare kunna simulera inkörning av lagren.Ytfinhetsmätningar utfördes med ett konfoklamikroskop på ett inkört vevlager vid kanterna, i mitten och i närheten av oljehålet.Med hjälp av dessa mätningar och en av Scanias befintliga kontaktmodeller beräknades asperitetstryck och flödesfaktorer vilka användes för att utföra vevlagerberäkningar i AVL Excite med olika kontaktegenskaper i olika regioner.Resultaten visar att införandet av regioner på lagerytan med olika lokala kontaktegenskaper och lagerprofil efter inkörning ger en signifikant förändring av såväl storleken som fördelningen av olika lagerresultat såsom till exempel lagertryck, friktionsförluster och oljefilmstjocklek.

L’étude du frottement dans les contacts lubrifiés fortement chargés est un sujet complexe. En effet, le frottement dépend fortement du comportement rhéologique du lubrifiant dans le centre du contact et, celui-ci n'est pas bien connu à pression et taux de cisaillement élevé. Diverses méthodes expérimentales ont été développées pour expliquer le comportement plateau dans les courbes de frottement, associé à l’existence d’une contrainte limite de cisaillement, mais aucune d'elles n'a fourni une image complète des mécanismes réels impliqués. Dans la continuité de ces efforts, des études sont présentées dans ce mémoire. Le premier défi dans ce travail est d'effectuer des mesures de frottement dans des conditions isothermes nominales, ce qui signifie que même si des effets thermiques doivent se produire dans toute mesure de frottement, il est possible de les minimiser et de rendre les résultats insensibles à une faible dissipation d'énergie dans le volume expérimental d'intérêt. La minimisation de l’échauffement du lubrifiant aide à se focaliser sur l’origine mécanique de la contrainte limite de cisaillement et de mieux caractériser sa dépendance à la pression et à la température. C'est pourquoi, tout d'abord, une série d'expériences a été réalisée sur deux lubrifiants, un diester pur (benzyl benzoate) et une huile minérale de turbine (Shell T9) avec des vitesses d'entraînement variables. Cela nous permet d'abord d'observer directement l'influence des effets thermiques sur les valeurs de la contrainte limite de cisaillement et ensuite, de déterminer les conditions expérimentales qui limitent ces effets tout en assurant un régime en film complet. Le deuxième objectif est de caractériser le comportement en frottement des lubrifiants sous conditions isothermes nominales et sur une large gamme de pression (jusqu'à 3 GPa) et de température (jusqu’à 80°C) afin d'établir un nouveau modèle découplé permettant de décrire la dépendance à la température et à la pression de la contrainte limite sous fortes charges. Enfin, l'étude se focalise sur la compréhension du comportement microscopique des lubrifiants dans des conditions extrêmes de cisaillement et de pression. Des mesures in situ de spectroscopie Raman et Brillouin ont été également effectuées sous conditions statiques, afin d'étudier le changement de phase du lubrifiant. / Friction in highly loaded lubricated contacts is a complex issue. Indeed, it highly depends on the lubricant rheological behaviour in the Hertzian region, which is not well known under such high pressure and high shear stress. Various experimental methods have been developed to explain the plateau-like behaviour in friction curves referred to as the limiting shear stress (LSS), but none of them provided a full picture of the real mechanisms involved. In a continuation of these efforts, some investigations are presented in this manuscript. The first challenge in this work is to carry out friction measurements under nominal isothermal conditions, meaning that even if thermal effects must occur in any friction measurement, it is possible to minimize them and to make the results almost insensitive to a weak energy dissipation within the experimental volume of interest. Minimizing shear heating of the lubricant help us to focus on the mechanical origin of the LSS and to better characterize its dependence to pressure and temperature. That’s why, first of all, a series of experiments was performed on two lubricants, a pure diester fluid (benzyl benzoate), and a commercial turbine mineral oil (Shell T9) with varying entrainment velocities. This allow us first to directly observe the influence of the lubricant shear heating on the LSS values and then to determine the experimental conditions which limit this thermal effect while ensuring a full film regime. The second objective is to characterize the frictional behavior of both lubricants under nominal isothermal conditions and over a wide range of pressure (up to 3 GPa) and temperature (up to 80°C) in order to establish a new uncoupled model to describe the temperature and pressure dependence of the limiting shear stress under highly loaded conditions. Finally, the study focuses on the understanding of the microscopic behavior of lubricants under extreme shear and pressure conditions. In situ Raman and Brillouin spectroscopy investigations were also conducted under static conditions, in order to study the lubricant phase changes under various pressure and temperature conditions.