Chapter 02

Bearing and Lubrication

Lubrication

The object of lubrication is to reduce the friction, wear, and heating between two surf
r e l a t i v e t o e a c h o t h e r . T h i s i s d o n e b y i n s e r t i n g a s u b s t a n c e ,l ucbarl il ce ad n,at b e t w e e n t h e m o v i n g
surfaces. The study of lubrication and the design of bearings are concerned mainly with phe
related to the oil film between the moving parts. While, tribology may be defined as the study of th
lubrication, f a w
riction,
o m o nds earp Tf i oving o alr tationary
t as ar
interface h s asb everal
e o t eneficial
f c ffects
L m n b he
g riction
l o oef
solid. Lubricants can also act as contaminants to the metal surfaces and coat them with monolayers of
molecules that inhibit adhesion even between compatible metals.

Liquid Lubricants

L i q u i d l u b r i c a na rt se l a r g e l y p e t r o l e u m - b a s e d o r s y n t h e t i c o i l s . M a n y c o m m e r c i a l l u b r i c a n t
mixed with various additives that react with the metals to form monolayer contaminants. So-called EP
(E x t r e m e P r e s)s ul ur eb r i c a n t s a d d f a t t y a c i d s o r o t h e r c o m p o u n d s t o t h e o i l t h a t a t t
chemically and form a contaminant layer that protects and reduces friction even when the oil fi
squeezed out of the interface by high contact loads. Oils are classified by their viscosity as well as by
the presence of additives for EP applications.

Solid-film Lubricants

S o l i d l u b r i ca ar en t os f t w o t y p e s : m a t e r i a l s t h a t e x h i b i t l o w s h e a r s t r e s s , s
molybdenum disulfide, which are added to the interface, and coatings such as phosphates, oxide
sulfides that are caused to form on the material surfaces. The graphite and moly
materials are typically supplied in powder form and can be carried to the interfac
pe trole um grea se or other mater ial. The se dry l ubricants have the adva nta ge of low friction a nd high-
temperature resistance, though the latter may be limited by the choice of binder. Co
phosphates or oxides can be chemically or electrochemically deposited.

Liquid lubricants are the most commonly used and mineral oils are the most common liquid. Grease
are oils mixed with soaps to form a thicker, stickier lubricant used where liquids cannot be supplied to
or retained on the surfaces. Solid lubricants are used in situations where liquids either cannot be kept
on t she urfaces
o l s r r ack
p some a h equired r ropertyG l uch s ig
are used in special situations, such as air bearings, to obtain extremely lo
especially liquids, also remove heat from the interface. Lower bearing temperatures
interactions and wear.

VISCOSITY
Viscosity is a measure of a fluid’s resistance to shear. Viscosity varies inversely with temperature and
d i r e c t l y w i t h p r e s s u r e , b o t h i n a n o n l i n e a r a p p r o
absolute viscosity η or as kinematic viscosity υ, and expressed as

η=υρ
Where ρ is the mass density of fluid.

 Units: lb-sec/in 2 (reyn) in English system or Pa-s in SI units

 A centipoise (cP) is 1 mPa-s. Typical absolute viscosity values at 20°C (68°F) are 0.017
(0.0026 µ f reyn)
a 1 c ( or µ ir, f .0 w aP 3 0.145
c ( µ reyn)
f S 3 eor ater,
oil.
 Oils operating in hot bearings typically have viscosities in the 1 to 5 µreyn range.

Kinematic Viscosity is measured in a viscometer, which may be either rotat

capillary viscometer measures the rate of flow of the fluid through a capillary tube
temperature, typically 40 or 100°C. A rotational viscometer measures the torque and speed of rotation
of a vertical shaft or cone running inside a bearing with its concentric annulus filled with the test fluid
at t he
t t est emperature.
T S u o k he
v I a cnits2 /sec ( f stoke)
ainematic
t E nd u he
iscosity
a ngli
2
in /sec. Stokes are quite large, so centistokes (cS) are often used.
 Figure 2. Absolute Viscosity Versus Temperature of Petroleum Lubricating Oils

TYPES OF LUBRICATION

T h r e e g e n e r a l t y p e s o f l u b r i c a t i o n c a n fo uc lcl u- rf i il nm ,b ema ir xi ,en dga snf: dibl omu n d a r y

lubrication.

Full-film lubrication

Th e b e a r i ng s u r f a c e s a r e f u l l y s e p a r a t e d b y a f i l m o f l ub r i c a nt , e l i m i na t i ng a n y c on t a c t i s c a l l e d f ul
f i l m l u b r i c a t i o n . F u r t h e r , F u l l - f i l m l u b r i c a t i o n c a n b he y cd lraossstiaf,ti ihecdy dirnotdo y n a m
, iocr
elastohydrodynamic.

Boundary lubrication

Describes a situation where, for reasons of geometry, surface roughness, excessive loa
sufficient lubricant, the bearing surfaces physically contact and adhesive or abrasive wear may occur.

Or Boundary lubrication refers to the situations in which the fluid film gets thinner and partial metal-
to-metal contact can occur. This depends on such factors as surface finish and wear-in
chemical reaction. Boundary lubrication occurs in journal bearings at low speeds and high loads, such
as when starting or stopping a rotating machinery.

The p roperties
o t s mf hes liding
a t l etallic
a s urfaces
f i l nd w he ub
The coefficient of friction is about 0.10. Boundary lubrication is less desirable than the other types.

Mixed-film lubrication

The combination of partial lubricant film plus some asperity contact between the surfaces is called as
mixed-film lubrication. Mixed lubrication

It i ts c he ombination
o p l f f p artial
i cubricantb t ilm
s lus
U t ntermittent
condition, the wear between the surfaces depends on the properties of the surfaces and the lu
viscosity. Typical values of the coefficient of friction are 0.004–0.10.

If the lubricant is supplied by hand oiling and by drop or mechanical feed, the bearing is o
unde r mi xe d o i l - f i l m T choi ns d li ut ib or ni sc .a t i n g c ondi t ion m ay al s o be pr
lubrication is deficient, the viscosity is too low, the bearing is overloaded, the clear
tight, the bearing speed is too low, and the bearing assembly is misaligned.
 Figure 1. Change in Friction with Relative Velocity in a Sliding Bearing

Hydrostatic L r ubrication
eferst t c o he s ontinuous
o af o l upply
( af o t low
t f
sliding interface at some elevated hydrostatic pressure (≈ 102–104 psi). This
(sump) to store, a pump to pressurize, and plumbing to distribute the lubricant. When properly don
with appropriate bearing clearances, this approach can eliminate all metal-t
interface d s uringT s liding.
a s he
b a f urfaces
o l w re i keparated
c a f y
of contaminants, reduces wear rates to virtually zero. At zero rela
essentially zero. With relative velocity, the coefficient of friction in a
interface is about 0.002 to 0.010.

Hydrodynamic Lubrication

It refer to the supply of sufficient lubricant (typically an oil) to the sliding interface to allow the
relative velocity of the mating surfaces to pump the lubricant within the gap and separate the surfaces
on a dynamic film of liquid. This technique is most effective in journal bearings, where the shaft and
bearing create a thin annulus within their clearance that traps the lubricant so the shaft can pump it
around the annulus.

A leakage path exists at the ends, so a continuous supply of oil must be provided to replace the losses.
This supply may be fed by gravity or pressure. This is the system used to lubricate the crankshaft and
camshaft bearings in an internal-combustion engine. Filtered oil is pumped t
rela tive ly low pre ssure t o re plenish the oil l ost t hrough the beari ng ends, but the c ondition within t he
bearing is hydrodynamic, creating much higher pressures to support the bearing loads.

In a hydrodynamic sleeve bearing at rest, the shaft or journal sits in contact with the botto
bearing, as shown in Figure 3 (a) and is in boundary lubrication.
As it begins to rotate, the shaft centerline shifts eccentrically within the bearing and the shaft acts as a
p u m p t o p u l l t h e f i l m o f o i l c l i n g i n g t o i t s s u r f a c e a r o
3b, putting it into the mixed film regime

A f l ow i s s e t up wi t hi n t he s m a l l t hi c kn e s s of t h e o i l f i l m . W i t h s uf f i c i e n t r e l a t i ve ve l oc i t y, t h e s h a
“climbs up” on a wedge of pumped oil and ceases to have metal-to-metal contact with the bearing, as
shown in Figure 11-3c. It is now in the hydrodynamic regime.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 3 Shaft
.(a)s tationary
m c f etala c ontact
i l ( S orces
r s nd b enters n
l u b r i c a t i o n c o n t a c ct e np to ei rn lt i nl e a (d cs ) S h a f t r o t a t i n g r a p i d l y h y
no metal contact fluid is pumped by shaft lags bearing centerline

A hydrodynamically lubricated bearing touches its surfaces together only

rotating below its “aquaplane T
s phei es d m
. ”e a n s t h a t a d h e s i v e w e a r c a n o c c u r o n l y d u r i n g
transients of start-up and shutdown.

As long as sufficient, clean lubricant and velocity are present to allow hydrodynamic l
shaft o t ffb hea i oearing s tt tsi e perating n a peed,
w T g here i s ssentiall
wear life over that of a continuous-contact situation. As with hydrostatic lubrication, the oil mu
kept free of contaminants to preclude other forms of wear such as abrasion. The coefficient of friction
in a hydrodynamically lubricated interface is about 0.002 to 0.010.