Vibrations and film thickness in grease-lubricated deep groove ball bearings
Pramod Shetty, R.J. de Meijer, Jude A. Osara, Rihard Pasaribu, Piet M. Lugt
Abstract
Understanding the relevance and significance of the various replenishment mechanisms in grease-lubricated bearings is very important in choosing the appropriate lubrication strategy. This study shows that the lubricant film thickness in the ball-ring contacts of a deep groove ball bearing may increase by 10%–25% due to vibrations. The possible mechanisms behind this film thickness increase are discussed. Of the proposed contact replenishment mechanisms, the micro-lateral motion of the contact edge across the tracks caused by in-operation vibrations appears crucial. Results show that in the starved contacts, vibration plays a vital role in determining the film thickness.