Abstract
The physical conditions—pressure, temperature, shear stress—generated in an elastohydrodynamic contact govern the rheological behavior of the lubricant within the contact, and thus its tribological performance.
This paper presents in situ measurements of pressure and film thickness in EHD point contacts using respectively Raman microspectrometry and differential colorimetric interferometry. A model lubricant—a polyphenylether oil (5P4E)—is used. The influence of load, temperature and sliding speed at different mean entrainment speeds on pressure and film thickness distributions is investigated. The analysis is based upon the relative values taken by the Moes dimensionless parameters M and L. In all cases, the pressure peak tends to increase and to move towards the center of the contact when the slide to roll ratio increases. When the sliding speed reaches large values (100 to 180%), several cases are encountered:
• When M > L, the pressure peak softens and moves towards the outlet;
• The Petrusevich peak disappears and the pressure profile remains almost constant as M and L are close to each other;
• When M < L, the peak disappears along with a strong modification of the pressure distribution. The maximum value is significantly reduced and the area of contact increases.
Measured film thickness profiles confirm these tendencies. Increasing the slide to roll ratio leads to an important film thickness reduction and modifies the position of the constriction. Furthermore, film increase localized between the contact center and the constriction region is observed. This indicates the presence of important thermal effects within the contact and is discussed in the light of recently published papers.
Similar content being viewed by others
Refeneces
M. Smeeth and H. A. Spikes in: Proc. of the 22nd Leeds-Lyon Symposium on Tribology, (eds.) D. Dowsen et al. (1996) p. 695.
A. Jolkin and R. Larson in: Proc of the 25th Leeds-Lyon Symposium on Tribology (Elsevier Science B. V, 1999) p. 505.
J. Molimard, Ph. D. Thesis, INSA de Lyon, France, n8 99 ISAL 0121, 1999.
S. Bair, M. Marchetti and P. Vergne, Tribol. Trans. 45(3) (2002) 330.
J. L. Mansot, Ph. D. Thesis, University of Lyon I, France, n° 86–50, (1986).
D. J. Gardiner, E. Baird, C. Craggs, M. P. Dare-Edwards and J. C. Bell, Lubrication Science 1 (1989) 301.
I. Jubault, J. L. Mansot, P. Vergne and D. Mazuyer, J. Tribol. 124(1) (2002) 114.
I. Jubault, J. L. Mansot, P. Vergne, A. A. Lubrecht and J. Molimard, in: Proc. of the 29th Leeds-Lyon Symposium on Tribology, Leeds, September 2002 (in press).
I. Jubault, Ph. D. Thesis, Universite des Antilles et de la Guyane, France, n° 02AGUY0077 (2002).
R. D. Etters and A. A. Helmy, Physics of Solids under High Pressure, (eds) J. S. Schilling and R. N. Shelton (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1981.)
J. R. Ferraro, Vibrational Spectroscopy at High External Pressures (Academic Press, London, 1984).
M. Hartl, J. Molimard, I. Krupka, P. Vergne, M. Querry, R. Poliscuk and M. Liska, Tribol. Trans. 44(2) (2001) 270.
D. J. Gardiner, E. Baird, A. C. Gorvin, W. E. Marshall and M. P. Dare-Edwards, Wear 91 (1983) 111.
A. Haiahem, Ph. D. Thesis, INSA de Lyon, France, n° 89ISAL0018 (1989).
F. Laplant, E. J. Hutchinson and D. Ben-Amotz, J. Tribol. 119 (1997) 817.
B. J. Hamrock and D. Dowson, J. Lubric. Technol. 99 (1977) 264.
A. A. Lubrecht, Ph. D. Thesis, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands (1987).
C. H. Venner and A. A. Lubrecht, Proc. Instn. Mech. Engrs. 214 Part J (2000) 43.
G. Nijenbanning, C. H. Venner and H. Moes, Wear 176 (1994) 217.
H. S. Cheng, ASLE Trans. 8 (1965) 397.
M. Hartl, I. Krupka and M. Liska, Tribol. Trans. 42 (1999) 361.
P. Yang, S. Qu, M. Kaneta and H. Nishikawa, J. Tribol. 123 (2001) 42.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jubault, I., Molimard, J., Lubrecht, A. et al. In Situ Pressure and Film Thickness Measurements in Rolling/Sliding Lubricated Point Contacts. Tribology Letters 15, 421–429 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:TRIL.0000003068.07650.2e
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:TRIL.0000003068.07650.2e