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The purpose of this paper is to study the lubrication characteristics of double involute gear (DIG), compare its lubrication differences under quasi-static and tribo-dynamic conditions and study the influence of different factors on its lubrication characteristics under the tribo-dynamic condition.

According to the meshing characteristics of DIG and elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) theory, a tribo-dynamic model of DIG is established based on the “subsection method.” The Runge-Kutta method and the multigrid method are integrated to solve the model, and the dynamic analytical model of lubricating oil is established in the iterative solution.

The load and the transmission error fluctuate obviously under the tribo-dynamic condition, which is not conducive to the lubrication of DIG. The influence of rotational speeds and torque on the lubrication properties of DIG has obvious differences under tribo-dynamic and quasi-static conditions.

This research can provide a theoretical basis for improving the lubrication performance, reducing the loss of mechanical efficiency and improving the bearing capacity and service life of DIG.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an energy-efficient and dynamically improved thrust ball bearing using textured race. A texture has been used on the stationary race of the test bearing to conduct the long-duration experiment for exploring its tribological and vibrational behaviours under starved lubricating condition using micro size MoS2 blended grease. The performance behaviours of the textured race bearing have been compared with conventional bearing (i.e. having both races without textures) under the identical operating conditions for demonstrating the advantages of textured race.

Texture was created on stationary race of the test ball bearing (51308) using nano-second pulsed Nd: YAG laser. Performance parameters (frictional torque, temperature rise and vibrations) of textured ball bearings were measured under severe starved lubricating conditions for understanding the critical role of texture in the long duration of the test. S-type load cell and miniature accelerometer were used for measuring the frictional torque and vibration, respectively. Bulk temperature at stationary races (at the back side) of test bearings was measured in operating conditions using a non-contact infrared thermometer.

Significant reduction in frictional torque and decrease in amplitude of vibration with textured ball bearing were found even under the severe starved lubricating condition in comparison to conventional bearing.

There is dearth of research pertaining to the performance behaviours of ball bearings using textures on the races. Therefore, an attempt has been made in this study to explore the tribo-dynamic performance behaviours of a thrust ball bearing using a texture on its stationary race under severe starved lubricating condition for the longer duration of the test.

Power loss is an important index to evaluate the transmission performance of a gear pair. In some cases, the starved lubrication exists on the gear contact interface. The purpose of this paper is to reveal the mechanical power loss of a helical gear pair under starved lubrication.

A starved thermal-elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) model is proposed to evaluate the tribological properties of a helical gear pair. The numerical result has been validated against the published simulation data. Based on the proposed model, the influence of thermal effect, working conditions, inlet oil-supply layer and surface roughness on the mechanical power loss and lubrication performance has been discussed.

Results show that the thermal effect has a significant effect on the tribological properties of helical gear pair, especially on mechanical power loss. For a specified working condition, there is an optimal oil supply for gear lubrication to obtain the state of full film lubrication. Meanwhile, it reveals that the mechanical power loss increases with the increase of the surface roughness amplitude.

In this paper, a starved thermal-EHL model has been developed for the helical gear pair based on the finite line contact theory. This model can be used to analyze the tribological properties of gear pair from full film lubrication to mixed lubrication. The results can provide the tribological guidance for design of a helical gear pair.

As the crucial support component of the propeller power system, the reliability of the operation of submersible pumps is influenced by the lubrication performance of water-lubricated thrust bearings. When the water-lubricated thrust bearings are under start-stop or heavy load conditions, the effect of surface morphology is crucial as the mixed lubrication regime is encountered. This paper aims to develop one mixed lubrication model for the water-lubricated thrust bearings to predict the effects of surface skewness, kurtosis and roughness orientation on the loading carrying capacity and tribological behavior.

This paper developed one improved mixed lubrication model specifically for the water-lubricated thrust bearing system. In this model, the hydrodynamic model was improved by using the height of the rough surface and its probability density function, combined with the average flow model. The asperity contact model was improved by using the equation for the Pearson system of frequency curves to characterize the non-Gaussian aspect of surface roughness distribution.

According to the results, negative skewness, large kurtosis and lateral surface pattern can improve the tribological performance of water-lubricated thrust bearings. Optimizing the surface morphology is a reasonable design method that can improve the performance of water-lubricated thrust bearings.

In this paper, one mixed lubrication model specifically for the water-lubricated thrust bearing with the effect of surface roughness into consideration was developed. Based on the developed model, the effect of surface morphology on tribological behavior can be evaluated.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-08-2023-0247/

Harmonic gears always work under different operating conditions and may usually break down due to lubrication failures, while its lubrication mechanism is still not clearly understood. This paper aims to present a lubrication model comprehensively considering the influence of contact geometry, lubrication properties and three-dimensional (3D) real surface roughness to analyze the lubrication performance under different conditions.

Based on the discrete convolution-fast Fourier transformation with duplicated padding and quasi-system numerical methods, the lubrication model for harmonic gears is developed, which is verified by comparing results with available lubrication data.

The effects of meshing process, working conditions and 3D roughness on the lubrication characteristics are discussed. From the calculated cases, the increase in rotational speed and decrease of applied torque may increase the film thickness, enhancing the lubrication performance of harmonic gears. It is also observed that proper surface roughness can be used for lubrication design.

The research results can provide theoretical guidance for improving lubrication performance and reducing friction/wear of the harmonic gear interfaces. This study can be promoted to various engineering scenarios of harmonic gears, such as industrial robots, space-driven agencies and precision measuring instruments.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the force and basic rating life of angular contact ball bearings of RV reducer under the actual operating condition.

Force analysis of angular contact ball bearing under the actual operating condition, calculate the axial, radial load and internal load distribution, calculate the basic rating life of angular contact ball bearing under variable load conditions.

The external load has a great influence on the radial load of angular contact ball bearing, further affecting the basic rating life of angular contact ball bearing, which is a great influence on the overall life of RV reducer under the condition of high frequency and heavy load.

This paper provides important ideas for the design and manufacture of RV reducer in theory and experiment technology.

Friction and wear are very important factors in predicting the performance of journal bearings, particularly under heavy load in start-up processes. However, there are few relevant studies on the numerical model. This study aims to establish a transient-mixed lubrication model to predict the performance of journal bearings, focusing on the friction and wear behavior under heavy load during start-up.

The average Reynold equation, three-dimensional energy equation, shear stress model for friction and Archard model for wear are coupled in the transient model by finite difference method. The linear wear simulation method is bought out to reduce the update times and the calculation time.

The different start-up accelerations and linear wear times set are compared and discussed, which indicates a reasonable start-up acceleration is necessary for journal bearings under heavy load during start-up, and setting linear wear times is an effective method to reduce the simulation time significantly. Furthermore, the wear profile in the start-up process spreads in both the clearance and circumferential directions, but mainly in the clearance direction, which increases the minimum film thickness and affects the friction performance.

This study is of great significance for the numerical prediction of the transient performance of journal bearings during start-up considering friction and wear.

The purpose of this study is to numerically investigate the time-varying mixed lubrication performance of microgroove journal-thrust coupled bearing (MJTCB) under nonlinear excitation.

A three degree of freedom (3-DOF) dynamic model of the rotor coupling with the transient mixed lubrication behavior is established. Based on numerical predictions, the role of the microgroove on the time-varying mixed lubrication performance of MJTCB is identified. The effects of the microgroove depth, microgroove shape and external load on the time-varying mixed lubrication performance of MJTCB are also studied.

Numerical results show that the effect of the coupling hydrodynamic on the time-varying mixed lubrication performance of the coupled bearing is strengthen with the increasing of microgroove depth. Furthermore, it is found that the optimal microgroove shape for the thrust bearing, arc or rectangle, highly depends on the microgroove depth. Finally, the contact performance of the thrust bearing is slightly affected by the radial external load.

This study is expected to achieve a better understanding of the time-varying mixed lubrication performance of MJTCB under nonlinear excitations.

This study aims to find the dynamic performance parameters of the journal bearing with micro geometries patterning the arc (crescent) shape textures provided in three specific regions of the journal bearing: the full, the second half and the increasing pressure region. The dynamic behavior of textured journal bearings has been analyzed by computing dynamic parameters and linear and non-linear trajectories.

The lubricant flows between the bearing and journal surface are governed by Reynold’s equation, which has been solved by finite the element method. The dynamic performance parameters such as stiffness, damping, threshold speed, critical mass and whirl frequency ratio are examined under various operating conditions by considering various ranges of eccentricity ratios and texture depths. Linear and non-linear equations of motion have been solved with Ranga–Kutta method to get journal motion trajectories. Also, the impact of adding aluminum oxide and copper oxide nanoparticles to the base lubricant in combination with arc-shaped textures is analyzed to further see any enhancement in the performance parameters.

The findings demonstrated that direct stiffness and damping parameters increased to their maximum level with six textures in the pressure-increasing region when compared with the untextured surface. Also, nanoparticle additives showed improvements above the highest value attained with no inclusion of additives in the same region or quantity of textures.

Engineers may design bearings with improved stability and overall performance if they understand how texture form impacts dynamic properties.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) flash temperature of the helical gear pairs considering profile modification.

A flash temperature model of the helical gear pair considering the profile modification is proposed based on the TEHL and meshing theories. In doing so, the slicing, fast Fourier transform and chase-after methods are applied to accurately and rapidly obtain the flash temperature of the gear pair. Then, the effects of the modification, input torque and rotation speed on the flash temperature are studied.

With the increment of the tip relief amount, the flash temperature of the helical gear pair with the axial modification decreases first and then increases, and the meshing position of the maximum flash temperature moves toward the pitch point. Moreover, reducing the input torque or increasing the rotation speed can efficiently reduce the TEHL flash temperature.

This work is a valuable reference for the profile design and optimization of the helical gears to avoid the excessive flash temperature.