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A new mechanism of hydrodynamic lubrication termed “inlet suction,” applicable to low convergence, micropocketed bearings, has been identified. In this, sliding of one of the bearing surfaces generates a subambient pressure in pockets close to the bearing inlet. Because this pressure is less than the external atmospheric pressure, lubricant is “sucked” into the bearing through the inlet land. This is quite a different mechanism from classical entrainment due to shear. In the current paper flow, hydrodynamic load support and friction are calculated using analytical solutions for simple pocketed bearings having a wide range of convergence ratios, including parallel surfaces. It is found that for the parallel case, inlet suction provides the only mechanism of hydrodynamic load support, and that inlet suction continues to play a major role in load support and friction reduction up to quite high convergence ratios. This mechanism of lubrication is believed to be responsible for the enhanced lubricant film formation and reduced friction of textured bearings, previously reported by a number of authors.

The effect of surface texture on friction has been investigated experimentally for a convergentdivergent bearing, operating under

Abstract

A review of some of the recent work on the mechanism of rolling contact fatigue (RCF) is presented. Topics covered include the appearance and classification of RCF and the processes of strain localization, texture development, microstructural change, crack formation, crack shape and propagation, and through-fracture. It is concluded that a significant barrier to progress is the poor current understanding of the processes of running-in and of the interactions between plastic deformation, wear, lubricant chemistry and damage accumulation.

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The prediction of traction (friction) in lubricated rolling±sliding contacts remains a challenging problem despite the development of the realistic Maxwell±Eyring-limiting shear stress model by Johnson and co-workers in the 1980s. This is largely because there is a strong coupling between the elastohydrodynamic traction and the film temperature. An added complication is that the heat conducted into the rubbing surfaces, as well as influencing traction directly, also determines the temperature in the inlet to the contact and hence the thickness of the elastohydrodynamic film.In the present paper, the traction model of Johnson et al. is combined with a heat transfer analysis of the contacting bodies as well as the film thickness regression equation. In addition, the variations in the lubricant's rheological properties with temperature and pressure based upon the measurements of Muraki et al. have been included. The traction equation is expressed in dimensionless form and is solved using a simple iterative scheme, which in many cases allows estimation of the traction without the use of a computer. Closed-form equations for the friction are given for each of the traction regimes.