Influence Analysis of Lubricant Recesses on the Working Capacity of the Bridge Span Spherical Bearing

Abstract

The load on transport and logistics systems is increasing every year. This is due to car park growth around the world. Thus, increasing bridge structure durability is an urgent task for bridge-building companies. This study analyses the contact deformation of spherical bearing elements through an anti-friction polymer layer with different geometrical configurations of recesses for the lubricant, i.e., annular grooves and spherical holes. The material of the anti-friction layer (a modified polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)) is modelled within the framework of the deformation theory of plasticity. The procedure of automating the numerical model construction depends on the input parameters, including the thickness of the layer, the basic geometrical parameters of the recesses for the lubricant, and the distance between the rows of recesses, etc. The influence of the arrangement of filling sliding anti-friction layers on recesses for lubricants in the form of spherical holes on the contact deformation behaviour of bridge bearings has been considered. The reduction of lubricant volume in the sliding anti-friction layer with the geometry of recesses in the form of spherical holes ranges from 26 to 48.4%, depending on the filling scheme, has been found. In this case, structures with lubrication recesses in the form of spherical holes have several advantages, including a more uniform distribution of contact parameters in the interface areas of the steel plates with the anti-friction layer, reduction of the maximum level of the plastic deformation intensity, displacements along the normal relative to the free end of the sliding layer, and the settlement of the bearing.

The Geometric Configuration of Lubricant Recesses of the Polymer Sliding Layer of the Bearing

“…However, a lack of information about the properties of these materials significantly restrains their use [47,48]. A comparative analysis of the sliding layer behavior made of different materials is of interest, especially for different geometric element configurations of bearing [6,8].…”

“…Maintenance and monitoring of the condition of the structure and its load-bearing elements are performed to increase the bridge life resource [4,5]. Also, one of the options for increasing the bearing capacity and bridge service life can be the selection of rational geometry and/or location of its important elements, including the rational geometry of the sliding layer [6], location of the bearing plate of a CEP pile [7], and rational geometry of lubricant recesses [8].…”

“…The bearing elements of a bridge support external loads. One of the variants of such structures is bridge bearings [6,8]. Due to the constant increase in the rate of urbanization, it is necessary to constantly improve the performance of bridge bearings by changing their geometric configuration [9][10][11][12][13][14].…”

“…For this purpose, new ways of fast installation and replacement of bridge bearings are being developed [29,30]. Numerical models are being developed to quickly analyze the effect of geometric modifications of bridge bearings and their elements on the structure's serviceability [6,8,31]. Numerical models are usually built using engineering software packages such as ANSYS and LS-DYNA [32].…”

Friction and Lubrication of Sliding Bearings

“…This Special Issue presents the latest research on bearing operating behaviors, measurement techniques, and designs and applications. Nosov et al [1] analyzed the contact deformation of spherical bearing elements through a modified polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) layer with different lubricant recess geometries for anti-friction. Their findings indicate that spherical lubricant recesses have several advantages, such as more uniform contact parameters in interface areas and a reduction in the maximum level of plastic deformation intensity.…”