Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Tribology International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/triboint
a r t i c l e in f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Received 15 October 2007
Received in revised form
2 June 2008
Accepted 17 June 2008
Available online 29 July 2008
A theoretical model is developed to study the potential use of laser surface texturing (LST) in the form of
spherical micro-dimples for soft elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication (SEHL). The model consists of mutual
smooth elastomeric and LST rigid surfaces moving relatively to each other in the presence of viscous
lubricant. The pressure distribution in the uid lm and the elastic deformations of the elastomer are
obtained from a simultaneous solution of the Reynolds equation and the equation of elasticity for the
elastomer. An extensive parametric investigation is performed to identify the main important
parameters of the problem, which are the aspect ratio and area density of the dimples. The parametric
analysis provides optimum parameters of the surface texturing and shows that LST effectively increases
load capacity and reduces friction in SEHL.
& 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication
Surface texturing
Numerical analysis
1. Introduction
Soft elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication (SEHL) is used in several
mechanical components such as rotary lip seals [1,2], elastomeric
reciprocating seals [36] and metering size press [7], etc. Until the
last decade, most studies of SEHL were of experimental nature
only because of the complexity of the problem. The rst
signicant analytical models appeared in the literature only about
10 years ago, thanks to the rapid development of computing
capabilities.
Shi and Salant [1] developed a deterministic mixed lubrication
model, simulating the interface between a moving perfectly
smooth rigid surface and a stationary rough perfectly elastic lip
surface. The asperity pattern on the lip surface (roughness) was
modeled by a two-dimensional sinusoid. The model was applied
to rotary lip seal. The authors divided the domain between the
surfaces into three regions: the lubrication region, the cavitation
region and the contact region. In a following paper, Shi and Salant
[2] expanded their model to a more realistic condition of a quasirandom sealing surface. The results showed that interasperity
cavitation appears at extremely low shaft speeds, and the
attening of asperities is signicant throughout the entire range
of operation. Furthermore, the shear deformation of asperities
plays an important role in preventing leakage.
Nikas [3,4] developed a numerical model to study the sealing
performance of rectangular elastomeric seals for reciprocating
piston rods used in linear hydraulic actuators. The model was
used to calculate the contact pressures and lm thickness as well
ARTICLE IN PRESS
A. Shinkarenko et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 284292
Nomenclature
A
c
C
E
E
ff
Ff
h
H
h0
H0
hp
l1
L1
l2
L2
p
P
pa
2. The model
A schematic of the model is presented in Fig. 1. The model
consists of an elastomeric body with a smooth untextured surface
and an innitely long rigid LST counterpart (which can be a piston
rod, for example, in a hydraulic cylinder). The two bodies are sliding
relatively to each other with a constant velocity, U, in the presence of
a viscous lubricant. The viscous ow between the elastomer and the
LST counterpart produces a hydrodynamic pressure (see e.g. Ref. [8])
tending to separate the mating surfaces and to deform the
elastomer. Fig. 1(a) shows the elastomer prior to any deformation,
whereas Fig. 1(b) presents the case of the deformed elastomer. The
elastomer is innitely long in the x3 direction and has nite length,
l1, and thickness, l2 (see Fig. 1). The elastomer is attached to a rigid
foundation and is separated from the rigid LST counterpart by
a thin layer of viscous lubricant having a local thickness h(x1, x3)
(see Fig. 1(b)). It should be emphasized that the distance between
r1
R1
rp
Sp
uni
ui
U
w
W
xi
Xi
d
D
e
eij
m
n
snij
sij
,j
285
ARTICLE IN PRESS
286
x2
Rigid foundation
l1
l2
Undeformed elastomer
hp
pa
pa
x3
x1
x2
Rigid foundation
Deformed elastomer
h0(x1, x3)
x3
(x1, x3)
h(x1, x3)
x1
U
Fig. 1. Schematic illustration of (a) the model with initially undeformed elastomer and (b) the model with nal deections of the elastomer.
Rigid LST
Counterpart
Elastomer
2r1
x2
x1
x3
x1
2r1
U
x3
x1
2r1
x3
Fig. 2. A geometrical model of a laser-textured surface: (a) schematic of the model; (b) zoom-in on a group of dimples; and (c) a single column of dimples in the x1
direction.
ARTICLE IN PRESS
A. Shinkarenko et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 284292
287
6mU
qx1
qx3
qx1
qx1
qx3
hx1 ; x3 c h0 x1 ; x3 dx1 ; x3 ,
(3)
snij;j 0,
qp
qp
x ; x 0
x ; x r 1 0;
qx3 1 3
qx3 1 3
snij
(4a)
(4b)
qX 1
qX 3
qX 1
qX 1
qX 3
HX 1 ; X 3 C H0 X 1 ; X 3 DX 1 ; X 3 ,
qP
qP
r1
X ; X 0
X1; X3
qX 3 1 3
qX 3
rp
0,
PX 1 0; X 3 PX 1 L1 ; X 3 0,
xi
;
rp
l1
L1 ;
rp
hp
h
c
;
; C ,
rp
rp
2r p
p pa r p
h0
d
,
H0
; D ; P
rp
rp
6mU
(10)
!
h
n
i
En
ij
kk dij ;
1n
1 2n
dij
1;
if i j;
0;
if iaj:
(11)
(6)
(7a)
(7b)
with the uid lm (see Fig. 1) are equal to the viscous shear
stresses due to the Couette ow and hydrodynamic pressures,
respectively. Hence (see Ref. [8]),
(9)
sn12 x1 ; x2 0; x3
(8)
mU
a,
hx1 ; x3
sn22 x1 ; x2 0; x3 px1 ; x3 pa ,
(13a)
(13b)
(13c)
ARTICLE IN PRESS
288
(13d)
s12 X 1 ; X 2 0; X 3
1
a,
6HX 1 ; X 3
(15b)
ui X 1 ; X 2 L2 ; X 3 0,
(15c)
8
u3 X 1 ; X 2 ; X 3 0 u3 X 1 ; X 2 ; X 3 R1 0;
>
>
>
>
>
< qu1 X ; X ; X 0 qu1 X ; X ; X R 0;
1
qX 3 1 2 3
qX 3 1 2 3
>
>
>
qu2
qu2
>
>
X ; X ; X 0
X ; X ; X R1 0;
:
qx3 1 2 3
qx3 1 2 3
(15d)
L2
l2
;
rp
R1
r1
;
rp
(19)
(15a)
s22 X 1 ; X 2 0; X 3 PX 1 ; X 3 ,
ui
0:5u
X
;
X
u
X
;
X
cos
;
>
1
1
2
3
1
2
1
2
1
1
>
>
R1
k1
>
>
>
>
N
>
P
kpX 3
>
>
> u2 X 1 ; X 2 ; X 3 0:5u02 X 1 ; X 2
uk2 X 1 ; X 2 cos
;
>
>
R1
>
k1
>
>
>
<
N
P
kpX 3
uk3 X 1 ; X 2 sin
;
u3 X 1 ; X 2 ; X 3
R1
>
k1
>
>
>
>
N
>
P
kpX 3
>
0
k
>
;
X
0:5P
X
P
X
cos
;
PX
>
1
3
1
1
>
>
R1
k1
>
>
>
>
N
>
P
1
kpX 3
>
0
>
>
F k X 1 cos
:
: 6HX ; X a FX 1 ; X 3 0:5F X 1
R1
1
3
k1
sij
snij rp
.
6mU
Substitution of Eq. (19) into Eqs. (14), (17a), and (17b), leads to
the k independent sets of partial differential equations: uk1 X 1 ; X 2 ,
uk2 X 1 ; X 2 , and uk3 X 1 ; X 2 . These new differential equations were
solved numerically by nite element method. An appropriate
nine-node rectangular nite element was developed to obtain
uk1 X 1 ; X 2 , uk2 X 1 ; X 2 and uk3 X 1 ; X 2 for each harmonic k of the
shear load, Fk(X1), and normal pressures, Pk(X1), on the elastomer/
uid interface.
Once the deections u1(X1, X2, X3), u2(X1, X2, X3), and u3(X1, X2,
X3) are found, the dimensionless change of the local lm thickness
D(B) u2(A) at any point B (see Fig. 3) due to the deformation u(A)
that moved the point A to the position A0 can be obtained from
DX 1 u1 X 1 ; X 2 0; X 3 ; X 3 u3 X 1 ; X 2 0; X 3
(16)
u2 X 1 ; X 2 0; X 3 .
(20)
Using the solution of Eq. (20) in Eq. (6) leads to the modied
uid lm prole for the next iteration of the Reynolds equation
solution as described in the following text.
u1;2 u2;1 X
u2;2
2 0
n
1 2n
2
1
1 n
a,
E
6HX 1 ; X 3
u1;1 u2;2 u3;3
X 2 0
(17a)
1
1 nPX 1 ; X 3 ,
E
(17b)
En r p
.
6mU
(18)
f ,
(22)
Ff
A A 6H
6mU f
where ff is the dimensional average shear-distributed load over
the elastomer/uid interface.
ARTICLE IN PRESS
A. Shinkarenko et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 284292
289
X2
Deformed elastomer
A
u(A)
(B)
B
A(X1, 0, X3)
u2(A)
A
(B) = u2(A)
B(X1+u1, 0, X3+u3)
Fig. 3. Variation of the uid lm prole due to the elastomer deformations.
START
Parameters Input:
E, , C, , Sp, L1, L2
Unacceptable
Error calculation for film
thickness and pressure
Acceptable
Evaluation of load carrying capacity (Eq.
(21)) and friction force (Eq. (22))
A value of the Poissons ratio slightly less than 0.5 was used in the
present solution to avoid the singularity in Eq. (11) for incompressible materials. Another option of dealing with this problem is by a
different formulation of Eq. (11), e.g. the mixed formulation in
Ref. [22], but this is outside the scope of the present work.
Typical dimensions of the elastomer were assumed as
END
Fig. 4. Flowchart of the numerical procedure.
ARTICLE IN PRESS
A. Shinkarenko et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 284292
10
Dimensionless Local Pressure, P
290
8
6
4
2
0
0
The dimensionless pressure distribution (for the above reference case of Fig. 5) in the uid lm along the center line of the
dimple column, X3 0 (see Fig. 2(c)) is presented in Fig. 6. The
pressure achieves local maxima at the local converging clearance
region of each dimple and reduces to zero at the local diverging
clearance region of each dimple (cavitation zones). These local
maxima decrease in their value in the direction of the counter
body sliding because of the diverging average clearance.
Minimum
value
Reference
value
Maximum
value
0.05
0.02
0.16
10
0
415
0.3
0.1
0.03
30
20
830
0.5
0.2
0.06
60
60
125000
Parameter
Undeformed Elastomer
Profile
0.05
(X1,X3)
0.00
-0.05
-0.10
-0.15
Rigid Counterpart Profile
-0.20
0
10
15
20
25
Dimensionless Longitude Coordinate, X1
30
5.5
0.53
5.0
0.37
0.30
4.5
0.24
4.0
3.5
0.18
3.0
Sp = 0.10
2.5
2.0
0.05
0.1
Aspect Ratio,
0.15
0.2
Fig. 7. Dimensionless load-carrying capacity, W, vs. the aspect ratio, e, for different
values of the dimple area density, Sp.
0.10
10
15
20
25
Dimensionless Longitude Coordinate, X1
6.0
0
Table 1
The dimensionless parameters and their range of variation
30
ARTICLE IN PRESS
A. Shinkarenko et al. / Tribology International 42 (2009) 284292
25000
10
E = 420
3400
1650
833
6800
1000
100
0.05
0.1
0.15
E = 83300,
= 0.03
100
E = 8330,
= 0.04
10
E = 833,
= 0.06
1
-0.16
0.2
Aspect Ratio,
Fig. 8. Dimensionless load-carrying capacity, W, vs. the aspect ratio, e, for different
values of the SEHL stiffness index, E.
7.0
-0.12
-0.04
0
0.04
-0.08
Dimensionless Initial Clearance, C
0.08
Sp = 0.3, E = 833
6.5
350
6.0
Maximum Dimensionless
Load Carrying Capacity, W
291
5.5
5.0
4.5
L1 = 29, L2 = 20, C = 0.01
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
300
250
200
150
100
Mixed Lubrication
50
Hydrodynamic Lubrication
2.0
0
0.05
0.1
Aspect Ratio,
0.15
0.2
Fig. 9. Dimensionless load-carrying capacity, W, vs. the aspect ratio, e, for different
values of L1, L2, and C.
0
1.E+02
1.E+03
1.E+04
SEHL Stiffness Index, E
1.E+05
Fig. 11. Maximum dimensionless load-carrying capacity, W, vs. the SEHL stiffness
index, E.
ARTICLE IN PRESS
292
2.70
L1 = 29, L2 = 20, Sp = 0.3, E = 833
2.50
2.30
2.10
1.90
1.70
Acknowledgments
1.50
1.30
1.10
W=3
0.90
0.70
0
0.05
0.1
Aspect Ratio,
0.15
0.2
Fig. 12. Dimensionless friction force, Ff, vs. the aspect ratio, e, for different values
of the dimensionless load-carrying capacity, W.
4. Conclusion
A theoretical model was developed to analyze the potential of
LST in soft elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication. It was found that
texturing of the rigid counterpart generates a load-carrying
capacity that can be maximized by selecting a preferred dimple
area density, Sp, and an optimum dimple aspect ratio, e. The
optimum parameters for maximum load also minimize the
friction force.
The optimum values of the LST parameters were found from an
intensive parametric investigation. It was found that the dimple
radius does not affect the tribological performance of SEHL. The
best value of the dimple area density, Sp, is almost independent of
all the other parameters of the problem and is about Sp 0.3. The
optimum aspect ratio depends exclusively on the SEHL stiffness
index, E. As E changes from 420 to 6 105, the optimum aspect
ratio (e)opt varies from 0.1 to 0.02, respectively. Further increase of
E does not affect the optimum aspect ratio, which remains 0.02.