1311 Proposal of a seizure prevention method in heavily loaded pairs

Abstract

Heavily loaded sliding pairs in mechanical systems are always exposed to risks of seizure. To minimize such risks, certain extreme pressure additives and/or solid lubricants are added to the lubricating oil. As an alternative or an additional means, the authors propose to provide one of mating surfaces with numerous micro-holes without any macroscopic changes in the hydrodynamic oil film. When such a macroscopic oil film breaks down, frictional heating makes the absorbed boundary films to be easily scraped off. Frictional heating, however, extrudes the oil contained in the micro-holes to retrieve the scraped boundary films. In the present study, using a test machine which models a circular thrust bearing for a screw press spindle, seizure prevention ability of such micro-holes on a bearing surface is examined experimentally.