Prediction of wear in grease-lubricated oscillatory journal bearings via energy-based approach

An energy-based approach is proposed for prediction and analysis of wear in grease-lubricated oscillatory journal bearings. The methodology relies on measurement or estimation of the temperature rise in the sliding system. Experimental tests are conducted to examine the relationship between the wear rate, power dissipation and temperature rise. An important property of the tribo-system is identified as the wear-energy dissipation (WED) coefficient. The relationship between the frictional energy and temperature also yields the power dissipation-temperature rise (PTR) coefficient for the tribo-system. The proposed methodology is shown to be capable of predicting the wear rate under a wide range of loading conditions.