CHAPTER 16

Sliding Contact Bearings

Summary

LO 1. Discuss basic modes of lubrica;on, viscosity, its measurement, and concept of

viscosity index

There are two modes of lubrica;on viz. thick and thin film lubrica;on. In thick film lubrica;on,
two surfaces of the bearing in rela;ve mo;on are completely separated by a film of fluid. Thick
film lubrica;on is further divided into two groups viz. hydrodynamic and hydrosta;c lubrica;on.
Thin film lubrica;on is a condi;on of lubrica;on where the lubricant film is rela;vely thin and
there is a par;al metal to metal contact.

Viscosity is an internal fric;onal resistance offered by a fluid to change its shape or rela;ve
mo;on of its parts.

The popular method of determining viscosity is to measure the ;me required for a given volume
of oil to pass through a capillary tube of standard dimensions. Based on this principle, there are
three commercial viscometers named aKer Saybolt, Redwood, and Engler.

The rate of change of viscosity with respect to temperature is indicated by viscosity index. The
viscosity index is an arbitrary number used to characterize the varia;on of the kinema;c
viscosity of lubrica;ng oil with temperature.

LO 2. Underline Petroff's equa;on and analyze McKee's (μN/p) curve

Petroff's equa;on is given by,

f = (2 π 2 ) ( rc ) ( p )
μ ns

Petroff's equa;on indicates that there are two dimensionless parameters viz. ( rc ) and ( p )
μ ns

that govern the coefficient of fric;on

In McKee's experimental curve, bearing characteris;c number is plo[ed on abscissa and

coefficient of fric;on on ordinate. There are two dis;nct parts of this curve viz. region of thin
film lubrica;on on the leK side and thick film lubrica;on on the right side. The coefficient of

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 fric;on is minimum at the transi;on between these two parts. The bearing should operate well
inside the region of thick film lubrica;on.

LO 3. Formulate equa;on for viscous flow through rectangular slot and apply it to
hydrosta;c step bearing and its energy losses

The viscous flow through a rectangular slot is given by,

Δp bh 3
Q= 12 μ l

Using this rela;onship, the load carrying capacity of hydrosta;c step bearing can be expressed
as,

[ log e ( RRoi ) ]
π Pi R2o − R2i
W= 2

The fric;onal power loss in the bearing is given by,

(kW)f = ( )
1 μ n 2 (R4o − R4i )
58.05 × 106 ho

LO 4. State Reynolds' equa;on and its solu;on by Raimondi Boyd method

Reynolds' equa;on is given by,

[h ∂x ] [h ∂z ]
= 6 μ U ( ∂h
∂x )
∂ 3 ∂p ∂ 3 ∂p
∂x
+ ∂z

There is no exact analy;cal solu;on for this equa;on for bearings with finite length. Raimondi
and Boyd solved this equa;on on computer using the itera;on technique. In Raimondi and Boyd
method, the performance of the bearing is expressed in terms of dimensionless parameters like
Sommerfeld number, coefficient of fric;on variable or flow variable. Numerical values of these
parameters are calculated and presented in the form of charts and tables. They are used in
solving problems of hydrodynamic bearings.

LO 5. Calculate temperature rise and specify parameters for bearing design

The temperature rise in hydrodynamic bearing is given by,

Δt = ( ρ C )
4πp ( CFV)
p ( FV)

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 The parameters for design of hydrodynamic bearing are length to diameter ra;o, unit bearing
pressure, start-up load, radial clearance, minimum oil film thickness, and maximum oil film
temperature. Suitable values of these parameters are selected in preliminary stages of journal
bearing design.

LO 6. Explain bearing construc;ons and materials including sintered bearings

There are two types of bearing construc;on viz. solid bushing and lined bushing. A solid bushing
is made either by cas;ng or by machining from a bar. A typical example of this type of bushing is
bronze bearing. A lined bushing consists of steel backing with a thin lining of bearing material
like Babbi[. It is usually split into two halves.

The popular bearing material is Babbi[ or white metal. There are two varie;es of Babbi[ viz.
lead-base and ;n-base Babbi[. They are used in the form of a strip or thin lining bonded to
steel shells. Babbi[ has excellent conformability and embeddability. The other bearing materials
are bronze, copper-lead, aluminium alloys, and plas;cs.

Sintered metal powder bearings are made by the sintering process. They are porous bearings
impregnated with lubrica;ng oils. This oil serves as a reservoir enabling the bearing to run for a
long period without any a[en;on. There are two grades viz. copper-base and iron-base of
sintered bearings.

LO 7. Describe lubrica;ng oils, greases, addi;ves, and their selec;on

There are two types of lubrica;ng oils viz. mineral oils and vegetable or animal oils. Mineral oils
consist of hydrocarbons, which are obtained by the dis;lla;on of crude oil. There are two
different classes of mineral oils viz. those with a paraffinic series and those with a naphthenic
series. The Society of Automo;ve Engineers (SAE) has classified lubrica;ng oils by a number
which is related to the viscosity of oil.

Grease is a semisolid substance, composed of mineral oil and soap. The soap is present in the
form of fibers, which form a matrix for the oil by swelling mechanism. Grease is classified on the
basis of the soap that is employed such as lime base grease or soda base grease.

An addi;ve is a substance added to mineral oil in order to improve a par;cular property. The
addi;ves are classified according to the property they are intended to improve, e.g. oxida;on
inhibitor, VI improver, pour-point depressant, or an;foam addi;ve.

Lubrica;ng oils are commercially available under trade names. These lubricants contain base oil
and a group of addi;ves. There are five grades from SAE 10 to SAE 50 which are used for engine
lubrica;on. 2T oil is used on two-stroke engines in mopeds and motorcycles. It consists of SAE
30 as base oil and detergent addi;ves. Commercial lubrica;ng oils for gears consist of SAE 80,
SAE 90, and SAE 140 as base oils with extreme pressure addi;ve.

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 LO 8. Iden;fy the types of bearing failures and dis;nguish between rolling and
sliding contact bearings

The principal types of bearing failures are abrasive wear, wiping of bearing surface, corrosion,
and distor;on.

The load carrying capacity of a hydrodynamic bearing is linearly propor;onal to speed. In

hydrosta;c bearings, the load capacity is independent of speed. The rolling contact bearings
have finite life for a given combina;on of load and speed. Rolling contact bearings are
vulnerable to shock loads due to poor damping capacity. However, they require a lower star;ng
torque compared to hydrodynamic bearings. Rolling contact bearings require considerable
radial space, while hydrodynamic bearings require more axial space. Hydrodynamic bearings
require a lubrica;ng system consis;ng of a pump, filter, sump, and pipelines which requires
considerable addi;onal space.

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