Experimental study on frictional loss of high-speed bearings based on free-deceleration and energy-balance methods
Industrial Lubrication and Tribology
ISSN: 0036-8792
Article publication date: 3 April 2019
Issue publication date: 7 May 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate accurate and effective experimental methods for measuring the frictional loss of bearings (FLB) in mechanical systems and to measure the effect of various operating parameters on the frictional loss of high-speed mechanical systems.
Design/methodology/approach
Two novel methods were studied in this paper to measure the FLB: the free-deceleration method and the energy-balance method. A special high-speed motorised spindle and a friction loss test rig were designed and built to measure the effects of rotational speed, lubrication, preload and operating temperature on the FLB.
Findings
The experimental results showed that the frictional torque of bearings increases initially but then decreases with an increase in rotational speed. Similarly, the FLB decreases initially and then increases with an increase in temperature because of the influence of the viscosity–temperature relationship of the lubricant and the thermomechanical coupling factor. The optimal lubricant flow was determined, and the effectiveness of a novel preload online adjusting device was verified through experiments.
Originality/value
The research results of this paper provide the basis and methods for the measurement, reduction and prediction of the FLB in mechanical systems.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51475054) and The National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2017YFB1301401).
Citation
Tian, S., Chen, X., Chen, T. and He, Y. (2019), "Experimental study on frictional loss of high-speed bearings based on free-deceleration and energy-balance methods", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 71 No. 4, pp. 509-514. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILT-07-2018-0281
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited