Review 174

Materials for Plain Bearings

by G. C. Pratt

A bearing is interposed between two surfaces in relative
motion to minimize the wear by one surface of the other andl
or to reduce the friction between them. A plain bearing is
made of, or is lined with, a material that achieves this object
under conditions of sliding 'contact between it and one or
other (or both) of the surfaces. This review is concerned with
the materials of such sliding contact bearings only and does
not cover the steel of rolling element bearings, which have their
own peculiar property requirements.
category covers the common copper-based alloys, used-oil- or
grease-lubricated in general engineering applications, as well
as graphited bronze, wick-lubricated whitemetal, and the
important classes of oil-impregnated porous bronze bearing
and prelubricated plastic or plastic-lined bearings.
(4) Non-lubricated bearing applications, i.e. bearings
operating dry or in non-lubricating media. For such applica-
tions the most commonly used bearing materials are those
based on the polymer polytetrafluoroethylene (or ptfe).

I. The Plain-Bearing Environment

In the majority of applications the reduction of friction and
wear between sliding surfaces is achieved primarily by the
creation of a fluid lubricant film, most commonly of oil,
between the surfaces, and the use of a bearing material as one
or other of the surfaces makes only a secondary contribution.
If a lubricant film thick in relation to the surface roughnesses
of the mating surfaces, and also thick in relation to any dirt
contaminating the oil, could at all times be maintained, then
specialized bearing materials would not be necessary.
However, these ideal conditions are never obtained in
practice, and a bearing material must be present to minimize
the consequences of an imperfect lubricant film. The choice of
a particular material for a given application is dependent
above all else on the thickness and continuity of the oil film
that can be created over the bearing surface.
Because of the importance of the degree of lubrication in
determining the choice of bearing material it is useful to
recognize the following four main types of bearing applica-
tions, and to discuss bearing materials under these headings:
(1) Reciprocating engine bearings operating with hydro-
dynamic lubrication, a dynamic load being applied to the
bearing surface through the oil film. The best-known examples
are the big-end and main bearings of the automotive engine.
This bearing application is of particular importance, not only
because of the sheer volume of internal combustion engines
now produced, but because the high oil-film pressures
generated over the bearing surface have provided an impor-
tant impetus in bearing materials development.
(2) Rotating plant bearings operating with hydrodynamic
lubrication, the load applied to the bearing surface through
the oil film being steady. Examples are turbine journal bear-
ings, rolling-mill bearings, marine stern tubes, tilting-pad
thrust bearings.
(3) Lubricated bearing applications operating under condi-
tions that do not create full hydrodynamic lubrication. This
G. C. Pratt, BSc, is Manager, Materials Research Department,
Glacier Metal Company Limited, Alperton, Wembley, Middx.
INTERNATIONAL METALLURGICAL REVIEWS
II. The Evaluation of Bearing Materials
We still fall far short of understanding how to assess the
potential of a material for bearing applications from conven-
tional determinations of its mechanical or physical properties,
metallurgical structure, or chemistry. Bearing materials must,
therefore, be evaluated in the form of bearings operating
under conditions close to those under which the material will
eventually be required to operate. This may be achieved in
two ways: experimental bearings may be run in test rigs
simulating a particular bearing condition or range of condi-
tions, or they may be run in an actual application either under
laboratory control or in the field. In fact, these two approaches
are complementary: correlation of the former type of test with
the latter must be established before advantage can be taken
of the greater reproducibility and ease of access of the test
rigs and hence the speed with which results can be obtained. In
the case of the development of a new bearing material \field
testing is, of course, the final arbiter.
The number of different types of bearing test rig that have
been described in the literature reflects the number of different
bearing conditions for which results have to be obtained. The
rigs are, however, of two main types, fatigue-test rigs and
wear-test rigs. The former apply to a hydrodynamically lubri-
cated bearing a dynamic load of such a value as to produce in
the bearing lining the type of fatigue cracking that can occur
inheavilyloadedengine bearings. The dynamic load is exerted
either by out-of-balance weights on the rotating test shaft or
is achieved by hydraulic resistance to the 'throw' of a test
bearing carried on an eccentric portion of the shaft. The
principle of operation of these rigs is shown in Figs. lea) and
(b).
The original version of the out-of-balance weight rig was
due to Underwood and a number of papers have appeared
describing this and subsequent versions of this type of rig
developed in the author's company.l-3 The hydraulic type of
rig has also been described fully elsewhere.4,5 Reasonably
The
good correlation between the two types of rig and between
the rigs and field experience has been obtained, though the
1973. Vol. 18
62
 Pratt: Materials for Plain Bearings 63
later. Confidence in the results of these tests has not yet
Load vector

Eccentric weights
reached the level attained in fatigue testing, whereby the
ranking of materials shown by the test results is known to be
applicable to real engine conditions. Nevertheless an increas-
ing level of confidence in the rig assessment of the anti·seizure
properties of bearing alloys is being attained.
(a)
Rig testing is well established as providing meaningful
predictions about the performance of materials operating
under lubrication conditions that fall short of hydrodynamic.
In sparsely lubricated or dry applications the bearing mat-
Rods pivoted at little ends erials do not in general fail through fatigue, but through wear.
Test rigs must therefore be available on which can be studied
A
the effect on the wear of a variety of bearing materials of load,
rubbing speed, temperature, shaft finish, shaft material, and
other variables. Friction also is important and should
preferably be measurable.

TORQUE BALANCE __
TEST BUSH

/SPLIT HOUSING
(b) TEST

(a)

YOKE I DIRECTION

,--il--, t OF LOAD

Fig. 1 Fatigue machines for applying a dynamic load to hydro· ~ LOAD HANGERS

dynamically lubricated test bearings. (a) Load applied by out of

balance weights ,. (b) load applied hydraulically. BUSH HOUSlNG BOLTED
TEST BUSH
Key to (h) TO HYDRAULIC RAM
A Test bearings I 4 inlet valves " hydraulic oil
B Slave bearings at 55 mN/mm2 (8 Ibf/in2)
C Flywheel J Adjustable peak-pressure
D Flexible coupling valve
E Belt drive K Strain gauges
F Connecting rod L Test shaft
G Gudgeon pin M Eccentric
H Piston N Lubrication oil inlet

hydraulic rig has been criticized for the rigidity of the shaft
and the absence of bearing edge loading that occurs in
engines.
In addition to the use of fatigue-test rigs for evaluating the
relative fatigue ratings of materials, rigs of the Underwood
(b)
type have also been used for the evaluation of embeddability
or the ability of the bearing surface to embed dirt carried into
the bearing clearance by the lubricating oil. Using controlled
contamination of the oil supply with Arizona road dirt,
workers at the General Motors Technical Centre have
evolved a technique providing reproducible embeddability
ratings that correlate with the ability of the materials to
function s3.tisfactorily in engines operating in a dirty en-
vironment.
, Two other properties required in an engine bearing alloy- DIRECTION
compatibility and conformability-combine to determine the
seizure-resistance of the alloy. Rig tests measuring seizure-
1 OF LOAD

Fig. 2 Wear-test machines for dry and pre lubricated materials in

resistance have been described in the literature and useful bush form. (a) Load applied downwards by dead weights ,.(b) load
results on them have been obtained, some of which are quoted applied hydraulically upwards.
64 Pratt: Materials for Plain Bearings
In the author's experience the rigs most suited to this type
of test are of the type shown diagrammatically in Figs. 2(a)
and (b). The test specimen is a bush of dia. in the range
10-25 mm (-i-1 in), which is loaded against a rotating shaft
either downwards under the influence of weights applied to
the bush housing, or hydraulically upwards. A range of shaft
speeds from 50-5000 rev/min, is available, loads can be applied
up to 3°5 N/mm2 (500 Ibf/in2), and temperature can be con-
trolled up to 250 C. The facility for testing under oscillating
0
conditions is useful, as many applications are concerned with
this type of motion.
With rigs of this type reproducibility is good, particularly of
dry tests when the variables of type and amount of lubricant
are not present, and the results can be used to predict with
confidence the performance of bearings in real applications.
It is, however, important that caution should be observed in
extrapolating to conditions remote from the rig conditions,
and in particular the temptation to extrapolate from short-
term accelerated tests should be avoided.
Another type of rig popular for the evaluation of dry
bearing materials is the thrust-washer rig, testing a flat speci-
men generally of '" 50 mm (2 in) dia. under a range of load
and speed conditions. Reproducibility is improved if the test
specimens are radially grooved so that wear debris can escape
from between the rubbing surfaces. Results correlate reason-
ably well with bush test results provided that the effect on the
rubbing surface temperature of the total heat generation is
taken into account. In the case of lubricated testing good
correlation is not obtained. owing to the effect of centrifugal
removal of lubricant from between the rubbing surfaces, and
the absence of any hydrodynamic wedge effect.
Rigs with a reciprocating motion are useful for simulating
applications in which a journal slides axially in a bush or
applications such as machine-tool slides or bridge-support
bearings in which two flat surfaces slide relative to one
another. To simulate the bridge support bearing loads up to
50 N/mm2 (7500 Ibf/in2) must be available.
III. Materials for the Crankshaft Bearings of the High-
Speed Internal Combustion Engine
Of all hydrodyriamically lubricated bearings, the engine
bearing is of particular importance and interest. The high-
speed internal combustion engine places the connecting rod
and main bearings in a very severe environment of high
dynamic loads, high speed, and high oil temperatures. As the
sophistication of engine design has increased, so has the degree
of understanding of the engine bearing environment had to
increase, in order that the bearing design and the choice of
bearing material should be the optimum one for a particular
application. Rotary engines such as the Wankel impose less
arduous loads on the crankshaft bearings, and to date have
not created any special bearing problem. However, the con-
tinued development of these engines may lead to a require-
ment for the bearings to survive even higher temperatures
than the reciprocating engine.
1. The Engine Bearing Environment
The environment of an engine bearing is an oil film-and
the characteristics of the oil film that are important to the
bearing are the pressure generated in the film by the relative
motion of the shaft and bearing, the thickness and cleanliness
of the film, and the temperature attained in the film. The
presence of oil-vapour bubbles in the oil film is also important
if collapse of these bubbles on the bearing surface leads to
cavitation erosion.
Computer solutions to the equations describing the oil film
have been developed within the last few years, and as a result
it is now possible to quantify the first two of the parameters
above, from a knowledge of the engine characteristics.
(a) Maximum Oil-Film Pressure
Fatigue of engine bearing linings is a well-known pheno-
menon, though much less prevalent now than in the days of
whitemetallinings. Fatigue of the bearing lining is produced
by the very high dynamic pressures generated in the hydro-
dynamic oil film.
For a typical present-day automobile engine, the maximum
pressure generated in the oil film coincides with the firing
load, and reaches a level commonly computed as being in the
range 140-210 N/mm2 (20000-30000 Ibf/in2). Although a
number of assumptions are made in developing the oil-film
equations, there is no reason to think that pressures o,f this
order are not attained in reality.
Computed maximum oil-film pressure developed over the
surface of the test bearing in a test rig simulating the engine
bearing condition, when the load is sufficient to fatigue, say,
20% tin-aluminium in 106-107 cycles, is of the order of 700
N/mm2 (100000 Ibf/in2). Such pressures are, of course, far
beyond the yield stress of the lining alloy, when this is meas-
ured in any conventional way. However, an engine bearing
consists of a relatively thin lining of the bearing alloy on a
steel backing, and it is the support given by the steel backing
that enables the lining to carry the heavy fatigue loads. This
support is demonstrated in Fig. 3, which compares the yield in
compression of thin linings of whitemetal on steel with that of
a conventional cylindrical compression specimen of the alloy.
A further consideration is that the maximum oil-film
pressure is not applied over the whole of the bearing surface
but refers only to a mathematical point on that surface. The
oil-film pressure falls as one moves away from this point in
the manner shown in Fig. 4. Thus, the extent of plastic
deformation occurring in the lining under the area of maxi-
mum oil-film pressure is limited not only by the steel backing
but by the lining alloy outside the area of maximum oil-film
pressure, the deformation of which is elastic. It is for this
combined reason that the onset of fatigue cracking as ob-
served in short-term rig tests is delayed until very high dyn-
amic pressures, of the order of 700 N/mm2, are attained. The
exact value of maximum oil-film pressure that can be sus-
tained by an engine bearing lining will, of course, depend on
the mechanical properties of the lining, and its thickness.
(b) Minimum Oil-Film Thickness
A second type of damage suffered by engine bearings is the
result of the very thin oil films that can occur in the bearing
at certain parts of the cycle of operation.
Thin oil-film conditions are becoming more prevalent in
automobile engines as design tends towards higher engine
speeds. As engine speed increases the load applied to the
bearings by the inertia of the connecting rod and piston, in
the case of big-end bearings, or by the crankshaft in the case
of the main bearings, increases. Moreover, the inertia load
maintains its maximum value over a r~latively long period,
and the thickness of the oil film reaches in consequence lower
values than it does under the influence of the short-duration
firing load.
Typically, computed minimum oil-film thicknesses for
automobile engines of current UK design are in the region of
5 v..m. Such a thickness is greater than the surface roughness
of the shaft and bearing, and in theory 5 v..mrepresents an
 Pratt : Materials for Plain Bearings 65

250
STRESS.,
N/mm
2 tonf/in
2

16
I~RING
1 mm LINING ON STEEL BACKING

2 mm LINING ON STEEL BACKING

14

200

UJ
12 u
rt 40 N/mm
2
!5
Vl

o
UJ
0..
g
10 UJ
>
UJ
150 o
C>
z
iX
~
IXI

U.
o
o
to

100

20 mm THICK SOLID WHITEMETAL

L
50

Fig. 4 Typical oil-film pressure contours over the surface of an

2 automotive engine bearing at the instant of minimum oil film
thickness. Specific load 40 N/mm2 (5000 Ibf/in2), maximum de-
veloped pressure in oil film 240 N/mm2 (35000 Ibf/in2),pressure
lines at 20 N/mm2 intervals.

Good conformability means the ability of the bearing lining

% STRAIN
Fig. 3 The yield in compression of whitemetal: solid specimens
compared with thin linings on steel.
adequate separation of the bearing from the shaft. However,
in practice three factors prevent the ideal of complete separa-
tion of the shaft and bearing being obtained.
In the first place, during start-up, contact of the two mating
surfaces will occur until relative motion is sufficient to create
the hydrodynamic wedge between them.
Secondly, some degree of misalignment will be present and
some degree of shaft or connecting-rod deflection will occur
under load, and these may combine to result in contact
between the shaft and bearing.
Thirdly, foreign particles may be carried into the bearing by
the oil film and if the particles are larger than the minimum
oil-film thickness, can be trapped between the bearing and
the shaft. As the particle is embedded into the bearing lining,
bearing alloy is displaced to form a raised rim to the foreign
particle crater, and contact between the proud alloy and the
shaft can occur. The consequences of contact between shaft
and bearing can be the initiation of a condition that leads on
to bearing seizure. If the danger is to be avoided then the
bearing lining must possess two properties, generally known
by the terms compatibility and conformability.
Good compatibility in a bearing alloy means that the metal-
lurgical properties of the alloy are such that there is a mini-
mum tendency to local welding between the alloy and
'asperities' on the shaft. In other words, the adhesive com-
ponent of friction during rubbing of the alloy on steel is low.
to conform to imperfections of shaft geometry or to imperfect
alignment between the bearing and the shaft, whether built in
or arising from deflections under load.
Conformability, like the ability to embed dirt, is thus
directly related to the softness and thickness of the bearing
alloy, and herein lies the dilemma of the metallurgist working
in the field of engine bearing alloy development. On the one
hand he requires softness, to provide adequate conforma-
bility and embeddability, and on the other hand he requires
strength, to carry the high dynamic loads.
Clearly a compromise between these opposed requirements
must be found, and every engine bearing alloy represents in
fact such a compromise. The engine characteristics determine
just where the optimum compromise lies for a particular
engine. There is not a single material which represents the
optimum choice for all engines. For some engines high oil-
film pressures will place the emphasis on strength, while for
other engines, operating with very thin oil films, the emphasis
will be on surface properties. It is for this reason that the
current range of engine bearing alloy exists.
(c) Maximum Oil-Film Temperature
While it is possible for the computer to calculate how the
work done in the oil film varies throughout the operating
cycle, the prediction of the consequent rise in temperature is
not straightforward.
Temperature measurements in bearing linings close to the
bearing surface suggest that temperature rise is in the region
of 10-40 degC above oil gallery temperature. In automobile
engines gallery temperatures of 100° C are common, and may
66 Pratt: Materials for Plain Bearings
be as high as 130 C. The engine bearing environment is
0
whitemetal solidifies on to the steel with a rapid cooling rate,
therefore oil at a temperature somewhere in the range 100- giving the alloy structure depicted in Fig. 5. CU6SnSneedles
170 C.
0
are distributed throughout a tin-antimony solid solution.
At the upper end of this range a typical engine oil will In the US lead-based whitemetal to SAE15 (83 Pb, 15 Sb,
suffer breakdown of the antioxidant additives. Oxidation of 1 Sn, 1 As) is still used fairly widely in automobile engines. Its
the oil occurs in consequence, and the bearing lining will use reflects a somewhat more conservative design in US pas-
become subject to corrosive attack by the acid and peroxide senger car engines rather than any outstanding virtue of the
content created.6 The choice of bearing material must there- lead-based alloy, though the author's tests do show fatigue
fore take into account the extent of its resistance to this type strength to be somewhat higher than that of the tin-based
of corrosive attack. alloy above (Table II). Both SAE15 and SAE13 (84 Pb, 10 Sb,
6 Sn) respond well to the rapid-quench conditions of a white-
(d) Cavitation
C:l.vitation-the creation of vapour bubbles-occurs in the TABLEI
oil film when the loading cycle produces rapid movement of Composition and Hardness of Common Copper-Based
the crankshaft from one side of the bearing to the other. Engine Bearing Linings
Subsequent collapse of the bubbles can lead to classic cavita-
tion erosion of the bearing surface. The phenomenon is Hardness Range, HV,
becoming increasing common, particularly in high-speed Chemical Composition As Lined Strip*
diesel engines, but rarely is so serious that the ability of the Lead, % Tin, % Sintered Strip-Cast
bearing to continue to operate is endangered.
Although it can be presumed that the harder the bearing 9'0/11'0 9·0/11·0 60-80 93-122
14'0/20'0 4'0/6·0 50-65 67-78
material, the less susceptible it will be to cavitation erosion, 20'0/24'0 3'5/5'0 45-60
the solution does not lie in a change in bearing material. A 20·0/26'0 1'0(2'0 40-50 50-67
change in the geometry of the bearing, and particularly a 28'0/32'0 0·6 max. 30-45 35-47
35'0/40'0 0·6 max. 25-35
reduction in the bearing clearance, will often prevent cavita-
tion and eliminate the· problem. An increase in oil supply
pressure can also be effective. * Higher hardnesses will result from skin rolling of strip and the cold
working inherent in bearing manufacture.

2. WhitemetaI Engine Bearing Alloys TABLEII

Tin- and lead-based whitemetals, Le. tin-antimony- Fatigue Ratings of Engine Bearing Alloys, as Obtained
copper or lead-antimony-tin alloys, have a long history of on a Hydraulically Loaded Bearing Test Rig.
successful operation as engine bearing linings. They have
excellent compatibility, and being soft (20-30 HV) have good I Sn -7t Sb 3Cu I&0A ~ FATIGUE RANGE OF LINING

conformability and ability to embed dirt. Their corrosion- Pb - 1S Sb 1Sn lAs E/0?J § FATIGUE RANGE OF OVERLAY

resistance is in general very good. Al -40Sn ~

Unfortunately, their resistance to fatigue is, by the stan- AI - 20 Sn 1 Cu

W4j
dards of present-day engines, poor and for this reason white-
metal survives in the UK only in one or two automobile
Al - 6 Sn 1Cu 1 Ni
wad
engines and in large conservatively rated diesel engines. The
AI - 6 Sn 1Cu 1Ni (PLATED)
~ twA
majority of high-speed internal combustion engines i~pose Cu - 30 Pb SINTER
W&
loads on the bearings too high for whitemetal to withstand, Cu - 30 Pb SINTER (PLATE~) ~
WWA
and fatigue cracking of the bearing lining occurs. Engine Cu - 24 Pb 1Sn CAST(PLATED) ~
BWM
builders have in consequence generally adopted stronger Cu - 26 Pb 2 Sn SINTER(PLAiED) § ~+
bearing linings such as copper-lead, lead bronze, or alu- Cu - 22 Pb 4Sn SINTER(PLATED) § f?%,+
minium-tin. AI - 11 Si lCu
For those high-speed engines still able to use whitemetal the .
common UK specification is a tin-based alloy (89 Sn, 7·5 Sb,
At -

N/mm2 14
11 Si
1
1 Cu
1
28
(PLATED)

~1 SiS
I~I 1
f0// ,+
69 83 97 110 124 138
3·5 Cu). Tpis alloy is strip-cast. Coils of steel strip are de- Ibf/in2 2000 4001) 6000 8000 10 000 12 non 0'1n
1••• 16000 18000 20000

greased, linished, and/or etched before passing into a tinning Overlays were 0·025 mm-thick lead-tin or lead-tin copper. Back-of-
bath and then under a stream of molten whitemetal. The bearing temperatures were 70-100°C, according to load.

TABLEIII
Mechanical Properties of Aluminium-Based Bearing Linings Measured on Strip before Bearing Manufacture

Composition Ultimate Tensile Strength 0·1 % Proof Stress Elongation, Hardness,

% HV5"
N/mm2 tonf/in2 N/mm2 tonf/in2

Aluminium-20 % tin-l %
copper 116-123 7·5-8'0 38·5-46·0 2·5-3'0 20-30 32-42

Aluminium-6 % tin-1 %
copper-l % nickel 120-136 7'8-8'8 46·0-54·0 3'0-3·5 20-25 40-48

Aluminium-l 1% silicon-l %
copper 194-210 12·6-13·6 85·0-100 5·5-6·5 15-20 50-60
I
 Pratt : Materials for Plain Bearings
Fig. 5 The structure of a strip-cast tin-7·5 % antimony-3'5 %
copper alloy strip cast on to a steel backing. Star-shaped copper
-tin compound is seen in a tin-antimony solid solution. X 40.
metal strip line, the lining attaining a much higher fatigue
strength than that achieved in more slowly cooled rotary or
gravity cast linings. Also common in US automobile engines
is another lead-based specification (92·5 Pb, 4 Sn, 3·5 Sb)
impregnated into a steel-backed cupro-nickel sinter. A higher
fatigue strength is obtained by limiting the whitemetal above
the sinter to a thickness of 0·1 mm (0'004 in).
The fatigue strength of whitemetal is strongly dependent
on lining thickness, 7 a 0·1 mm lining being capable of carrying
a load 40% higher than a 0·3 rom lining. However, even a
0·1 mm lining has inadequate strength for the majority of
present-day engine bearing applications.
3. Copper-Lead and Lead-Bronze Engine Bearing Alloys
High-lead, copper-lead alloys, with lead contents in the
range 25-50%, were introduced in the US in the 1930's, and
are still used in that country under the broad classification of
(iintermediate' bearing alloys. However, their fatigue strength,
Fig. 6 The corrosion of the lead phase at the surface of a copper-
lead bearing in an area where the overlay plate has been removed
by wear, Collapse of the surface has occurred under the bearing
load. x 200.
67
though somewhat higher than that of thin whitemetallinings,
is still too low for many automobile engines; moreover in the
higher-rated engines with high oil temperatures the lead
phase suffers from corrosion by the oil (Fig. 6).
The overlay plating of copper-lead and lead bronze bear-
ings with a lead- or tin-based electrodeposit was introduced in
the late 1930's, primarily with the object of enabling the harder
and stronger lead bronzes to be used as engine bearing linings,
while avoiding the seizure problem posed by these rather
incompatible alloys. The overlay also served to protect the
lead phase in the lining from corrosive attack by the oil. Lead
overlays could be made corrosion-resistant by the addition of
a few percent. of tin or indium and overlays on copper-lead
and lead bronze were soon universally lead-based. A wide
range of copper-lead and lead bronze specifications is used in
present-day engines. Primarily the choice of specification is
dictated by the severity of the bearing applications, but it is
also ckpendent on the method of manufacture used by the
supplier.
(a) Manufacture
(i) The Sinter Process. This is the most flexible of the avail-
able processes, and is capable of producing the widest range
of compositions.
The alloy composition is established in a melt, which is
then gas-atomized to powder. Each powder particle consists
of an approximate sphere of copper or bronze containing
within itself a fine distribution of lead (Fig. 7). The appropri-
ate size fraction of the powder is spread on to copper-plated
steel strip as the strip enters a sintering furnace, where the
powder particles sinter to one another and to the copper-
plated steel. The atmosphere during sintering is reducing, and
a temperature in the region of 850 C is attained. The sintered
0
lining is compacted by passing the strip through a rolling
mill, and finally the strip is resintered to give a strong fully
dense lining. The metallurgical structure of the final lining is
shown in Fig. 8, and demonstrates one advantage of the sinter
process in providing a homogeneous non-directional struc-
ture with a very fine distribution of lead throughout the
copper or bronze matrix.
In the UK the sinter process is limited to a maximum lead
content of 40%. However, in the US higher lead contents,
up to 55%, are obtained by omitting the compaction stage
and infiltrating the porous copper-lead lining with additional
lead from a molten lead bath.
Oi) The Strip-Casting Process. Steel strip is flanged at the
edges to produce a shallow trough, heated to ~ 1000 C in a0
reducing atmosphere and passed under a casting head where
it receives molten copper-lead-tin alloy at a temperature of
~ 1250 C. The alloy is severely quenched to obtain the
0
requisite structure (Fig. 9), and this limits the output thickness
to ~ 12·5 rom (i in).
Because of the rapid quench a strip-cast lead bronze lining
tends to be harder than the sinter lining of the same composi-
tion.
(iii) The Rotary and Static Lining of Shells. The alternative
process for copper-lead-tin alloys is to cast the bearing lining
into a steel or cast-iron shell either statically or centrifugally.
The presence of tin in the alloy greatly assists in attaining a
uniform lead distribution (Fig. 10). The process is not so
economic as the sinter or strip-casting processes and is
restricted to the manufacture of large bearings, usually
> 152 rom (6 in) dia.
Common copper-lead and lead bronze specifications are
given in Table I.
68 Pratt : Materials for Plain Bearings
Fig. 7 Typical structure
Fig.9 Typical structure of strip-cast copper-24% lead-l % tin alloy
with lead-tin copper overlay plate. x 80.
(b) Bearing Properties
(i) Copper-Lead Alloys. The softer copper-lead alloys have
good surface properties and in fact the 60/40 Cu/Pb alloy and
the higher-lead copper-lead alloys common in the US can be
used in engine applications without the benefit of the soft
overlay applied to the 70/30 eu/Pb alloy and the lead bronzes.
However, the strength of the 60/40 alloy is low, and this and
its susceptibility to corrosion restrict its usefulness to a
relatively small number of engine applications.
A widely used sinter or strip-cast specification is the 70/30
alloy. Commonly overlay-plated with 0·025 mm (0'001 in) of
lead-tin, lead-indium, or lead-tin-copper, this bearing
operates well in a large number of engine applications. The
70/30 alloy has good seizure-resistance and good fatigue
strength, both of which are further enhanced by the presence
of the overlay.
The ability of the soft overlay to increase the effective
fatigue strength of the lining is demon')trated in Table II. The
results in this table were obtained on the dynamically loaded
hydraulic rig referred to in Section I. Under the conditions
of this rig fatigue of a 70/30 sintered copper-lead lining takes
place at a load in the region of 110 N/mm2 (16000 Ibf/in2).
With 0'025 mm of lead-tin applied to the bearing surface the
Fig. 8 Typical structure of sintered 70 % copper-30 % lead lining
alloy with lead-tin overlay plate. x 160.
Fig. 10 Typical structure of copper-26 % lead-2 % tin after rotary
lining on to a steel backing. X 80.
onset of fatigue cracking of the copper-lead is delayed until a
load of around 120-125 N/mm2 (17000-18000 Ibfjin2) is
attained. Fatigue of the overlay appears at 70 N/mm2 (10000
Ibf/in2) in the form of crazing or 'hen-tracking', but the
fatigue cracks do not penetrate the copper-lead, and do not
appear to interfere with the functioning of the bearing so long
as the overlay is limited to a thickness in the region of 0'025
mm. This increase in the effective fatigue strength of the bear-
ing lining by the provision on the bearing surface of a soft
overlay results from partial sacrifice of the overlay in the
region of the thin films associated with maximum oil-film
pressure. The maximum oil-film pressure is thereby reduced
and the effective fatigue strength is correspondingly increased.
(ii) Lead Bronzes. The low-tin lead bronzes, with a tin
content of 1-2% and a lead content in the range 23-25%,
offer a useful advantage in terms of strength over the 70/30
copper-lead alloy (Table II). The loss in compatibility is
acceptable in an overlay-plated bearing, and the alloy is not
so hard that a hardened shaft is required. Linings are pro-
duced by both the strip-casting and the sinter processes to
this type of specification. The specification is a popular one,
offering a good combination of strength and seizure-resist-
ance.
 Pratt: Materials for Plain Bearings
A further increase in strength is achieved in the alloys in
which tin content is increased to a level in the range 3-4%.
The tin in all the lead bronze specifications goes preferentially
into the copper matrix. In the case of the copper-22 %, lead-
4% tin sinter specification the matrix is thus a strong 95/5
bronze alloy with 22 wt.-% by weight or 18 vol.-% of lead
distributed throughout it in the form of interconnected islands.
The composition has, as would· be expected, a higher
fatigue strength than the copper-lead alloys or the low-tin
lead bronzes (Table II). However, it is also harder and there-
fore less conformable and less able to embed dirt. This
imposes certain restrictions on the engine builder if the alloy
is to be used successfully.
A decision to use the copper-22% lead-4% tin alloy pre-
supposes an arduous engine condition, in which case the
overlay thickness must be limited to 0·025 rom or less if
premature overlay fatigue is not to supervene. However,
in-built dirt, which is often present in an engine from crank-
shaft drillings, &c., is often larger in particle size than 0·025
mm. The bearing lining, as well as the overlay, is therefore
required to absorb this foreign matter. The harder lead
bronze lining is less able to perform this function than the
relatively soft copper-lead lining, and in the case of appreci-
able quantities of dirt a seizure situation is more likely to
arise. The successful use of the alloy is therefore dependent
on the ability of the engine builder to eliminate in-built dirt
from his engine.
The same arguments apply to a high-strength strip-cast
specification covering copper-5% tin-16% lead, lead-
indium overlay-plated. This specification, as is the preceding
one, is run against nitrided or induction-hardened crank-
shafts.
(c) Overlay Composition and Performance
The common overlay compositions in the UK are lead-
8-12 % tin and lead-6-10% indium; in the USA lead-tin
and lead-tin-copper. The SAE specifications 19 and 190
cover tin contents of 8-12% and 5-9%, respectively, both
permitting an optional copper content of up to 3%, which if
present is usually held in the range 1-3 % by agreement
between the supplier and the customer.
In all cases the overlay is electrodeposited on the bearing
surface following final boring, the bearings being loaded into
jigs and plated in batches of 4-40, depending on bearing size.
The lead-tin composition is plated as an alloy from a mixed
fluoroborate bath, to which additions of cupric oxide are made
if the ternary deposit is required. To achieve a lead indium
overlay, the lead and. indium are plated consecutively and
diffused by heat-treatment. Alloy plating techniques have
been described,8 but to the author's knowledge have not been
adopted for large-scale production.
Ideally, the lead-based overlay on a bearing would survive
for the life of the engine, and in some conservatively designed
engines running with low oil temperatures, a thick oil film
over the bearings, and good filtration of the oil, overlay lives
of several hundred thousands of miles are in fact obtained.
However, in uprated engines the life of the overlay can be
prematurely terminated by fatigue, caused by a high maximum
oil-film pressure; by wear, caused by a low minimum oil-film
thickness; or by corrosion caused by excessive oil tempera-
tures and consequent oxidation of the oil. Overlay wear can
also be caused by inadequate filtration of dirt from the oil.
Failure of the overlay does not necessarily mean that the
bearing will not continue to run satisfactorily. As has been
pointed out, a fatigue-cracked overlay can sometimes con-
tinue to do its job perfectly well. However, the fatigue cracks
69
do render the copper-lead lining accessible to the oil, and if
the oil is corrosive, corrosion of the lead phase can occur and
can spread quite extensively beneath the overlay. Similarly,
a bearing with the overlay worn away in the region 'of mini-
mum oil-film thickness can continue to run satisfactorily,
but again exposure of the copper-lead or lead bronze to
corrosive oil can lead to corrosion of the lead phase. Exposure
of the copper-lead or lead bronze following loss of the over-
lay through wear or corrosion will, of course, make the
bearing more prone to seizure in the event of temporary oil
starvation or an excessive influx of dirt.
(i) Overlay Strength vs. Thickness. The strength/thickness
relationship for lead-tin and lead-indium is shown in Fig. 11.
The lead-indium overlay is the stronger, being for a given
overlay'thickness 20% stronger than lead-tin.
I'V
The view held in the USA, supported by some published
information,9,10 is that lead-tin-copper is also stronger than
lead-tin, the optimum copper content of I'V3% giving, for a
specific bearing load, a five times longer life to fatigue failure
than that of a copper-free overlay.
For passenger-car engines overlay thickness is most
commonly 0·025 mm. The smaller high-speed diesel engines
with high maximum oil-film pressures but reasonably stiff
crankshafts and connecting rods can use an overlay only
0·015 rom (0·0006 in) thick, and obtain thereby a greater
overlay fatigue strength.
(ij) Overlay Wear- Resistance. Curves obtained for overlay
wear under simulated engine bearing conditions are shown in
Fig. 12. The view expressed elsewherell that lead-indium is
less wear-resistant than lead-tin is supported by these curves.
The wear on lead-indium was 70% greater than that on
I'V
lead-tin.
(iii) Overlay Corrosion. Although, for a given content of
corrosion-inhibiting phase, lead-tin is more corrosion-
resistant than lead-indium,12 there is in fact no danger of
corrosion of either overlay, so long as the tin or indium con-
tent remains at its original level. However, at engine tempera-
ture diffusion of tin or indium from the overlay takes place
and if the engine temperature is high, diffusion can proceed
to the extent that the tin or indium content falls below the
safety level (3% in the case of tin, 5% in the case of indium),
and corrosive attack of the overlay by the mechanisms
described in Ref. (6) can occur.
Claims have been made that a nickel barrier between the
overlay and the copper-lead prevents loss of tin by diffusion
from the overlay. However, experiments' in the author's
laboratory do not support this view, the presence of a nickel
barrier having little effect on the rate of loss of tin (Fig. 13).
Instead of the formation of copper-tin compound (CU6
Sns and CU3 Sn) beneath the overlay, nickel-tin compound is
formed. 6 After 4500 h at 100 C, the tin content of the overlay
0
fell from the original 10 to I'V 4% and only one-third (0·0015
mm) of the original nickel barrier remained, the other two-
thirds being transformed to Ni3Sn. A very extensive investi-
gation of the diffusion of tin and indium from overlays has
been undertaken by Semlitsch13,14 and the compound~
formed with and without nickel barrier identified. Increasing
the tin content of the lead-tin overlay was shown not to be a
solution to the problem, since a higher rate of diffusion was
found, associated with the formation of the tin-rich compound
Ni3Sn4 at the nickel barrier. To date, the solution to the
problem offered by Semlitsch, deposition of a cobalt barrier
between the overlay and the copper-lead, has not been
proved effective in practice.
70 Pratt: .Materials for Plain Bearings
2
N/mm FATI GUE RATING Or02S4 mm 0·2540 mm
140 lbf/in~

120
., l!>OOO

•
"-
" "-
\," ."- 16000

"" .
100 '\ 14000

BO .~ '"

""...~ •
12000

60 ~,
~
", i--
10000

6000

40
~. ~
........•"
6000

20
.
8----

----
LEAO/tO%

LEAD / 6%
TIN

INDIUM
...............•.
4000

2000

O' 0010 in OVERLAY THICKNESS

Fig. 11 The fatigue strength/thickness relationship for lead-tin and
lead-indium overlays.

4. Aluminium-Based Materials
WE IGH T LOSS, 9 The use of aluminium alloys for the engine bearing applica-
0·030 tion has increased greatly in recent years, and both in the UK
.--- LEAD/l0~TIN and world-wide as many of the vehicles on the road now run
.- - LEAD/6% INDIUM
with aluminium alloy-lined crankshaft bearings as with copper
0·025
-lead- or whitemetal-lined bearings.
0·020
The first use of aluminium as an engine bearing material
was in the 1930's when Rolls Royce introduced a tin-alumin-
ium alloy in an aircraft engine application. In the 1940's
similar alloys were introduced in the US in automotive
applications. These 6% tin-aluminium alloys were used in
10-OlD
solid form, that is, without a steel backing, the necessary
strength being obtained by copper, nickel, silicon, and
0·005
magnesium additions combined with heat-treatment or a
cold-working operation.
For high-speed internal combustion engines, however,
HOURSRUN

LOAD, Hlmm
2
1,8
20

I 55 1.---------
40 60 80 100

62
120
Fig. 12 The comparative wear rate of lead-tin and lead-indium
overlays.
A beneficial effect of a nickel interlayer ,underneath the
Qverlay is found when the copper-lead lining has been cast on
to the steel backing. The pick-up of iron by the molten metal
.and the subsequent diffusion of the iron impurity to the overlay
/lining interface can lead to the phenomenon of 'bond deterio-
ration', i.e. a loss of adhesion between the overlay and the
·copper-Iead, believed to be due to the formation of a ternary
copper-tin-iron compound. The phenomenon of bond
deterioration is rarely found on bearings manufactured by the
sinter process, and the use of a nickel barrier is therefore
confined, in the UK, to bearings with cast lead bronze linings.
140 160 180
solid aluminium bearings possess too high an expansion
coefficient and too Iowa yield strength to retain their fit in an
iron-based connecting rod or crankcase. They demand more-
over relatively large clearances, With the single exception
therefore of the Volkswagen engine, where the light-alloy
crankcase permits the use of solid aluminium main bearings,
the aluminium bearing alloy is found in the form of a thin
lining on a steel backing.
(a) Manufacture
The lining of aluminium alloys on to steel for bearing
applications is achieved by the roll bonding of strip. The
details of the process, such as the temperature to which the
alloy and steel are heated before bonding, vary with the
manufacturer and the alloy being bonded. In all cases, how-
ever, a substantial extension of the alloy and steel after careful
preparation of the surfaces by degreasing, brushing, and
 Pratt : Materials for Plain Bearings 71
aluminium. The alloy originated in this country from explora-
J. Pb Sn ON Ni BARRIER '@ 10'10
tory work carried out at the Fulmer Research Institute, under
• Pb Sn NO BARRIER '@ 10'10

A Pb Sn ON Ni BARRIER 'Ii) 20'10

contract from the Tin Research Institute. This work was.
17·5
o Pb Sn NO BARRIER 'Q) 2tW. taken up by a UK bearing manufacturer, who further develo-
ped the alloy and the associated bonding process. Since its.
introduction on to the market in 1958, the alloy has become
of major importance as an automotive engine bearing alloy,
and has been adopted in the majority of engine types in the
UK.

(i) Structure. During solidification of the 20% tin-aluminium

alloy tin is precipitated at the aluminium grain boundaries.
: ~ A
.•
----i and virtually surrounds the aluminium grains. Such a struc-
·-------0-- __-0 ture is relatively weak, particularly as temperature approaches.
2·5
the melting point of tin.
(a) Fortunately, a more desirable structure may be developed
1000 1500 2000
HOURS AT TEMPERATURE
2500
100· C
4S00 by cold working the alloy, followed by a heat-treatment,15
During roll bonding the tin is elongated in the direction of
rolling into long thin ribbons. If the alloy is heated to above
10 E the recrystallization temperature for aluminium, the tin
withdraws into the irregular islands characteristic of the final
bimetal lining structure (Fig. 14). The tin islands are inter-
connected along the trigonal grain boundaries of the alumin-
E ium to form a three-dimensional net of tin throughout
OVERLAY ON the continuous aluminium matrix. (This type of structure in a
8 ALUMINIUM 6 % TIN
lower tin-aluminium alloy has been described by Williams.
and Smith,16) The term 'reticular tin-aluminium' is used to
7 distinguish this high-strength structure from the undesirable
as-cast structure.!7
The strength of reticular tin-aluminium is further enhanced
6 by the addition of copper at the 1 % level, which acts primarily
as a solid-solution hardener with some CuAh formation.
o The properties of a bimetal strip lining to the aluminium
-20%-1 % copper specification are shown in Table III.

OVERLAY ON CAST . (ii) Bearing Characteristics. The 20% reticular tin-aluminium

(b)
a 100 200 300 400
HOURS AT TEMPERATURE
Fig. 13 The diffusion of tin from lead-tin overlays. (a) Overlays on
sintered copper- 30 % lead, with and without a nickel barrier,'
(b) overlays on aluminium and cast lead bronze.
linishing, enables a bond to be achieved that may be sub-
sequently developed by heat-treatment.
With the tin-bearing alloys an interlayer must be incorpora-
ted between the alloy and the steel if maximum bond strength
is to be achieved. This may be in the form of nickel or cobalt
plating on the steel, or of a pure aluminium roll-bonded
interlayer. The latter method is used particularly during the
bonding of the 20% tin-aluminium bearing alloy.
(b) Aluminium
The alloy that has had the most striking success in
Great Britain and latterly in the rest of Europe is 20% tin-
COPPER 20% represents a most satisfactory compromise between the oppos-
LEAD 2% TIN
ing requirements of high fatigue strength and good surface
properties. The fatigue strength is close to that of 70/30 copper
-lead but the seizure-resistance is significantly higher (Table
II and Fig. 15). The increase in seizure-resistance is, in fact,
sufficient for engine bearings to operate without benefit of the
soft overlay applied to the copper-lead and lead bronze
materials. The compatibility, conformability, and embedda-
bility of 20% tin-aluminium have enabled it to be run unplated
without seizure even under the thin-film conditions present
500 600 700
in current designs of high-speed passenger car engines.
Under dirty engine conditions shaft wear against 20%
tin-aluminium can initially be slightly higher than with an
overlay-plated bearing. However, such conditions produce
wear of the overlay of an overlay-plated bearing, and once
the underlying, relatively hard, alloy is exposed, shaft wear
rate increases. The total increase in running clearance can,
therefore, be greater with overlay-plated copper-lead than
with unplated 20% tin-aluminium (Table IV).
Corrosion of 20 % tin-aluminium is virtually unknown under
engine bearing conditions, the alloy being completely resistan t
to engine oils and to their high-temperature degradation
products. Gross water contamination of the oil supply has
been known to result in corrosion of the bearing surface but
in general the surface film of oil provides complete protection
against this kind of attack.
(c) 30% Tin-Aluminium
Reticular tin-aluminium alloys with a tin content> 200/0
72
Fig.14 Typical structure of aluminium-20% tin-l % copper bonded
to steel via an aluminium interlayer. X 80.
are used in some applications, and in Japan, notably, a 30%
tin, 1% copper alloy has proved successful in passenger
car engines. The 30% alloy has even higher seizure-resistance
than the 20%, but suffers some loss in fatigue strength.18
40% tin-aluminium with no copper addition is an alloy
with a compatibility and conformability approaching that
of whitemetal but with a usefully higher fatigue strength at
elevated temperature. It has not, however, found application
in the automotive field, being of inadequate strength for the
majority of automotive engine bearing applications.
(d) Aluminium-Lead
Aluminium-lead is an obviously attractive alternative to
aluminium-tin as a bearing alloy, if for no other reason than
the low price of lead relative to tin. However, the alloy pre-
sents major metallurgical problems in its realization and for
Pratt : Materials for Plain Bearings
this reason aluminium-lead-lined bearings have appeared
only to a limited extent on the market.
Whereas tin is readily soluble in molten aluminium, lead is
soluble only to a limited extent. Very high melt temperatures
are, therefore, required if a useful amount of lead is to be
dissolved. On cooling towards solidification the dissolved
lead is precipitated at temperatures well above the aluminium
solidification temperature as molten lead globules, which
immediately begin to segregate under gravity. The final
structure of a slowly cooled melt consists of a layer of lead
below a layer of aluminium containing no more than '" 1%
lead in solution.
The tendency of the molten alloy to segregate under gravity
may, however, be turned to advantage, to 0 btain in one surface
of a billet a higher proportion of lead than the low solubility
of lead in aluminium could be expected to permit. A recent
publication19 describes how aluminium-lead alloy can be
continuously cast in the horizontal direction to obtain billet
denuded of lead in the upper surface but lead-rich in the lower.
Complete segregation of the lead phase is prevented by rapid
solidification. The billet is processed to bimetal using the
low-lead surface to bond to the steel. By careful control of the
casting parameters a reasonably constant lead content, in the
region of 8%, is obtained in the bearing surface after final
machining. The lead is in the form of ribbons, which in the
bearing lie in the axial direction.
This alloy; known in the US as 'aluminum Babbit',
contains also 1% cadmium, 1% tin, and 4 % silicon and has
within the last two years been introduced into passenger-car
engines in that country. Compatibility is good and the bearings
are operated without overlay. 20
Another version of aluminium-lead recently introduced,
also in the US, is based on a sinter process.21 An aluminium-
lead melt is atomized and the powder is compacted in a rolling
mill to form strip. Aluminium powder is fed into the mill gap
to provide a lead-free bonding surface on one side of the strip.
The strip is sintered and roll-bonded to steel. Lead content

12

10 AI- 40 Sn AI- 20Sn 1 Cu />J. - 11-17 Pb 1 Co

>-
o
:z;
w
::>
d
UJ
0::
u.. AI- 6Sn 1Cu 1Ni Al - 11 Si 1Cu Cu - 30Pb

N/mm
2
3 12 15
CI
g 12 15 g 12 15
l!I g
:J
N
~ ~ '>
:J
N .~
Ibf/in
2
400 800 1200 1600 2000 Sf <.II 400 800 1200 1600 2000 ~ ~ 1.00 800 1200 1600 2000
'v
<.II ~
Seizurcs during 11.Lcyclcs Further 1300 Seizur~s during 11.L cycles Mhor 1300 Seizures during 1Ll. cycles Further 1300
at abovc loads cycles at at abovc loads cydt!s at at above loads cycles at
max, load max. toad max. load

Fig. 15 Compatibility histograms for some bearing alloys. Oil-lubricated bushes are run on a stop/start cycle,
the load being increased every 144 cycles in steps of 3 N/mm2 until seizure occurs.

IV TABLE
Comparison of Bearing and Shaft Wear (in x 10-4)
with Two Different Alloys
20 % Tin-Aluminium
Max., !-tm Mean, ~m
Bearing 5·1 2·0
Shaft 12·7 7·4
Increase in
Clearance 17·8 11·4
in the alloy layer is 8'5% wt.-%, the lead again being in ribbon
form. Silicon content is 4%, tin 1'5%, and copper 0'5%.
In this country development of the alloy has been aimed at
producing an homogeneous structure free from lead ribbons
with a lead content > 10%. 10% has proved the minimum
acceptable lead content if bearings are to be operated without
an overlay under the very thin oil-film conditions prevailing
in engines of current UK design.
Such a structure, consisting of a fine uniform dispersion
of the lead in aluminium, is achievable, and is illustrated in
Fig. 16. However, the alloy is still in the development stage
and has not yet appeared in production quantities, though
bearing performance characteristics have been well established.
A fatigue strength close to that of 20% tin is obtained by
of the incorporation of copper at the same 1% level of addition
as is made to aluminium-tin. Corrosion-resistance is good,
protection of the lead phase from corrosive attack by the
engine oil being obtained by a small tin addition to the alloy.
(e) 6 % Tin-Aluminium
6% tin-aluminium is an engine bearing alloy specification
of long standing, still widely used in the US and to a lesser
extent elsewhere. The alloy is subject to minor variations in
composition according to the manufacturer. Most specifica-
tions contain 5'5-7% tin, with copper and nickel additions
at the 1% level and silicon between 0 and 2%.
For engine-bearing applications the alloy is overlay-plated,
compatibility without the benefit of overlay being inadequate
for thin oil-film conditions (Fig. 15). In common with the
» , • ':: •• """"" ,.
L~~~~;,;~~~i':;~:~~'~,
r <;~':;.;::''.~:>:_~~:.~
Fig. 16 The structure of an aluminium-l 0 % lead-1 % copper alloy
roll-bonded to steelafter spheroidization o/the lead. X 160.
Pratt: Materials for Plain Bearings 73
aluminium alloys subsequently discussed, the overlay plating
sequence is multistage, consisting of an immersion deposit
of zinc, a thin electrodeposit of nickel or copper and finally an
electrodeposit of lead-tin alloy. The thickness commonly
used is 0'012-0'020 mm.
The fatigue strength of unplated 6% tin-aluminium is
Overlay-Plated virtually identical to that of20% tin-aluminium. However, the
Copper-Lead presence of the overlay increases the effective fatigue strength
Max., tim Mean, ~m
of the lining to a value some 10% higher, and overlay-
20·3 8·9 plated 6% tin-aluminium may, therefore, be used under condi-
12·7 4'1 tions that are marginally too arduous for 20% tin-aluminium.
Corrosion of the overlay by degraded engine oil is less of a
53·3 21·8
problem than with the same overlay on a copper-lead bearing.
Although some loss of tin follows the formation of nickel-
tin compound this does not proceed at a rate that endangers
the corrosion-resistance of the overlay (Fig. 13(b)). (The differ-
ence in rate of formation of nickel-tin compound between
nickel-barrier-plated copper-lead and aluminium bearings is
difficult to understand, and further work is required. The
effect was not found by Semlitsch.13)
<f) 11 % Silicon-Aluminium
A recent development in the high-strength engine bearing
field is an 11% silicon, 1% copper alloy. This alloy is similar
in composition to the well-known aluminium piston alloys,
but is processed to produce a very different metallurgical
structure (Fig. 17), consisting of finely divided silicon in an
aluminium-copper matrix. The elongation of the alloy in this
Fig. 17 The structure of an aluminium 11 % silicon 1 % copper alloy
after roll-bonding to steel. X 800.
..
-~ ':..<>....<),
-'
form is > 10% compared with 1% for the standard form of
piston alloy. Other mechanical properties are given in Table
III. The fatigue strength of bearings of this type is high,
equivalent to that of the strongest copper-based engine-bearing
alloys (Table II).
Compatibility is surprisingly good, in view of the absence of
'e
a soft phase, and this is ascribed to the very fine particle
size of the silicon ('" 2 {Lm).However, the hardness of the
alloy and the relatively poor dirt embeddability requires that
bearings be overlay-plated for satisfactory engine performance.
The alloy was developed specifically to meet the high load
requirements of the turbo-charged diesel engine, where its
freedom from corrosion offers an important advantage over
the lead bronzes.
74 Pratt: Materials for Plain Bearings
(g) Aluminium-Cadmium and Aluminium-Cadmium-8ilicon
These alloys are of US origin and their u;e is mainly confined
to that country. Both are high-strength alloys, intended pri-
marily for highly loaded diesel engine applications, where they
are operated with a thin lead-tin or lead-tin-copper overlay.
The nominal specifications are: aluminium-3 %, cadmium
and aluminium-1 %, cadmium-4 % silicon.
Fatigue strength is slightly higher than that of 6% tin-
aluminium with comparable compatibility.
(h) 5 % Zinc-Aluminium
The specification 5% zinc-1 % nickel-1 %. lead-l %
magnesium-l % silicon is peculiar to the solid aluminium
bearing used by Volkswagen in their light-alloy air-cooled
engine. The alloy has only moderate strength (Table II) but
has better compatibility than the alloys of the previous three
sections.22 It is nevertheless operated with a thin overlay of
lead-copper (99'5% lead, 0'5% copper).
IV. Materials for The Crankshaft Bearings of the Slow-Speed
Engine and for Steadily Loaded Applications
The larger diesel engines are divided into two categories of
medium- and slow-speed engines. The former run at 350-
1500 rev/min and have crankshafts in the range 150-550 mm
dia. The latter run at 80-120 rev/min and have crankshafts
in the range 450-1000 rom dia.
The medium-speed diesel engine uses much the same range
of bearing materials as the high-speed automotive engines, i.e.
whitemetal, 20% tin-aluminium, or overlay-plated bearings
with a lining of 6% tin-aluminium or a low-tin lead bronze.
0'050 llUl1 of lead-tin or lead-indium is the common overlay
in the UK. Bearing loads are not so high that the higher-
strength aluminium-silicon or the high-tin lead bronzes are
required. They are, however, often higher than whitemetal
can withstand, and the use of whitemetal in medium-speed
diesel engines is becoming rare. Some engine builders prefer
to have an intermediate bearing layer of copper-lead or lead
bronze between a thin whitemetal lining and the steel shell.
Both tin- and lead-based whitemetals are used, though the
latter are more common. Such bearings, known as 'trimetal'
are not widely used in the UK but are fairly common in the
rest of Europe and in the USA. The whitemetal-lined copper-
lead trimetal bearing is distinct from the overlay-plated
copper-lead or lead bronze bearing, commonly known by
the term 'trimetal' in the US. The lead-tin, lead-tin-copper,
or lead-indium overlay of the latter is intrinsically weaker
than whitemetal, and the thickness of the overlay must not
exceed 0'1 rom if the effective strength is to be greater than
that of a whitemetal-lined bearing.
The demands made upon the engine bearings of the large
slow-speed diesel engine are-in terms of the maximum load
applied to the bearing-lower again than those applied in the
medium-speed engine. The softer bearing materials, notably
tin- or lead-based whitemetals, can be used with safety in the
majority of applications. In large engines the degree of
alignment that can be maintained is not high and for this
reason the conformability offered by the softer bearing materi-
als is often essential for satisfactory performance.
Under conditions of local contact between the bearing and
the shaft the bearing material must be able to 'wipe', i.e. to
suffer local surface melting, and thereby conform to the shaft
geometry, without causing damage to the shaft. This charac-
teristic is found in the whitemetals and in a high tin-aluminium
alloy of recent development.
In the largest marine diesel engines and in large reciprocating
compressors the bearings consist of whitemetal cast as a
lining into a cast-iron housing. Such bearings may be hand-
scraped after assembly of the engine to ensure proper align-
ment.
The use of insert liners, i.e. a steel-backed half bearing shell,
is common 'in the smaller marine diesel engines, and is
becoming increasingly popular in large engines. At the pre-
sent time insert liners are used in the majority of engines up to
1000 BHP/cylinder, and by some engine builders up to 5000
BHP/cylinder. The steel shells are either statically or centri-
fugally lined with whitemetal, or formed up from prelined
strip and supplied to the customer in the finish-machined
condition.
The materials for steadily loaded bearings in such applica-
tions as gas and steam turbines, rolling mills, and marine
stern tubes are usually whitemetal, and most often tin-based
whitemetal. Tin-based whitemetal offers the compatibility
required during turbine start-up and run-down when the bear-
ing is required to carry a heavy unidirectional load without
benefit of a fully formed hydrodynamic film. Similarly, the high
loads and low speeds of rolling mills do not favour the forma-
tion of a thick hydrodynamic oil film and maximum com-
patibility is required from the bearing material.
Tilting pad thrust bearings are also required to operate
under conditions that generate only a very thin film of oil
over the surface of the pads, and again the surface properties
of white metal, and tin-based whitemetal in particular, are
necessary to ensure adequate performance.
Unfortunately, the anisotropic thermal expansion of the
tin grains in tin-based whitemetal can give rise to 'faceting'
of the pad surface, and extensive thermal cycling can in fact
result in failure through intergranular cracking. The phe-
nomenon is not shown by the lead-based alloys.
1. Tin-Based Whitemetals
Tin-based whitemetals are basically alloys of tin, antimony,
and copper. They offer some advantage over lead-based
alloys in greater compatibility (Fig. 18) and greater ductility
(Table V), though these advantages are not necessarily signifi-
cant in terms of engine performance.
Tin-based whitemetal specifications have in the past been
almost infinite in their variety, the number of alloys greatly
exceeding the number that would be justified on the grounds
of performance differences between the various specifications.
In recent years some degree of standardization has fortunately
come about.
An added complication is that the composition of a bearing
lining differs to a greater or lesser extent from the nominal
specification, according to the method of manufacture. The
linings of large shell bearings when centrifugally lined, or
linings produced by the gravity casting of alloy into massive
cast-iron housings suffer from segregation of the alloy
constituents during solidification. Needles of copper-tin
compound and antimony-tin 'cuboids' are precipitated during
cooling and, being heavier and lighter respectively than the
surrounding still-liquid alloy, tend to segregate under the
influence of gravity or the centrifugal force. A centrifugally
lined bearing for instance will, after machining off the excess
metal from the bore, have a lining composition richer in
copper than the ingot used. Alloy linings produced on a strip
line for the manufacture of thin-wall automotive bearings
do not suffer from this problem owing to the rapid quenching
of the alloy.
 Pratt: Materials for Plain Bearings 75

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76 Pratt: Materials for Plain Bearings

15 kg LOAD (. 8 m/s 712. kg LOAD 0'6 m/s

32 lbf 1350 rflV / min 161bf 450 rev/min
TIN BASE WHITEMETAL LEAD BASE wAllEMEIAL
Sn 7Y2.Sb 3Cu Pb ISSb ISn lAs

30 30

20 no seizures in 20
(0 t~sts

10 - 10

o 500 1000 1500 2000 o 500 1000 1500

Al 40 Sn AI 2.QSn I Cu

Fig. 19 A surface layer of tin oxide formed by corrosion of a tin-

15 based whitemetallining. The copper-tin compound is unattacked.
X 80.

10 -
taken as evidence for the undesirability of lead in tin~based
5 whitemetal. On the other hand, results from the authors'
laboratory and elsewhere24 show a useful increase in UTS
and proof stress as lead content is raised to 1'5%, with no
o SOO 1000 /500 2000 a 500 1000 1500
noticeable effect thereafter. No effect on elongation was
found.
These latter results are supported "by bearing fatigue meas-
urements on alloy linings to specifications of 4 and 8% lead
AI 305n ICu AI 6Sn ICu INi
20 - (Table VI). The fatigue ratings of these compositions was
quite as high as that of lead-free composition, suggesting
/5 that for normal temperatures of operation at least (up to
120 C) the presence of lead has no deleterious effect. The
0

20
10
10
o 500 1000 1500 2000 o 500
CYCLES TO SEIZURE CYCLES TO SEIZURE
Fig. 18 Compatibility histograms for some bearing alloys. Flat
specimens loaded against a rotating mild-steel shaft, unlubricated.
There was no seizure of tin-based whitemetal, 40 % tin-alumin-
ium, or 30 % tin-l % copper-aluminium under the less serene
test condition.
(a) Tin-7'5% Antimony-3'5 % Copper
(i) Structure and Composition. The most commonly used tin-
based whitemetal specification has the basic composition 7'0-
8'0 antimony, 3'0-4'0 copper, remainder tin.
The metallurgical structure is shown in Fig. 19 and consists
of needles of copper-tin compound (Cu6SnS), often appearing
in a star-shaped formation, in a tin-antimony solid-solution
matrix. Some antimony-tin cuboid formation may be seen
in slowly cooled alloy at the top end of ,the antimony specifica-
tion. Both the metallurgical structure and the physical
properties of the alloy are affected by cooling rate. High
cooling rates produce a finer structure and an increase in
strength and elongation (Table V).
The lead content is held on most specifications for the alloy
to a maximum of 0'35 or 0'5%, to avoid the appearance
of small amounts of lead-tin eutectic. The relatively low
melting point of the eutectic (183 C) could conceivably 0
adversely affect the survival prospects of a bearing under
effect of lead on elongation is dependent on casting
conditions25 and these results therefore require confirmation
over the range of casting conditions encountered during the
lining of bearings. The 4 and 8 % lead specifications, be-
1000 1500
cause they offer the manufacturer an outlet for lead-
contaminated alloy as well as containing less tin, are often
available at a considerably lower price than lead free specifi-
cations.
(ii) Properties and Performance. The outstanding virtue of
the alloy is its excellent compatibility or resistance to seizure.
In fact, the alloy exhibits no sign of seizure behaviour in
any of the rig tests developed to examine this characteristic of
bearing materials. Seizure in service is unknown ansi even
under oil-starvation conditions, the bearing will suffer no
more damage than wiping or local melting of the surface.
The alloy is soft, bearing linings commonly having a hard-
ness in the range 27-33 HV. Dirt embeddability is very good
and soft shafts can be used without danger of scoring except
under conditions of gross dirt contamination of the lubricating
oil. Corrosion-resistance is good except under conditions of
water contamination of the oil, when tin oxide can form on the
bearing surface (Fig. 19). The conversion of the tin matrix
to tin oxide, which can in extreme cases lead to bearing
failure, is an electrochemical process. 26
The alloy has adequate fatigue strength for the majority of
applications in this section, although stronger tin-based
whitemetal alloys are available. The temperature capability
of the alloy is, of course, limited by the appearance of the
first molten phase at 238 C. However, the fatigue strength
0

conditions of incipient seizure. Results published by the Tin falls off noticeably well before the latter temperature is
Research Institute,23 showing a marked reduction in elonga- attained, and in practice bearing temperatures above f'OoJ

tion consequent on a 0'5% lead addition, have also been 130 C cannot be considered (Fig. 20).
0
 Pratt : Materials for Plain Bearings 77

TABLE VI
Tin-Base Whitemetals

Mean Fatigue Nominal Specification, %

Rating,
No. of Tests Nfmm2 Sb Cu Pb Cd Ni Cr
11 32 7! 3 - - - - (strip-lined)
4 25 7! 3 - - - -
6 30 9 4 - - - -
4 32 10 5 4 - - -
5 29 12 3! 12 - - -
6 35 7! 3 - 1 - -
7 32 7! 3 - 1 1
2" -
6 33 7! 3 - 1 ! 0·008

Lead-Base Whitemetals

Mean Fatigue Nominal Specification, %

Rating,
No. of Tests Nfmm2 Sn Sb Cu Cd As Ca
4 29 6 10 - - - -
4 29 12 13 - - - -
7 25 10 10 - - - -
7 36 1 15 - - 1 - (strip-lined)
4 27 1 15 - - 1 -
5 28 It - - - - 1
3 26 6 15 1 1 1
"2 -
5 34 9! 14 1 ! .1.
2 -

Note: The differences in fatigue ratings between Table VI and Table II are due to the different size of test bearing used for each investigation.
Back-of-bearing temperatures from 100 to 120 C. 0

Cooling rates were relatively high during the rotary lining of these small test bearings. Alloying addi tions aimed at promoting a fine structure
under the slow cooling conditions of large bearing linings therefore appear ineffective.

FATIGUE 2 2 In physical properties the higher copper and antimony

RATING, N/mm Ibf/in
contents are reflected in increased strength, by '" 10-20%,
and a reduction in ductility by a similar amount (Table V).
70 10000
In practice, the alloy is insufficiently distinguishable from
o alloy to the preceding specification to justify its separate
AI- 40Sn
60 -0---0 existence. Bearings nominally to the 3'0-3'5% copper speci-
~O o 8000 fication are quite likely to be found to have a copper content
50 above 4%, as a result of the segregation phenomenon descri-
~ bed above. Segregation of the higher proportion of copper-
tin compound in the present alloy can lead to linings of low
40 6000
ductility and to greater difficulty in achieving a satisfactory
level of bond strength.
30
LOOO (c) Cadmium-Containing Alloys

20
An important class of alloy, offering a combination of
high strength and reasonable ductility, is obtained by making
2000 additions of cadmium to the basic 7-8% antimony, 3-3'5%
10
copper composition. The cadmium addition is made at the
1-1'5% level. The addition produces no noticeable change
in structure, the cadmium being in solution in the tin-
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 antimony matrix. The improved mechanical properties are,
TEMPERATURE, °c however, reflected in an increase' in bearing load-carrying
Fig. 20 The fatigue strengthf (emperature relationship of aluminium- capability, and it will be seen from Table VI that the fatigue
40 % tin compared with a tin-based whitemetal. rating is increased by,....,40% as a result of the cadmium
addition.
(b) The Effect of Increased Antimony and Copper The alloy may be further developed by minor additions of
An alloy of somewhat higher strength may be produced by nickel, chromium, or beryllium, all of which have a noticeable
increasing the antimony content to 8"5-10"0%,and the copper effect on the metallurgical structure by producing a finer
to 4"0-4"5%. The higher antimony content is reflected in the copper-tin precipitate. In the case of the chromium and beryl-
metallurgical structure by the increasing appearance of lium additions this improvement in structure is accompanied
antimony cuboids. (Fig 21). by a significant improvement in mechanical properties.
78 Pratt : Materials for Plain Bearings
Fig. 21 The structure of slowly cooled tin-9 % antimony-4 %
copper alloy showing copper-tin needles and antimony-tin cubo-
ids in a matrix of tin antimony solid solution' x 80.
The effect is particularly noticeable in the slowly cooled alloy
of a large bearing lining, which benefits to the greatest extent
from the ability of the chromium and beryllium additions to
refine the structure.
The significance of this development (which represents the
sole advance made in whitemetal alloy composition in the
last two decades and is of Japanese origin) has still to be
confirmed by extend~d engine experience. The extent to which
the alloy is adopted will depend on the outcome of current
engine trials, and on the extent to which the cast whitemetal
lining remains in favour in face of the trend towards insert
liners among large marine diesel engine builders.
The finer grain size of these alloys makes them less prone
to thermal faceting, and they may find application in tilting
pad bearings subject to thermal cycling.
(d) Marine Whitemetal
An alloy to the nominal specification 30% zinc, 6S'5%
tin, 1'5% copper is used for underwater marine applications,
notably the lining of ships' stern tube bearings. The alloy
was specifically developed to be anodic to steel in sea water,
thus affording cathodic protection to the expensive propeller
shaft.
The metallurgical structure of the alloy shows copper-zinc
(CuZn3) and zinc in a matrix of tin-zinc eutectic. The mechani-
cal properties are poor relative to the alloys of preceding
sections (Table V).
2. Lead-Based Whitemetals
The majority of lead-based whitemetals are alloys of lead,
tin, and antimony~ the tin content being in the range 6-12%
and the antimony 10-15%. The exception is the arsenic-
containing alloy referred to in an earlier section, which is a
favourite automotive engine bearing alloy in the US. The
tin content of this alloy is limited to a nominal 1%.
The general metallurgical structure of the lead-based
whitemetals consists of antimony-tin cuboids in a pseudo-
eutectic of lead-antimony-tin. Segregation of the antimony-
tin cuboids can occur during gravity casting and during the
centrifugal lining of large bearing shells. For this reason the
centrifugal process is restricted to alloys having the least
solidification range (S4/10/6 and SO/10/10 lead/antimony
/tin).
As a class, the lead-based alloys differ from the tin-based
in having lower ductility, and a tendency to corrosion in
acidic oils via the formation of oil-soluble lead soaps. The
majority of alloys have, however, a sufficiently high tin and
antimony content for corrosion not to be a problem. The
lead-based alloys are traditionally regarded as having less
compatibility than tin-based alloys and this is supported by the
results shown in Fig. 17.Similar results were obtained by Wilcox
and Booser27 using a technique that determined the 'dwell~
before measurable wear occurred on an initially lubricated
test-specimen. Nevertheless, the anti-seizure properties of the
lead-based alloys are good and in the majority of applications
they give as satisfactory a performance as a tin-based alloy,.
and offer a price advantage.
(a) 6-12 % Tin, 10-15 % Antimony
As tin and antimony contents increase strength and hard-
ness rise and ductility falls. Above 15% antimony the alloy
becomes too brittle to be useful as a bearing material.
In the US only two SAE specifications remain: SAE13 and
14, containing 6% tin, 10% antimony; and 10% tin, 15%
antimony, respectively. The European situation is less tidy,
the range being covered by several alloys of varying degrees of
popularity.
Bearing fatigue results obtained in the author's laboratory
exhibited only marginal differences between the three alloys of
this type tested. The most highly alloyed specification tested
(11'5% Sn 13'5% Sb) showed a slight, not statistically
significant superiority (Table VI). For steadily loaded applica-
tions it would be natural to choose the most highly alloyed
specification where maximum load-carrying capacity was
required and the least highly alloyed specification for applica-
tions where dirt and fl?isalignment were a problem.
(b) Arsenical Antimony-Lead
A 15% antimony lead alloy with a minor, usually 10/0
arsenic, addition is a popular lead-based whitemetal specifica-
tion. The microstructure consists of antimony particles in a
lead-antimony solid-solution matrix, the arsenic being in
solution in the antimony precipitate. Although the effect of
the arsenic is to give a very fine antimony precipitate, this
does not seem to take the fatigue strength beyond that of the
lead-antimony-tin alloys (Table VI).
A higher arsenic content of 3% has been used in the US
in steadily loaded applications such as rolling mills. The higher
arsenic addition gives improved strength at the expense of
reduced ductility.
(c) Other 'High-Strength' Bearing Alloys
A class of alloy still used by some engine builders is a
lead-tin-calcium alloy with trace additions of sodium
or other alkali metals. The tin and calcium additions are
in the region of 1%. High load-carrying capacity is claimed,
but this is offset by a lack of corrosion-resistance in these
alloys.
The basic lead-tin-calcium alloy on bearing fatigue tests
showed a fatigue strength similar to the alloys of Section
IV 2 (a), but no quantitative information is available on the
effect of the trace additions.
In another class of alloy minor additions of arsenic, cad-
mium, copper, and nickel are made to the basic lead-antimony
-tin alloys of Section IV 2(a). In the author's tests of centrifu-
gally lined water-quenched bearings, one such alloy showed a
small but useful improvement in fatigue strength (Table VI).
It may be that maximulp effectiveness of the minor additions
 Pratt: Materials for Plain Bearings
is obtained only under conditions of slow cooling, when any
structure-refining function will be most beneficial.
3. High-Tin Aluminium Alloys
Reticular 20% tin-aluminium is used to a limited extent
in the applications at present under consideration. Howt;ver,
for large marine diesel engine applications the conform-
ability of the alloy is inadequate and until recently no substi-
tute for whitemetal had been found.
Under the impetus of fatigue damage to whitemetal occurr-
ing particularly in the cross-head bearing of large marine
diesel engines the suitability of higher-tin-aluminium alloys
has been explored. On rig tests the seizure-resistance of a
40% tin-aluminium alloy has proved exceptionally good,
approaching that of a tin-based whitemetal (Fig. 18). Omission
of the 1% copper addition made to the standard 20% tin
alloy enables hardness to be reduced to a level comparable
with whitemetal, and whitemetal 'wiping' characteristics are
obtained.
The fatigue strength of the alloy relative to whitemetal is
dependent on bearing temperature. At temperatures in the
region of 100° C the aluminium alloy is f"V50% stronger than
the best whitemetallining, and the ratio is increased at higher
bearing temperatures (Fig. 21).
This combination of properties is of particular interest to
the marine engine builder, and insert liners up to 1 m bore
are on trial. Whether the alloy "has sufficient conformability
and compatibility for the cross-head application has still to
be determined, and it may be that an overlay will be required,
even on an alloy of this softness.
The alloy cannot be gravity or centrifugally cast, neither
the bond nor the structure being satisfactory. The alloy
cannot therefore be substituted for whitemetal in the lining
of the traditional marine bearing housing, and the extensive
adoption of 40% tin-aluminium will be dependent on a
continuation of the current trend to insert liners.
In Japan, 40%-tin-aluminium alloy has been adopted by a
major marine engine builder, in a slightly different form to
that described above.10 The 1% copper strengthening addition
made to the automotive 20% tin-aluminium alloy is retained
in the 40% tin alloy, and the increased hardness is compensa-
ted for by overlay-plating the bearing with a standard lead-
tin electrodeposit.
V. Materials for Lubricated General Engineering
Applications
There is a large class of applications for which the bearing
conditions are ill-defined, that can be best described as
'general engineering' applications. In these applications some
degree of lubrication is given to the bearing but full hydro-
dynamic conditions are not necessarily obtained. Often the
relative movement is insufficient to create full hydrodynamic
lubrication, or the attention given to the lubricant supply is
insufficient so to do.
The bearing in the majority of these applications is a bush
('bushing' in American terminology) or a thrust washer.
Grease is the most usual method of lubrication, though various
degrees of oil lubrication are found, from the occasional
splash of oil to complete immersion. The most common
materials for this type of application are the copper leads or
lead bronzes. Graphited versions of these are available.
Aluminium alloys are less commonly used.
Whitemetal performs well with some degree of oil lubrica-
tion, but is unsatisfactory with grease. Plastics are becoming
increasingly popular for applications in this class and bearings
79
consisting of a thin plastic lining firmly bonded to a steel
backing are particularly effective.
The well-established class of oil-impregnated porous-metal
bearings, which contain within their wall thickness their own
Iubricant supply, is included in this section.
1. Copper-Lead and Lead Bronze
For many applications solid bronze bushes are used,
machined from continuously cast bar to one or other of the
specifications in Table VII. The stronger phosphor bronzes
are used for highly loaded applications, and require a hard-
ened mating surface. Wear-resistance of these alloys is
good under low-speed grease-lubricated conditions. Bushes
may also be wrapped from phosphor-bronze or brass strip.
Bushes wrapped from steel-backed copper-lead or lead
bronze continue to replace solid bronze bushes on grounds
·of economy. An 80110/10 Cu/Pb/Sn specification is the
strongest alloy found as a bimetal lining, and is preferred for
highly loaded applications.
An application met almost exclusively by this alloy compo-
sition is the 'small-end' bush, inserted in the connecting rod of
automotive engines to carry the piston gudgeon pin. This is a
heavily loaded oscillating application demanding the strength
of the 80/10/10 composition. Very poor lubrication con-
ditions require a very fine finish on the gudgeon pin of 0·1 lJ.m
CLA and a low clearance of 0·0003-0'0005 mm/mm before
some degree of 'squeeze-film' lubrication can be established.
The gudgeon pin is hardened to 700 RV. Solid phosphor-
bronze bushes are sometimes chosen for this application, and
occasionally a high-strength aluminium alloy such as RR56
is used.
More commonly found in both grease- and oil-lubricated
general engineering applications is the lead bronze specifica-
tion with a lead content of 20-25% and a tin content of 1-4%.
Alloys in this range represent a good compromise between
strength and surface properties and are equally at home in
low-speed grease-lubricated conditions, where wear-resistance
is important, and in high-speed oil-lubricated conditions,
where resistance to seizure is required.
Alloy compositions with higher lead and lqwer tin are less
commonly used and are confined to high-speed, relatively
low-load oil-lubricated conditions. This effect of alloy
composition on performance under grease- and oil-lubrication
conditions is demonstrated by the rig-test results shown in
Fig. 22. In the high-speed tests carried out with a controlled
degree of oil lubrication a stop/start cycle was used. Non-
hydrodynamic conditions prevail for the first few revolutions
of each cycle and a situation tending to produce seizure is
thereby created. The load on the bush is increased every
144 cycles until seizure occurs. The results are presented as a
histogram of seizure loads for each alloy tested. The low-speed
grease-lubricated tests were carried out under conditions of
continuous running, an initially greased bush being loaded in
steps of 1 N/mm2 until seizure was obtained. Under the
latter condition the relatively hard 80/10/10 alloy showed the
greatest resistance to seizure, while under· the former oil-
lubricated stop/start condition the converse was true and
best performance was obtained from the soft 70/30 Cu-Ph
alloy.
Under dry rubbing conditions de Gee et al.28 have shown
the wear-resistance of lead bronzes to increase with increasing
lead content up to but not above 10%. Montgomergy29
has explored the complex effects on wear and frictional
behaviour of lead bronze composition and structure, lubricant,
and bearing geometry, and has shown that increasing the
80 Pratt : Materials for Plain Bearings

TABLE VII
Composition and Hardness of Bearing Bronzes

Composition, % Hardness, HV
Sand- Chill- Continu-
Pb Sn Zn P Cu Cast Cast ous Cast
Leaded phosphor bronze
BSI400-LPBI-C 2·0/5'0 6'5/8'5 - <0·3 Bal. 60/90 85/110 85/110
Leaded bronze
BS14oo-LB2-C 8·5/11·0 9'0/11'0 - - Bal. 65/85 80/90 80/90
Leaded bronze
BS1400-LB4-C 8'Ojll'0 4·0/6'0 - - Bal. 55/75 60/80 60/80
Leaded gunmetal
BS14CO-LG2-C 4'0/6'0 4'0/6'0 4'0/6·0 - Bal. 65/75 75/90 80/95
Copper-lead 24/28 1M2! - - Bal. - 45/60 45/60
Phosphor bronze
BS 1400-PB 1-C - <10·0 - 0·5 Bal. 70/100 95/150 100/150
Leaded bronze 18'0/23·0 4'0/6'0 - - Bal. 45/65 50/70 50/70

lead content from 10 to 20% can be beneficial. Lead bronze
was much to be preferred to aluminium bronze.
2. The Graphited Bronzes
Matrices other than bronze and solid lubricants other than
graphite are available for specific applications. A nickel-iron
matrix with tungsten disulphide in place of graphite has
shown increasing wear-resistance with temperature to beyond
400 C, and is dimensionally stable at these temperatures.
0

For very poor lubrication conditions the performance

characteristics of the bronze and leaded-bronze materials are
usefully enhanced by the incorporation, either in the bearing
surface or throughout the material, of a proportion of graphite.
Both solid and steel-ba~ked bearings of this form are available.
The simplest method of incorporation of the graphite is to
roll into the surface of bronze or steel-backed bronze strip a
pattern of indents that are subsequently filled with a paste of
graphite powder in an organic binder. Alternatively, graphite
slugs may be inserted in drillings in the wall of a solid bronze
bush or the face of a thrust bearing.
A much finer distribution is obtained by incorporating
graphite with bronze powder and making a compact by
powder-metallurgy methods. The structure is shown in
Fig. 23. A similar structure may be obtained in steel-backed
bearings by spreading the powder mixture on steel strip,
sintering, roll-compacting, and resintering.
The performance characteristics are, of course, dependent
on the percentage of graphite incorporated. In hot-pressed
compacts a surprisingly high graphite content may be in-
corporated while still retaining adequate strength. 30 (Table
VIII). Graphite contents up to 14 wt.-%, 40 vol.-% are pos-
sible, and such compositions have good wear-resistance, and
are used unlubricated in some applications. The majority of
applications require, however, rather higher strength and the
optimum compromise is generally found in the region of
8 wt.-%, 26 vol.-% graphite. Applications include many at
temperatures above those at which conventional lubricants
can survive, and others in which water is the lubricating fluid.
A high-graphite leaded bronze grade has particularly good
underwater wear-resistance. The majority of applications,
however, are those in which the graphite compensates for an
inadequate degree of conventional lubrication, rather than a
complete absence of the latter.
3. Aluminium Alloys
Solid aluminium bushes are found in relatively few general
engineering applications, primarily because of their relatively
high expansion coefficient ('" 23 X 10-6 degC-l, twice that
of cast iron) and tendency to lose interference with the
housing. An aluminium-zinc alloy (30-66AI, 17"5-65 Zn,
5-16-5 Cu) and aluminium-tin (both AI, 6-25 Sn, 1 Cu, 1 Ni
and AI, 20 Sn, 1 Cu) are the alloy specifications used. The
latter specifications, as the lining on the steel backing of
wrapped bushes, are found in a number of automotive bush
applications such as cam-shaft and rocker bushes.
4. Wbitemetal
Diecast whitemetal bushes to one or other of the tin-based
specifications are not unknown and may occasionally be
found in very light-duty situations.
Steel-backed whitemetal bushes are used extensively in a
number of oil-lubricated applications. In the case of frac-
tional horse-power wick-lubricated motors, tin-based white-
metal is used universally in the medium size range. The Iead-
based alloys have not been adopted in this application, on
account of their lower compatibility and a tendency to cor-
rosion via the formation of oil-soluble lead soaps.
40% tin-aluminium-lined bushes have been tested suc-
cessfully in this application.
Railway axle-box bearings, oil-lubricated via a felt pad,
use both tin-based and lead-based whitemetal.
5. Plastic-Based Bearings
Many thermoplastics, but particularly nylon (polyamide)
and polyacetal, possess good bearing characteristics in con-
 Pratt : Materials for Plain Bearings 81

(a)
Cu - 10 Pb 10 So

I:
UJ
~L..._4X_2_sn _

a:
u. ~ Cu _ 26 Pb 2 So

:LJ--
Cu - 30 Pb

junction with some degree of conventional oil or grease

lubrication. By good bearing characteristics are meant those
which relate to the bearing surface-wear-resistance, seizure-
resistance, and friction. The nature of plastics, in particular
2
their low thermal conductivity, their high thermal expansion,
N/mm 3 6 9 12 15 Seizure SurviYClI
Ibf/in2 400 800 1200 1600 2000 and low strength relative to metals imposes limitations on
their use as bearings under arduous conditions, though these
Further 1300 cycles
Seizures during 144 cycles at above loads at max. load shortcomings may be overcome by the use of the plastic as a
thin lining on a steel backing.
Thermosetting resins such as the phenolic and epoxy resins,
reinforced with cotton fabric or asbestos fibre, have good
(b) strength and creep-resistance by comparison with the thermo-
Cu- 10 Pb ~O 50
plastics, and may be used in highly loaded applications. They
show to particular advantage in underwater applications.

(a) Solid Thermoplastic Bearings

The simplest and cheapest form of plastic bearing is the
small injection-moulded thermoplastic bush in nylon or
Cu- 22 Pb 4Yz Sn polyacetal. These give satisfactory performance in a variety of
non-arduous applications with some degree of lubrication.
The degree of interference with which the bush is housed and
the clearance between the bush and the shaft must be greater
than with a metal bush, and wall thickness must be kept low
to minimize the danger of closure on to the shaft at running
temperature.
Unfilled plastic bushes can be used without lubricant but,
in general, their lack of dry wear-resistance precludes their
unlubricated use in all but ~he mildest applications. Perform-
Cu - 30 Pb
ance under dry conditions may be improved by the incorpora-
tion of a solid lubricant, polytetrafluoroethylene in powder or
fibre form being the most effective. Such compositions possess
a moderate degree of dry wear-resistance and may be used
unlubricated at PV up to '" 0'17 N/mm2 x m/s. PV, the
product of load over projected area and rubbing speed,
provides a useful guide to the severity of a bearing application
N/mrr? X4· 1 2 4 total under dry or sparsely lubricated conditions. Comparative
Ibf/in2 1.0 150 300 600 survivl!d
hours
wear rates of some commercially available compositions are
hours
at ~h
shown in Table IX.
24 96 96 96 = 312
Dry wear-resistance of a polymer is dependent on the
load
molecular weight and degree of crystallinity, these varying
Fig. 22 The seizure resistance of copper-lead and lead bronze alloys. with the conditions of polymerization. Very high molecular
(a) Oil-lubricated bushes run at 1500 rev/min on a stop-start weight polyethylene, with a molecular weight of the order of
cycle. Load increased every 144 cycles in steps of3 N/mm2 until
seizure occurred. (b) Grease-lubricated bushes run continuously 106, has good wear-resistance3! and has found an interesting
at 800 rev/min. Load increased every 96 h until seizure occurred. area of application in human joint prostheses. For more
82 Pratt: Materials for Plain Bearings

TABLEVIII
Mechanical Properties of Graphited Bronze Compacts
16 mm nominal bore bushes run continuously without lubrication for 256 h at 0·21 N/mm2 x mls (PV factor)

Composition, % Ultimate Compressive Strength Coefficientof

Linear
Expansion
Hardness, Density, x 10-6/degC
Sn Pb Graphite HV g/cm3 N/mm2 ton fjin2
12·5 - 4 109 7'2-7'6 689·5 45 19
12·5 - 6 85 6'8-7'2 400·0 26 18
12·5 - 8 77 6·5-6'8 279·0 18 17
12·5 - 10 73 6'2-6·5 200·0 13 16
12·5 3·5 14 65 5-7-6'0 170·0 11 16

conventional engineering application, however, the useful- fatigue, rating approaching that of 20% tin-aluminium may
ness of polyethylene is limited by its low softening point. be obtained. However, the temperature limitation of 120 C 0

Nylon and polyacetyl may be used up to 100 C, although

t'V
0
difficulty with the retention of interference fit will be experi-
enced below that temperature.
(b) Steel-Backed Thermoplastic-Lined Bearings
Thin nylon and polyacetal loose liners in a lipped steel
housing offer some advantages over a solid bearing. Axial
movement of the liner is prevented by a lip at each end of the
housing, while a split in the lining permits thermal expansion
to take place peripherally and thereby reduces the danger of
thermal closure of the bush on to the shaft.
A more important form now found in a wide range of
applications consists of a thin polyacetallining bonded to a
steel backing via a porous bronze interlayer. Spherical bronze
powder is spread on to steel strip, sintered, and impregnated
with polyacetal. A layer of polyacetal 0'3 mm thick is left
t'V
above the bronze to provide a machinable bearing surface.
The keying of this layer to the steel backing ,via the bronze
interlayer enables high bearing loads to be carried without
swaging of the lining, and with hydrodynamic lubrication a
and a degree of attack of the polymer by the acidic component
in high-temperature recirculating engine oil prevents the use
of this type of bearing in engine applications.
'fhe main advantage of this type of bearing is its ability to
operate under severe load conditions, with only marginal
lubrication. A comparison with some of the bearing alloys
described in previous sections is given in Table X. This pro-
perty is used to provide maintenance-free bearings for a
variety of applications in which the bearing is lubricated on
assembly, but no lubricant is provided thereafter. Commonly,
the bearing is greased, and to make the greasing on assembly
most effective a pattern of indents is provided on the bearing
surface during manufacture_ These act as grease reservoirs and
extend the relubrication intervals_ The initial friction co-
efficient is of the order of 0'01, rising to 0'1 as the grease
becomes exhausted and the bush nears the end of its life. The
performance characteristics of this type of bearing have been
described in detail elsewhere. 32
No special attention to type of lubricant is required, though
a good-quality stable grease must be used if the life potential

TABLEIX
The Comparative Wear Rates of Ptfe-Based Compositions

Wear Rate, mmfh x 104 0·21 N/mm2 x m/s (PV factor)

Friction 250 rev/min 750 rev/min 1500rev/min
Composition Origin Coefficient 0-21m/s 0·63 mls 1·26 m/s
Ptfe-fibre-filled USA 0·29 4·6
polyace1al 0·44 11·4
Ptfe-filledacetal UK 0·22 9-0
25 % Glass-fibre-filled
ptfe UK 0·30 1-0
40 % Graphite-filled ptfe UK 0-25 3-6
0·21 3·6
20 % Bronze-20 % UK 0·24-0·26 0-2-0·4
graphite-filledptfe 0'24-0-26 0'8-2'0
(0-29-0-52) 3-0-4'3
Ptfe-fibre-linedphenolic UK 0-35 3·4
 Pratt : Materials for Plain Bearings
, X
TABLE
The Wear of Plastic-Lined Bushes Compared with Some
Common Bearing Alloys ~ impregnating with oil. The pressing technique lends itself to
All bushes steel-backed with a plain bore. 25 Nfmm2, 1·4 mfs
(3600 Ibf/in2, 270 ft/min) st~pfstart. tests <9 ~in off, 1 min on)
with drop-a-mmute oIl lubncatIOn.
Bush Lining Material Wear x 103mm
Acetal Copolymer 5 porosity chosen in the range 10-25% according to the
Acetal Homopolymer 5,5
Nylon 66 13
Tin-Based Whitemetal 15, 18
20 % Tin Aluminium 63,86
Lead Bronze (25 % lead, 5 % tin) Seized after 5-10 h
(2 tests)
of the bearing is to be realized. At temperatures above 80° C
a silicone grease is recommended.
Plastic-lined bearings have proved to be no more tolerant
of dirty conditions than bearing alloys, and for satisfactory
performance in dirty conditions, such as under-chassis auto-
motive applications, adequate sealing must be provided.
A reasonably good mating surface finish is required, better
than o· 5 [.LmCLA, typical clearances being marginally higher
than those for metal-based bushes.
(c) Reinforced Thermosetting Plastics
The thermosetting resin-based compositions most com-
monly found in bearing applications are the reinforced
phenolic and polyester resins. Woven cotton or asbestos cloth
or chopped fibre is impregnated with the liquid resin, pressed
into the required shape at pressures in the range 15-40 N/mm2,
and cured at 150-190° C. Moulding can be to finished size
or can be followed by machining operations. Although the
materials are intrinsically cheap, the process does not lend
itself to rapid production and, in general, reinforced thermo-
setting bearings are considerably more expensive than the
injection-moulded thermoplastics. They are, however, com-
petitive towards the upper end of the common size range, i.e.
above '" 50 mm bore. The strength of these compositions,
both compressive and impact, is high, making them suitable
for such severe applications as steel rolling-mill bearings.
Water is an effective lubricant and for this reason rein-
forced phenolic and polyester bearings find favour in a
number of marine applications, such as the stern tube bearing
carrying the propellor shaft, and rudder pintle bushes.
A useful degree of dry wear-resistance may be obtained by
solid lubricant additions such as molybdenum disulphide or
graphite. Compositions with asbestos reinforcement are
suitable for temperatures up to 175° C and have good resist-
ance to irradiation in nuclear applications.
6. Oil-Impregnated Porous Bronze or Iron
The oil-impregnated porous bronze or iron bearing, most
commonly a bush in the size range 3-12' 5 mm (t-! in) bore
is well established in specific applications, notably the smaller
end of the fractional horse power motor range. Where its
performance characteristics meet the requirements of the
application it represents a most economic choice of bearing,
generally requiring no external source of lubricant.
(a) Manufacture
The production technique consists of compacting the metal
83
powder in a fast-acting mechanical press, sintering in a
reducing atmosphere, repressing or 'coining' to give the
required degree of dimensional accuracy, and finally vacuum-
the economic production of flanged bushes, for applications
imposing an axial as well as a radial load, and spherical-
backed bushes for applications requiring a self-aligning
capability.
The compaction conditions during manufacture are con-
trolled to produce in the bearing a degree of interconnected
requirement of the application. The level of porosity repre-
sents a· compromise between the conflicting requirements of
oil content for maximum bearing life and matrix strength.
The choice of oil is determined primarily by the ambient
temperature in which the bearing is requITed to operate.
(b) Composition
The bronze alloy composition most commonly used, and
which in general shows the best bearing performance, is a tin
bronze with a tin content in the region of 10%. A smaller
percentage of graphite is sometimes incorporated.
Iron-based compositions offer greater economy and also
have the advantage of higher compressive strength (Table II).
Pure iron is used or a 75/25 iron-copper alloy.
Oil-impregnated porous aluminium bushes appeared for a
time in the US but did not prove to have satisfactory charac-
teristics.
(c) Performance Characteristics
The basic mechanism whereby the bearing properties of the
oil-impregnated porous metal bush are attained is the creation
over the bearing surface of a hydrodynamic film of oil, similar
to that resulting from the relative motion of shaft and bearing
in a non-porous bearing with external lubricant supply. It is
the pressure generated in the hydrodynamic film which
enables the bearing to carry load without contact between the
bearing and the shaft.
Because of the porous nature of the bearing surface oil is
supplied to the clearance space from the bearing wall in
regions where the hydrodynamic pressure is low and forced
back into the wall where the hydrodynamic pressure is
high. 33,34 There is thus a circulation of oil within the bearing.
Maximum load-carrying capacity is achieved by making the
interconnected porosity as fine as possible while keeping the
total percentage porosity, Le. the oil capacity of the bearing,
as high as is con~istent with strength and ability to maintain
an interference fit with the housing. However, there is a
limitation imposed on pore size by the danger of scaling the
bore porosity by smearing during occasional contact between
shaft and bearing. Because of this danger a thin bearing
surface layer of micro porous nickel is used in one variety of
bearing, for which very high load-carrying capacity is claimed.
The operating conditions for which the oil-impregnated
porous-metal bearing is most suitable are those most favour-
able to the creation of a hydrodynamic film. In other words,
optimum performance is obtained under conditions of con-
tinuous rotation at relatively high speeds. Under conditions
of low speed, high load, oscillating conditions, or conditions
of frequent stop/start, oil-impregnated porous metal bushes
have less to offer than other forms of bearing.
A rough guide often used in the design of porous metal
bearings is that operating PV (load in N/mm2 x rubbing
speed in m/s) should not exceed 1·75 (50000 Ibf/in2 x ft/min).
However, higher PV may be tolerated under conditions
 84 Pratt : Materials for Plain Bearings
favourable to hydrodynamic operation, while under non- 1. Filled PTFE Compositions
favourable conditions wear rate will be excessive at PV very A range of compositions is available which consist of in-
much less than 1'75. organic fillers such as glass fibre in a matrix of ptfe. Al-
though ptfe is a thermoplastic, the melt viscosity is so high
that normal thermoplastic processing techniques cannot be
VI. Dry Bearing Materials
used and manufacture resembles powder metallurgy. The
The development of dry bearing materials, i.e. bearing filler is mixed with a fine ptfe powder, the mixed powders
materials capable of operating under quite severe conditions are pressed at '" 70 N/mm2 and sintered at a temperature in
without benefit of a lubricant, dates from the commercial the range 350-380° C. Pressing may be to size (Fig. 2 4) or
availability of the polymer polytetrafluoroethylene (or ptfe) components can be machined from bar stock.
(CF2)n. Although it was the low friction of this polymer that
first suggested its use as a bearing material, low friction
values are only obtained under rather exceptional circum-
stances, and it is the high degree of wear-resistance achievable
when ptfe is combined with certain metals or with inorganic
fillers that accounts for its adoption in a wide range of
bearing materials.
During operation of a dry bearing, wear of the bearing
occurs at a rate determined primarily by the bearing load, the
rubbing speed, and the ambient temperature. The severity of
a dry bearing condition is commonly described by the product
(PV) of the pressure, i.e. the load per unit projected area of
the bearing surface, and the linear velocity of the mating
surface relative to the bearing surface. For some materials
wear rate at a given ambient temperature is uniquely depen-
dent on the product PV irrespective of the actual values of
P and V, i.e. for a given PV wear rate will be the same for
high load, low speed as for low load, high speed. For other
materials the relationship between wear rate and rubbing
speed is not linear, and PV gives only a rough guide to wear Fig.24 Some mouldingsfrom a graphite/bronze/ptfe composition.
rate. The nature of the mating surface, its composition and
roughness, are also important and generally the PV/wear rate
relationship quoted for a material refers to a steel mating (a) Performance Characteristics
surface with a surface roughness less than 0'4 V.mCLA. Ptfe is a soft low-modulus polymer which when un-
The maximum PV under which a dry bearing gives a use- modified has poor wear-resistance and poor load-carrying
fully low wear rate depends on the composition and on the ability. The function of the filler is thus both to improve
amount of wear that can be tolerated in the application, but creep-resistance under load and to improve wear-resistance.
willgenerallybeintherangeO'17-1'7 N/mm2 x m/s. To put the Glass fibre is a common filler at volume percentages in the
usefulness of dry bearings relative to a hydrodynamically range 15-25%. In addition, a small percentage of MOS2 or
lubricated bearing in perspective, a typical passenger-car graphite may be incorporated. Wear- and creep-resistance are
engine bearing operates at a maximum PV of 35 N/mm2 x good, although roughening of the mating surface by the glass
m/s. Ptfe-based dry bearings thus have limited load-carrying can occur at highloads.
capability, except at very low rubbing speeds, but offer the Bronze powder provides a high degree of wear-resistance at
following advantages: relatively low speeds and temperatures. The effectiveness of
(1) Freedom from the necessity and cost of providing and this filler is enhanced by the incorporation of an equal volume
maintaining a lubricant supply. percentage of graphite to give improved thermal conductivity.
(2) Capability of operating at temperatures above those Graphite alone as a filler is used for bearings operating
that conventional lubricants can withstand. under corrosive conditions, both ptfe and graphite being
chemically inert. A high percentage of a mica-type filler gives
(3) Improved performance characteristics under conditions a low expansion composition with good retention of inter-
that do not promote hydrodynamic lubrication. ference fit.
(4) Freedom from 'stick/slip': the dynamic and static
friction coefficients of ptfe are equal, and very low values 2. PtCe Fibre Compositions
down to 0'02 can be attained at high loads in excess of 10
Woven ptfe fibre on a glass-reinforced phenolic backing
N/mm2•
The maximum temperature capability of ptfe bearings is has good wear-resistance under low-speed oscillating condi-
limited by the 327 C phase change, which in practice means
0 tions and has been adopted in a number of aircraft control
that useful performance is rarely obtained above 250 C. 0 linkage applications.
Creep may in fact, limit the use of solid ptfe bearings to
temperatures below 200° C. 3. Steel-Backed Ptfe-Impregnated Bronze
For the temperature range 150-250° C the relatively new The advantages of a steel-backed bearing can be combined
polymer polyimide offers strength characteristics superior to with those of a wear-resistant ptfe composition by im-
ptfe, and by the incorporation of graphite a useful degree of pregnati~g ptfe into a porous bronze lining. Spherical 89/11
dry wear-resistance may be obtained. tin-bronze powder is spread on to steel strip in a layer about
Carbon bearings have a higher temperature capability and 0'25 mm thick, siiltered to give the porous structure of Fig.
some grades may be used up to 500 C. 0
25, roll-impregnated with ptfe/20 vol.-% lead, and re-
 Pratt: Materials for Plain Bearings 85

4·0
0·2 PV
5000

0·4 PV

U)
a::
:J
0
J: 1000 0·8 PV
3·0

:1
w"'
lL
:J
C) 500
9
200

r; 2.0 100
Fig. 25 The structure of a dry-bearing material, consisting of
spherical bronze powder sintered to copper-plated steel and
impregnated with ptfe and lead. x 80. '
1-3 1-6 1-9 0·12
LOG PV

sintered above the ptfe transition temperature of 327° C.
The incorporation of lead powder in the ptfe gives much
enhanced wear-resistance, particularly at high PV levels. The
bronze sinter layer not only acts as a key for the ptfe/lead
but plays an important part in the wear-resisting process
which has been described elsewhere. 35
Fig. 26 shows the relationship between PV and the life of
ptfe/lead-impregnated porous bronze bushes, the bushes
running continuously against mild-steel shafts and the load
being stationary relative to the bush. Life corresponds to
wear through the first 0'05 mm of the surface, after which the
bronze content in the surface exceeds the optimum for wear-
resistance and wear rate rapidly increases. Life ranges from
4000 h at 0'17 N/mm2 x m/s down to 200 h at 1'75 N/mm2
x mfs.
Under more favourable conditions, i.e. intermittent opera-
tion such that the temperature build up usually associated
with high PV operation does not occur, life at 1'75 PV can
be extended to 500 h. Life is also extended by a factor of two
or more if the load rotates relative to the bush, such that
wear takes place over the whole of the bearing surface area
Fig. 26 The PV/life relationship for steel-backed ptfe/lead im-
pregnated porous bronze. 16 mm-bore bushes loaded against
mild steel shafts. Continuous rotation; load stationary relative
to bush.
stance, life is reduced by a factor of two if the bush is operat-
ing in an ambient temperature of 120° C, by a factor of four
if the temperature is 200° C. Maximurn operating temperature
is 250-300° C.
The material operates quite satisfactorily immersed in
water and other non-lubricating fluids.
4. Steel-Backed Ptfe-Filled Epoxy Resin
A somewhat more economic version of steel-backed dry
bearing has recently become available, the lining of which
consists of ptfe and other fillers bound in an epoxy resin
matrix.
The absence of the bronze sinter matrix means that the
strength and thermal conductivity of the lining is less than
that of the material described in the preceding section, and
this is reflected in a limited load carrying capability and a
maximum PV capability of 0'35 N/mm2 xmfs. However,
!"oJ

and not just over one half of it. at PV up to that level a high degree of wear-resistance is
Under less favourable conditions, such as a dirty or high- shown. Table XII quotes wear rates and friction values ob-
temperature environment, lower lives will be obtained. For in- tained on a composition containing ptfe and lead.

TABLE XI
Mechanical Properties of Oil-Impregnated Porous-Metal Bearings

Radial
Chemical Composition, wt.- % Tensile Crushing
Strength, Strength, Apparent
Material Fe Cu
I Sn
Graphite
(*carbon)
Other
Elements
Density, N/mm2
min.
N/mm2
min.
Porosity,
g/cm3 %
- 6·0 ± 0·2 55 120 25·0
87·0 9'5/ 1·5 0·5
Copper-tin - 6·3 ± 0·2 70 150 21·5
min. 10·5 max. max.
- 6·6 ± 0·2 90 180 18·0
Iron Rem. - - - 2·0 max. 5·7 ± 0·2 70 170 -
1'5/3'5 - 0'25* max. 2·0 max. 5·9 ± 0·2 150 210 20
Iron-copper Rem.
4·5/8·0 - 0·25* max. 2·0 max. 5·9 ± 0·2 210 275 20
86 Pratt : Materials for Plain Bearings
VII. Fundamental Aspects of Bearing Materials
TABLE XII
Wear and Friction of Epoxy-Bonded Ptfe and Lead 1. Metallic Materials
The important engine bearing alloys which are the pre-
I PV Factor Wear Rate Friction occupation of the first sections of this review are simple
N/mm2 x Ibf/in2 x mm[h x in/h x Coeffi- mixtures of a soft phase in a relatively hard one: lead in
m/s ' ft/min 104 106 cient copper; tin or lead in aluminium. To the author's knowledge
there is no fundamental approach to the design of these
1·05 30000 876 3450 0·40
0·70 20000 13·6 53·5 0·21 materials that quantitatively predicts why, for instance,
0·35 10000 1·0 1·0 0·25 copper requires a higher content of soft phase than alumin-
ium for a given level of compatibility, or why volume for
volume lead is more effective than tin as a soft-phase addition
to aluminium.
The mechanism of operation of these mixtures is presum-
5. Graphite-Filled Polyimide ably a simple smearing of the soft phase over the surface of
Polyimide is a high-temperature polymer which first became the bearing during operation, which prevents adhesion between
.commercially available in the US about 1960. More properly, the matrix and the mating surface in local areas, of distress
the polymer is a polypyromellitimide obtained by a two-stage when the hydrodynamic film breaks down. Examination of the
reaction of pyromellitic dianhydride and a diamine. On com- area round an embedded particle on a 20% tin-aluminium
pletion of the second stage the polymer becomes intractable, bearing has shown the raised crater rim surrounding the particle
i.e. it does not soften sufficiently to be processed as a thermo- to be covered by a continuous film of smeared tin where
rubbing has occurred between bearing and shaft.
plastic. Bearings are therefore machined from block or sheet
material. Qualitatively, one can explain the marked effectiveness of
The polymer has very good heat stability and bearings may lead in aluminium by comparing the hardness of lead (4 HV)
with that of tin (6 HV).
be operated up to 250 C in air or up to 300 C in a non-
0 0

oxidizing atmosphere. Short-term operation at higher tem- Conversely to a soft phase in a relatively hard matrix, one
peratures is possible. can envisage an effective engine bearing consisting of a soft
The unfilled polymer has poor dry wear-resistance, but metal such as lead, fibre-reinforced to give a strong but com-
filled grades, particularly those incorporating graphite, have patible composite. Techniques for making composites
a degree of wear-resistance roughly equivalent to the filled remain, however, rather expensive and it is difficult to en-
ptfe compositions of the preceding section. They offer visage such a material being competitive with existing
better mechanical properties, particularly at elevated tem- materials. Moreover, to the author's knowledge none of the
perature, but are considerably more expensive. attempts made to date in this direction has achieved a
More recently, other more tractable polyimides have be- strength as high as that achieved by nature in the tin- and
.come available, in which some degree of temperature stability lead-based whitemetals .
has been sacrificed in order to improve ease of processing. 'I ne 'hard ·partlcfe-s'in wliItemetal-the copper-tin needles
Tests in the author's laboratory have shown that filled grades in the tin-based alloys and the antimony cuboids in the tin-
of these polymers have not yet achieved the necessary degree and lead-based alloys-were at one time seen in more than a
of dry wear-resistance. Polyamide-imide falls into this strengthening role, and the excellent surface properties of the
.category. whitemetals were ascribed to their presence. However, TaborS 6
demonstrated in 1947 that the hard particles effected only
a minor improvement in the frictional properties of the
matrix alloy.
·6. Carbon Bearings The gubsequent work by Tabor and Bowden, brought
For temperatures above those which ptfe or polyimide together in 'Friction and Lubrication of Solids'37 in 1950,
-can withstand there are two classes of dry bearing material laid the foundations for the science now known as tribology.
available. The first of these, copper- or nickel-based alloys To this work we owe our appreciation of the importance of
incorporating solid lubricant, has been discussed in Section V. the welding of surface asperities in the friction and wear of
The second class is that of carbon bearings. metals. During the years 1954-63 a dozen or more papers
Several grades of carbon bearing material are available, by the AEI Group at Aldermaston (Hirst, Archard,
those incorporating metal fillers such as lead bronze giving and Lancaster38-40) shed .light on the nature of the
the highest degree of wear-resistance. Maximum PV at which metallic wear process. The wear behaviour of leaded brass,
acceptable wear rates are likely to be obtained is 0'14 N/mm2 an alloy showing particularly reproducible wear behaviour,
x mise Above 350 C electrographitic grades are recommen-
0
was studied in great detail, and the wear mechanisms that
ded, and may be used at temperatures as high as 500 C. 0
governed the effect of load and speed, the role of wear debris
Unfilled grades of carbon graphite have excellent corrosion- transferred to the mating surface, and the significance of
resistance and are found in pumps handling corrosive liquids oxid:ltion in the transition from mild to severe wear were
and in other chemical-plant applications. The mating surface elucid:lted. The work demonstrated the complexity of the
is preferably stainless steel or iron, Stellite, nitrided steel, or wear process even when only a single pair of rubbing surfaces
chromium plate. was examined. Archard's41 theoretical treatment of the wear
The low coefficient of expansion of the carbon-based process showed that Amonton's Law could be explained by
bearing materials, less than half that of steel, means that the elastic deformation of multiple contacts, without the
shrink fitting must be adopted if interference is to be main- necessity for asperity encounters to result in plastic yield.
tained at elevated temperature. The housing is heated to above In the US the approach to elucidation of the metallic-wear
the maximum service temperature before insertion of the bush. phenomenon was different. Large numbers of metal pairs
 Pratt : Materials for Plain Bearings
were tested and the friction or seizure behaviour was noted. In
a series of lubricated seizure tests of thirty-nine metals against
steel, aluminium, copper, and silver Goodzeit42 showed that
the mutual miscibility of the two metals of a rubbing pair was
an important factor in determining their seizure-resistance,
with the tendency to form intermetallic compounds of
secondary importance. Metals in the B Sub-Group of the
Periodic Table were found to be particularly resistant to
seizure against iron, which was ascribed to the covalent
nature of the B Sub-Group bond being different to the
metallic bond of iron. Similar bond types tend to promote
seizure; dissimilar bond types tend to resist it. Rabinowicz43
evaluated twenty metals in over two hundred combinations,
measuring their static friction coefficient in air. The softer
metals showed the greatest friction and an expression was
derived relating friction to hardness and surface energy.
Ernst and Merchant44 measured the frictional behaviour
in air of twenty-seven metal combinations and showed that
the friction of metals with a hexagonal crystal structure was
approximately half that of metals with a face-centred or body-
centred cubic structure. A corresponding difference in wear
behaviour was found by Alison and Wilman,45 who postu-
lated that the ease of slip on the 001 plane was responsible for
the low wear of the hexagonal metals. Metal is displaced by
plastic flow rather than being removed by wear. The cubic
metals on the other hand exhibit multiple slip and an associ-
ated high degree of work-hardening, making the rubbed
surface resistant to plastic flow. Buckley and Johnson46
showed that those hexagonal metals with a high ratio of the
c to the a lattice dimension had particularly low friction and
were wear-resistant. Cobalt showed an increase in friction at
an ambient temperature of 290 C, associated with the
0
change in structure from hexagonal to cubic. This change can
be prevented by alloying with molybdenum, and a chromium-
25% molybdenum alloy showed no increase in friction with
References
1. G. Flynn and A. F. Underwood, 'A Million-Pound High-
Speed Dynamic Fatigue-Test Machine', Amer. Soc. Mech.
Eng. Rep. 56-A-145, 1957.
2. P. P. Love, P. G. Forrester, and A. E. Burke, Proc. Inst. Mech.
Eng., 1953, p. 29.
3. E. D. Brailey and W. J. Donnelly, Brit. Communications
Electronics, 1956, 3, (1) 16.
4. E. J. Nestorides, Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng., 1966-67, 181, Pt. 3H.
5. W. H. Wilson, Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng., 1967-68, 182, Part 3G,
129.
6. H. H. Zuidema, 'Performance of Lubricating Oils', 2nd edn.
1959: New York (Reinhold).
7. W. E. Duckworth and G. H. Walter, 'Proceedings of Inter-
national Conference on Fatigue of Metals', p. 585. London
(lnst. Mech. Eng.).
8. A. Brenner, 'Electrodeposition of Alloys'. 1963: London
(Academic Press).
9. Metals Handbook, 8th edn., Vol. 1. 1961: Metals Park, Ohio
(Amer. Soc. Metals).
10. K. Yamada, K. Tanaka, S. Mori, and S. Morita, paper pre-
sented at 10th International Congress on Combustion
Engines, Washington, 1973.
11. R. A. Schaefer, 'Sleeve Bearing Materials', p. 189. 1949:
Metals Park, Ohio (Amer. Soc. Metals).
12. R. W. Wilson and E. B. Shone, Anticorrosion, 1970, (August),
9.
13. M. Semlitsch, 'Proceedings of the 5th International Congress
on X-ray Optics and Microanalysis', p. 485. 1968: Berlin
(Springer-Verlag) ..
87
increasing temperature. Similar effects of temperature-
dependent changes in crystal structure were observed in the
rare-earth metals.47 Rabinowicz48 confirmed that rhenium,
with the highest cia ratio of any hexagonal metal, had
exceptionally good wear-resistance both against itself and
against steel.
Buckley49 has carried out a number of sophisticated
experiments in which the adhesion of face-centred cubic metal
pairs is measured under very high vacuum and the transfer
of metal from one to the other surface is determined by low-
energy electron diffraction. The metal with the lower elastic
modulus (elastic modulus reflecting the interatomic cohesive
strength) always transfers to that with the higher modulus.
2. Plastics
Not surprisingly, the amount of published work on the
fundamental aspects of the friction and wear mechanisms in
plastics is small by comparison with that devoted to metals.
The author has attempted to throw some light on the mech-
anism by which the lead-bronze polytetrafluoroethylene
system attains its wear-resistant characteristics.35 It is postu-
lated that an interaction between the lead and the ptfe results
in a chemically bonded film of ptfe on the mating surface.
Buckley has studied the adhesion of polymers to clean metal
surfaces under high vacuum using the field-ion microscope.
The energy required to remove ptfe transferred to a tungsten
surface suggested that a chemical bond had been achieved.
A thermodynamic approach to the behaviour of lubricated
thermoplastics has been taken by Butterfield, Farmer, and
Scurr.50 They d~monstrate that the wear behaviour of
polyacetal against a range of mating metals can be predicted
by a consideration of surface energies. Wear-resistance was
high when the combined energies of adsorption of lubricant
on polymer plus lubricant on mating metal were greater than
the energy of adsorption of polymer on mating metal.
14. M. Semlitsch, Mikrochim. Acta, 1970, Suppl. IV, 157.
15. J. W. Cuthbertson and E. C. Ellwood, Metal Ind., 85, (5),83.
16. W. M. Williams and C. S. Smith, J. Metals, 1952,4, 755.
17. P. G. Forrester, Current Eng. Pract., 1961, 3, (10), 4.
18. G. C. Pratt, 'International Automotive Engineering Congress~
(SAE Publ. No. 690112). 1969: Detroit (Soc. Auto. Eng.).
19. R. E. Eppich, J. F. Webbere, and R. N. Dawson, 'Materials
Engineering Congress' (Tech. Rep. No. P9-5.2).1969: Metals
Park, Ohio (Amer. Soc. Metals).
20. J. C. Bierlein, A. O. de Hart, R. C. Rosenberg, and A. W. Rike,
'International Automotive Engineering Congress' (Pub!'
No. 690 113). 1969: Detroit (Soc. Auto. Eng.).
21. British Patent 1 222262 (Clevite Corp.).
22. G. C. Pratt, Tribology, 1968, 1, 109.
23. L. T. Greenfield and P. G. Forrester, 'The Properties of Tin
Alloys' (Publ. No. 155). 1947: Greenford (Tin Research
Inst.).
24. O. W. Ellis and C. B. Kerelitz, Trans. Amer. Soc. Mech. Eng.,.
1928, 50 (18), 13.
25. A. S. Kenneford, H. O'Neill, R. Arrowsmith, and H. Green-
wood, J. Inst. Metals, 1934, 55, 49.
26. J. F. C. Brown and E. E. Goundry, 'Bearing White-Metal
Corrosion: An Electrochemical Explanation', British Ship
Research Assoc., Rep. NS 153, 1967.
27. D. F. Wilcock and E. R. Booser, 'Bearing Design and Applica-
tion'. 1957: New York and London (McGraw-Hill).
28. A. W. J. de Gee, G. H. G. Vaessen, and A. Begelinger, Trans.
Amer. Soc. Lub. Eng., 1969, 12, 44.
29. R. S. Montgomery, Wear, 1970, 15, (5), 373.
88 Book Reviews
30. G. Clough and C. S. Crooks, Powder Met., 1969, 12, (24), 386.
31. G. C. Pratt, Trans. Plastics Inst., 1964, 32, 255.
32. G. C. Pratt and W. H. Wilson, Wear, 1968,12,73.
33. V. T. Morgan and A. Cameron, Proceedings of Conference
on Lubrication and Wear, p. 151.1957: London (Inst. Mech.
Eng.).
34. P. R. Marshall and V. T. Morgan, Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng.,
1965, 180, Part 3K, 154.
35. G. C. Pratt, Proc. Ins!. Mech. Eng., 1967, 181, Part 30, 58
36. D. Tabor, Commonwealth 0/ Australia Council/or Scientific and
Industrial Research Bulletin, 212, 1947.
37. F. P. Bowden and D. Tabor, 'Friction and Lubrication of
Solids'. 1964: Oxford (Clarendon Press); London (Oxford
Univ. Press).
38. J. F. Archard and W. Hirst, Proc. Roy. Soc., 1957, [A], 238,
515.
39. W. Hirst and J. K. Lancaster, ibid., 1960, [A], 259, 228.
© The Institute
MONOGRAPHIES SUR LESMETAUXDE HAUTEPURETE,Edited
by G. Chaudron. Volume I: GROUPSlA, IlIA, VIlA, VIII,
lIB, IIIB, by J. C. Achard, Ph. Albert, P. de la Breteque, P.
Bussy, G. Chaudron, M. Cunha Belo, F. Dabiso, O. Dimitrov,
B. Dubois, R. Fromageau, J. P. Guerlet, J. P. Langeron,
M. Nardin, A. Percheron, J. Repszki, G. Revel, A. Serreau,
and Vu Quang Kinh. 1972, Paris: Masson et Cie. 250 x 165
mm. 540 pp. 200F.
This first volume of an ambitiously conceived series under the
editorship of the distinguished Membre de l'lnstitut, M.
Chaudron, contains 19 monographs by 18 authors. It is only
to be expected that they vary greatly in coverage and in their
scholarship.
The longest, by M. Fromageau, on the alkaline metals,
might be held up to future contributions as a model. It is
concise, comprehensive, readable, and a first-class critical
review. It provides short accounts of the methods used for
producing the metals in a state of high purity, with details of
the usual residual impurities. It recounts all that is known of
the properties of the metals in their purest forms and indicates
the effects of various impurities. Finally, it is a reliable source
book, with 415 references.
The second in length, by M. Chaudron, deals with iron.
It would be unfair to criticize it for its bias, which is refreshing,
but the reader should keep in mind that it is essentially a
summary of the French school of thought. And there are
omissions-no reference is made, for instance, to oxidizing
passes in zone refining or to the important source of zone-
refined iron made available by Battelle in the United States.
The bibliography, although lengthy, is by no means compre-
hensive. Nevertheless, the monograph is an excellent account
of nearly everything that is known about pure iron and about
its remarkable sensitivity to small amounts of so many
impurities.
The chapter on the rare-earth metals, by Mme. Percher on
and M. Achard is good, but adds little to several recent
authoritative reviews. Of the rest, that on aluminium by M.
Revel is the longest and most satisfactory. The others,
perhaps inevitably, summarize the outstanding properties
reported in the literature, without much regard to the effects
of impurities on the metals surveyed.
40. J. K. Lancaster, ibid., 1963, [A], 273,466.
41. J. F. Archard, J. Appl. Physics, 1961, 32, 1420.
42. C. L. Goodzeit, 'Friction and Wear' (edited by R. Davies),
p. 67. 1957: Amsterdam, &c. (Elsevier).
43. E. Rabinowicz, paper presented at ASMEjASLE Lubrication
Conference, Cincinnati, 1970; Amer. Soc. Lub. Eng. Pre-
print No. 70 LC-12.
44. H. Ernst and M. E. Merchant, 'Friction and Surface Finish',
p. 76. 1940: Cambridge, Mass. (MIT Press).
45. P. J. Alison and H. Wilman, Brit. J. Appl. Phys., 1964, 115,
281.
46. D. H. Buckley and R. L. Johnson, Trans. Amer. Soc. Lub. Eng.,
1966, 9, 121.
47. D. H. Buckley and R. L. Johnson, ibid., 1965, 8, 123.
48. E. Rabowicz, Wear, 1967,10,313.
49. D. H. Buckley, J. Adhesion, 1969, 1, (Oct.), 264.
50. R. Butterfield, D. Farmer, and E. M. Scurr, Wear, 1971,18,24
of Metals. 1973.
Book Reviews
The chapter on manganese is particularly disappointing. It
compares most unfavourably with Sully's monograph pub-
lished in 1955 from which it freely quotes-incompletely and
sometimes, as in dealing with melting-point determinations,
incorrectly. In the chapter on gallium, the production and
characteristics of 'semiconductor-grade' metal unaccountably
receives no mention. And it is regrettable that platinum should
be dismissed in seven and palladium in three pages. The brief
summaries do not fairly reflect present knowledge of the
special properties of these metals when pure, or of the effects
of impurities
A few of the authors have very evidently been press-ganged
into submitting their contributions to this volume. Perhaps
for future monographs the editor will be more successful in
finding enthusiasts as dedicated as he is himself.
I must add my conviction that it is most unsatisfactory, in a
reference book such as this, to list its contents in terms of
Periodic Table groups. An alphabetic arrangement would be
so much more helpful. How many reading this could write
down the metals considered in the volume under review? I
doubt whether I shall be able to in a few months' time. They
are: The alkali metals (Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs); the rare-earth
metals; Th, U, Pu; Mn, Re, Fe, Co, Ni, Pd, Pt; Zn, Cd, Hg;
AI, Ga, In, Tl. Luckily, there is a mnemonic for the rare-
earth metals, namely, Sc, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu,
Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu-Some Young Ladies Can't
Put Nickels Properly into Slot-machines: Every Girl Tries
Daily However Every Time You Look.
J. C. CHASTON
FRETTINGCORROSION, by R. B. Waterhouse. 1973, Oxford:
Pergamon Press. 255 x 175 mm. 253 pp. £6.50.
This book, volume lain the International Series of Mono-
graphs on Materials Science and Technology, is the first
book to be written on the important subject of Fretting
Corrosion. Fretting is of considerable concern to the engineer
and the phenomenon is also of great interest to the scientist.
The book covers both the practical and scientific aspects.
After a general introduction in which terms are defined,
the theories of contact between solids under normal loading