MF2018 Tribology HT19 Lab 2

MF2018 Tribology HT19: Lab 2 – Lubrication

Akepati Bhaskar Reddy (abreddy@kth.se)

Learning goals

At the end of this laboratory exercise, the students will be able to,

• Identify and characterize the different regimes of lubrication

• Perform traction and EHD film thickness measurements
• Deduce lubricant properties based on the film thickness measurements

Laboratory Equipment
During this laboratory exercise the students will be using EHD2 test rig from PCS instruments1 which is used for
evaluation of film forming capabilities of lubricating oils. This test rig can also be used for performing traction
tests.

Using the knowledge gained from the lab session and the instrument brochures, describe in brief the equipment
with schematic diagrams. Also specify the setups used for the tests performed.

During the lab

• Discuss in brief the Stribeck curve and the different lubrication regimes.
• What is the effect of Slide-roll ratio on the Stribeck curve for a lubricant?

1. Measure Refractive Index (RI) of the lubricant using the Anton-Paar Abbemaat 450 refractometer.
• In optical interferometry, what is the effect of lubricant RI on the measured film thickness?
• What are the limitations of using the measured RI?

2. Clean the test specimen and set-up the EHD2 test rig for Film thickness measurements.
3. Run the film thickness test at a constant load in pure rolling.
Report all the experimental conditions, test specimen specifications and the lubricant used.

4. While the test is running analyze the 3D SLIM image2 of the EHD contact.
• Identify the contact inlet, contact outlet, cavitation zone and location of the minimum film thickness in
the 3D SLIM image.
• Why does the contact have a horse-shoe shaped feature? Explain in brief with illustrations.

5. Export the measured data so that you can access them after the lab.
• Discuss the Hamrock and Dowson equation for the EHD film thickness. Base the discussion on a
trustworthy source (e.g. textbook, peer-reviewed research articles etc.).
• In which part of the contact is the film thickness being measured?

1
Instrument brochure available on Canvas.
2
The image will be provided

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MF2018 Tribology HT19 Lab 2

• Does the measured film thickness follow the trends suggested by the Hamrock and Dowson film
thickness model?
• Correct the film thickness data using the measured RI.
• Calculate the λ values for the contact. What does it tell about the contact conditions?
• Calculate the viscosity and pressure-viscosity coefficient of the lubricant by fitting the Hamrock and
Dowson model to the corrected film thickness data. Present all the steps and assumptions clearly.
• Discuss the effect of change in applied load on the film thickness.
• Estimate the film thickness for the following material combinations3 at the actual applied load:

1. Steel ball and steel disc

2. Steel ball and Ceramic disc
3. Ceramic ball and steel disc
4. Ceramic ball and ceramic disc
5. Ceramic ball on glass disc
• Is the lubrication regime expected to change from EHD to mixed or boundary for any of the material
combinations above within the tested entrainment speed range?

6. Clean the test rig and tidy up the workspace.

After the lab

Summarize the results in a group report.
• The report should contain at least four sections: (1) Introduction and aim of the experiment, (2) Test
procedures and methods, (3) main findings, (4) Discussion and conclusions.
• All the questions listed in boxes above must be answered in the report.
• Explain your calculation path in the report.
• All codes or spreadsheets used for calculations must be submitted in a single zip folder.
• Do not include code snippets in the main body of the report.
• The report must be well referenced.
• The report must be submitted within 2 weeks from the lab session.

Appendix – Material properties

Material Young’s modulus Poisson ratio Surface Roughness, Ra (μm)
(GPa) For ball for disc
Steel (AISI 52100) 210 0.3 < 0.02 < 0.02
Silica glass 73 0.17 - < 0.008
Ceramic (99.5% Aluminum oxide) 375 0.22 < 0.05 < 0.03

3
Material data provided at the end of the document.

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