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How a part is lubricated plays a key role in the performance and operating life of a component. Lubrication 101 is intended for engineers who design mechanical and electromechanical products. Upon completion of the seminar, participants will have a working knowledge of oils, greases, dry-film coatings, lubricant additives, dispersions, and solid lubricants. They will learn about tests used to characterize lubricants, and how to ensure the lubricant they specify matches the operating and life requirements of their products.
Tribology is the study of lubrication, friction, and wear, the three topics addressed in this seminar. Characteristics of lubrication are explained using the Stribeck curve and the four lubrication regimes: boundary, mixed, elastohydrodynamic, and hydrodynamic. The difference between grease and oil for the purposes of lubrication is summarized. Two views on the primary cause of friction are presented, along with a summary of the applicability of the three laws of friction. Wear modes, which include adhesive, abrasive, surface fatigue, and corrosive, get special attention because they provide a means for conceptualizing wear and determining the best way to reduce it.
Wear is a "damage process" resulting in material loss. This seminar examines the two methods for analyzing wear: wear modes and wear systems. The first involves understanding why wear takes place and how to reduce it. The second models the behavior of the system to determine the wear rate and predict the life cycle of a part. The seminar will also review wear-testing geometries and the recommended guidelines and methods for reducing wear.
A "non-conformal contact" (like a steel bearing on a steel raceway) is typically characterized as an extreme pressure application. Tribologically, it's called the ElastoHydroDynamic (EHD) lubrication regime, where the lubricant must be viscous enough to withstand the pressure and create a continuous hydro-dynamic film between the contacts to prevent "elastic deformation" of the moving parts. This seminar explores how numerical modeling and Curve Fit equations, which calculate the film thickness in EHD contacts, can be used to determine whether adequate lubrication is present in an EHD contact. The presentation closes with a discussion of "lubricant starvation" and Hertzian contacts.
Surface finish is important to the field of tribology, but there are few hard and fast rules for it. In addition, there are a multitude of surface-roughness parameters that may be calculated, but only a few are widely used. Yet, the "roughness" of a surface is important in both dry and lubricated contacts. This seminar discusses "film thickness ratio," the most important value for characterizing lubricated contacts and determining their operational life. It also explains the value of running in a contact to allow the initial wear to take place under optimal conditions, creating a robust surface finish and adsorbed layer, which protect and extend a component's life. Other topics covered include the dangers of extremely smooth surfaces and the importance of the finish orientation.