Thermo-mechanical aging during churning in grease lubricated bearings and its impact on grease life

K.R. Sathwik Chatra*, Jude A. Osara, Piet M. Lugt

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)
63 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Grease aging in a rolling bearing happens primarily during the churning phase due to high shear and temperature caused by macroscopic flow. This study utilizes a temperature profile to quantify the impact of thermo-mechanical aging on grease. Two different methods are explored to evaluate the energy dissipated in the grease during churning: one estimates the imposed energy density and the other calculates the heat transfer entropy density. Both models show a good correlation with the measured grease life. Grease life test results show that a high imposed energy density or heat transfer entropy density during churning results in shorter grease life. Therefore, a low energy density or heat transfer entropy density is preferred during churning.

Original languageEnglish
Article number108248
JournalTribology international
Volume181
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2023

Keywords

  • Churning
  • Energy density
  • Grease life
  • Heat transfer entropy
  • Thermo-mechanical aging
  • UT-Hybrid-D

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Thermo-mechanical aging during churning in grease lubricated bearings and its impact on grease life'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this