Influence of surface texturing on hydrodynamic friction in plane converging bearings - An experimental and numerical approach

The frictional behaviour of plane converging bearings was experimentally and numerically studied for four texture geometries fabricated by ultra-short pulse laser texturing (single pocket, line-, cross- and dot-like texture) and convergence ratios under full-film lubrication in the presence of thick oil films (up to 100 mu m). Regarding the experiments, small variations in the spread of results between different textures and a general improvement over the untextured reference can be observed. Numerical simulations help to clarify the expected variations and conditions under which these occur. For high convergences, the simulations demonstrated that textures are beneficial for friction reduction, regardless of load and relative texture's position. For low convergences, a significant friction reduction occurs for textures being located at the bearing's inlet.