Influence of Ultrasonic Modified Liners on the Adhesive and Tribological Performances of Self-Lubricating Radial Spherical Plain Bearings

For self-lubricating spherical plain bearings, poor interface bonding strength between the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)/aramid fabric hybrid woven liners and the outer rings can influence the full play of tribological performance of the self-lubricating liner. To solve this problem, the liners were modified by ultrasonic treatment. The adhesive performances of the modified and unmodified liners and the tribological performance of the self-lubricating radial spherical plain bearings with two kinds of liners were tested and compared. Results show that ultrasonic modification can improve the bonding performance of the liners significantly; compared to unmodified liners, the modified liners can decrease the friction coefficient, wear loss, and friction temperature of the bearings, which shows that ultrasonic modification can improve the tribological performance of self-lubricating spherical plain bearings. Bearings with modified liners only produced slight adhesive wear, but bearings with unmodified liners produced moderate adhesive wear and slight abrasive wear during test procedures.