Effect of coating material properties on the lubrication performance of rolling contacts under TEHL regime

The mechanical and thermo-physical properties of a coating material affect the lubrication performance. The present study aims at to investigate the effect of mechanical and thermo-physical properties of coating material on the lubrication performance of rolling contact operating under Thermal Elasto-Hydrodynamic Lubrication (TEHL) regime. The mechanical and thermo-physical properties of the coating material considered in the present analysis are elastic modulus, density, thermal conductivity and specific heat. Furthermore, the effect of coating thickness is also studied. The Commercial Multiphysics software ANSYS is used in the present analysis to model and analysis of the finite line contact obtained in the rolling contact. It is observed that the pressure intensity increases with the elasticity of the coating. The maximum fluid pressure developed at the contact region 1.2GPa with the application of material possessing higher modulus of elasticity i.e. 420 GPa. With increase in coating thickness the contacts width reduces. The material having lower density, thermal conductivity and heat capacity exhibits as an insulating material which obstructs the transfer of heat from the fluid to the contacting surfaces. This leads to increase the temperature of the lubricant. With these properties the maximum developed temperature observed to be 351K.

Automated summary

This study investigates the impact of mechanical and thermo-physical properties of the coating material on the lubrication performance of rolling contact under the TEHL regime. It is found that the elasticity of the coating affects the pressure intensity, and the coating thickness affects the contact width. Furthermore, materials with lower density, thermal conductivity, and heat capacity act as insulating materials, leading to an increase in lubricant temperature.