ISSUE : 4

Bulletin
ENGINEERING ENGINEERING
BASIC FUNDAS AND USEFUL TIPS ON GREASE LUBRICATION
Elasto-hydrodynamic Lubrication

YEAR : 2000-2001 YEAR : 2000-2001

Friction is an essential element of our daily life. Without friction a person finds it difficult to walk up a steep road without slipping back. Similarly a skier finds it easier to slide down on a snowy slope of a mountain. All these are simply because of friction between the surfaces. High friction between the shoe sole and the road prevents the person from slipping back the steep road, whereas low friction between the ski and the snow allows the skier to slip down easily. Friction on a surface is generally symbolized by a coefficient. Lower the loads normal to the contact surfaces higher will be the coefficient of friction of the surfaces whereas the same coefficient will be low when the frictional forces opposing the motion are high. One way of reducing the coefficient of friction is by applying a layer of lubricant on the contact surfaces. Significant amount of friction exists even within a small film of fluid. The force required to overcome fluid friction in a film of known dimensions usually characterizes the viscosity of the fluid. Viscosity determined in this manner is called dynamic or absolute viscosity. Dynamic viscosity usually reported as Poise or Pascalseconds is used most frequently in bearing design and oil flow calculations. The density of the fluid has an important role in determining this frictional force within a fluid. The dynamic viscosity per unit density of the fluid is commonly known as the kinematic viscosity of the lubricant and is usually used to characterize lubricants. The most common units of kinematic viscosity are centistokes and mm 2 /s. Viscosity of any fluid decreases with the rise in temperature and increases when the temperature is low. This is usually denoted by a viscosity index, which indicates that the higher the viscosity index, the smaller will be the effect of temperature on the fluid.

By increasing the load or pressure the viscosity increases. When a thin lubricant film is trapped between two surfaces, the two surfaces deform elastically due to lubricant pressure. In the contact zone, the hydrodynamic pressure developed in the lubricant causes a further increase in viscosity that is sufficient to separate the surfaces at the contact area. It is generally understood that with the increase in load the film thickness

becomes thinner. This is absolutely untrue. The fact is that the oil film is actually more rigid than the metal surfaces. The main effect of a load increase is to deform the metal surfaces and increase the contact area, rather than decrease the film thickness.

Boundary Lubrication
In actual dynamic duty conditions there may be situations when the above lubrication conditions may not exist. Particularly such as shock loading, steady heavy load, high temperature, slow speed, and critically low viscosity -- the lubricant system no longer remains in the hydrodynamic regime. A situation arises wherein there is intermittent aspirate contact between the surfaces, resulting in significant rise in temperature and subsequent destruction of the contacting surfaces. In such cases additives are used in addition to the base oil to provide adequate strength to withstand these severe duty conditions. Lubricants are usually tailor made to suit individual application need. The basic functions of the additives hence are protecting the contact surfaces under severe duty conditions as well as enhance the performance of the lubricant.

Different lubrication conditions

Hydrodynamic lubrication
Keeping a liquid film between surfaces moving with respect to each other creates this condition.

Lubrication of Rolling-Element Bearings

The lubricant in a rolling-element bearing has three basic functions To reduce rolling and sliding friction. To protect the highly finished surfaces of the rolling elements and races against corrosion. To act as a sealant.

What the end user needs?

Greater environmental acceptability Longer life Improved performance Extreme pressure performance Water resistance/washout Oxidation stability Improved compatibility with seals, bearing housings and soft metals Global product acceptance

Principle sources of friction within a rolling element bearing

Primarily there are two sources of friction. One arises from the rolling resistance. Elastic deformation takes place when the rolling element moves along the raceway surface. This causes a localized build-up of deformed material in front of the rolling element under dynamic condition resulting in resistance to motion. The second source of friction is the sliding/slippage or abrasive action of the contact surfaces. Sliding action takes place between the inner race/outer race ribs used for guiding the rolling elements and the rolling elements generating heat. Higher internal clearances between the rolling elements and the raceway further add up to the friction. This happens mainly due to the slippage of the rolling elements in the unloaded region. Slippage may occur when the bearing speed is low. In this condition the centrifugal forces are not high enough to hold the rollers against the raceway resulting in increased clearances.

Properties that determine performance of greases

Consistency
This is a measure of softness or hardness of the grease usually represented by penetration range or NLGI (National Lubricating Grease Institute) number. The consistency determines the ease with which a grease will pump and flow through, or channel in service, will leak or require high torque at start-up.

Oil bleeding phenomena

Oil separation or commonly known as Bleeding is one of the characteristics of lubricating greases. Normally we observe some amount of free oil separating out on the surface of the grease during storage, which is quite normal. For rolling element bearings lubricated with grease a certain amount of bleeding of the oil is necessary to allow the lubrication film formation. However, if this is more then may be detrimental for the application. There are three forces primarily responsible for oil separation from grease. Syneresis: The phenomena of squeezing out of the oil by the contraction of thickness fiber structure. Hydrostatic pressure or gravity: Externally applied pressure: If the bearings are subjected to some prolonged jerks during transport, loading/unloading may exert pressure on the grease leading to oil separation. Normally the oil separation in bigger bearings is more. Since the full quantity of grease isnt sheared at any given point of time, the oil separated will get dispersed into the grease as the shearing progresses. The degree of separation is affected by the amount of thickener in the grease, the temperature, time during storage, and the pressure, if in a lubrication system.

Lubricating with Grease Why?

Grease is used in applications where liquid lubricants cannot provide the required protection. It is easy to apply and requires little maintenance. It stays in place for a prolonged period separating the contact surfaces and most importantly provides sealing action. Grease consists of three main components: thickener, base oil, and additives.

How does the grease work?

When a bearing packed with grease starts rotating, a small amount of it gets trapped between the contact surfaces. Shearing takes place within this resulting in the formation of a thin lubrication film. The other part of the grease is thrown from the rolling elements and circulates within the housing acting as a sealant. Due to this turbulent environment initially a lot of friction takes place thereby increasing the temperature. The continual shearing of the grease results in the release of oil and formation of a lubricant film. This film separates the surfaces thereby reducing friction. The temperature within the bearing thus drops gradually and attains equilibrium. Grease usage is very common in industrial applications worldwide such as general manufacturing, steel mills, mining, cement, and paper industry. In various applications within the automotive segment such as trucks and buses grease is used widely followed by various agricultural and construction equipments and cars. Usually greases based on lithium, calcium or sodium soaps (and including some EP and lithium complex products) are used for general-purpose. Various specialty greases are available which are designed to meet demanding performance specifications.

Extreme pressure (EP)

EP resistance is a property essential for greases used in heavy duty applications subjected to heavy or shock loading. Extreme pressure ruptures the protective film of grease. With suitable additives EP properties can be incorporated in grease.

High temperature stability

At high temperatures, greases are subjected to oil evaporation, oxidation and structural change. High temperature stability depends on the time as well as the temperature of exposure of grease to these conditions.

Mechanical stability
This is the resistance of a grease to structural change caused by mechanical working in service. Some grease will soften excessively

when subjected to shearing stress between rolling elements of an anti friction bearing. A few will become heavier when worked.

Oxidation stability
This is the resistance of a grease to chemical changes caused by aging. In service, oxidation of a thin film of grease will result in a gummy residue, in storage, oxidized grease may become rancid, crusty and dark in color. There may also be a separation of oil. This can be improved by applying suitable oxidation inhibitors.

For tapered roller bearings the grease usage is determined by the measure of rib speed, which is calculated as below. Rib speed [m/s] = ( p*D m *n)/60000: where Dm is the inner race rib diameter and can be approximated by averaging the bearing bore and bearing outer diameter

Rust protection
This is important in a humid or wet environment and especially during long periods of downtime. Although greases provide good protection against rust under dynamic conditions, moisture in a bearing will attack the metal surface when there is no movement. Corrosion inhibitors are added to improve on this.

Water resistance
Resistance to washout varies with the viscosity of the lubricant and the amount and type of thickener. The greases classed as water resistant can absorb 25% to 100% of their weight of water without losing consistency or adhesiveness.

How much grease is enough?

Grease fill in a rolling element bearing is critical. Care should be taken that the bearing must not be over greased. When grease packed bearing rotates only a thin film of it lubricates the contact surfaces, whereas the excess is moved into the cavities of the bearing and housing. If these cavities are already filled with grease, the excess amount will have nowhere to go. As a result it is recycled back into the bearing where it is churned. This action results in rapid rise in temperature causing the grease to liquefy and run-out eventually causing premature surface damage. The required quantity of grease is based on the free volume of the bearing calculated as below: V [cm 3 ] = (( p/4)(D 2 -d 2 )*T)-(M/A): where D is the outer diameter [cm], d is the bearing bore [cm], T is the overall width [cm], M the bearing weight [kg] and A the average steel density [7.8x10 -3 kg/cm 3]. Depending upon the application (speed) Timken suggests to fill the bearing with a quantity of to 2/3 of the free volume. This should be done by putting the grease between rollers and cage by forcing it under the cage, generally from the large end to the small end. The higher the speed, lesser should be the grease. To determine the corresponding weight of the grease an approximate density of 0.9 gm/cm 3 can be used.

Relative Importance of Grease Properties for Automotive Use (SAE Information Report J310)
Property Wheel Bearings H Universal Joints M Chassis ELI Chassis H Multipurpose H

Mechanical &Structural Stability Oxidation Resistance High Temperature Service

Protection Against Friction & Wear Corrosion Washout M H M H H

M M

M M/H**

L M

H H

M M

H = Highest; M = Moderate; L = Least; ** for tropical climate

Selection criteria of grease

Predominantly for these reasons grease is used, such as prevent wear, act as sealant, protect against rust and corrosion, protect elastomeric seals, reduce noise and vibration. When seals are worn or deteriorated, grease is more likely to remain in place while oil may readily leak out. Grease behaves as a natural sealant by preventing loss of lubricant or entrance of foreign materials from the environment. Grease is often used for components, which are isolated or relatively inaccessible and very frequent re-lubrication is not possible. Because of the consistency, grease tends to remain on the surface. Grease provides higher resistance to motion hence the selection of grease is based on the speed limitations.

Greases fail more rapidly as temperature of operation increases. The most obvious reason for failure lies in the melting point of the thickener or dropping point of the grease. The latter involves a complex of melting and bleed. Evaporation may be significant at high temperatures. Oxidation also increases rapidly as temperature rises. Grease life is reduced by one half for every 10 deg C rise in temperature. There are useful guidelines for heat resistance of greases in service, which take all these factors into consideration.

Most mineral-oil-based greases (of adequate dropping point) will operate successfully to about 121 degrees C some can even handle 149 degrees C. A few mineral-oil-based greases can operate to about 177 degrees C. Around this temperature, synthetic fluids are preferred or required. As service temperature rises, frequency of lubricant addition and re-lubrication must increase.

CONCLUSION
End user should pay attention to the following: Selection of right grease for the application based on load, speed and available environment parameters. The grease should have the right additives for improved performance in these conditions. Adequate quantity of grease should be estimated. Failing this the bearing may fail due to either high temperature or grease starvation. Care should be taken on how the grease is stored. The guidelines laid out by the grease manufacturers should be followed strictly during this period, failing which significant amount of bleeding may occur. Care should be taken on how the grease is packed inside the bearing. The required quantity of grease should be present between the contact surfaces.

Reasonable re-lubrication intervals for rolling bearings in industrial service

(assuming eight work hours per day): 82 degrees C 104 degrees C 149 degrees C 193 degrees C 238 degrees C : : : : : 6 months or 1440 Hrs 3 months or 720 Hrs 1 month or 240 Hrs 1 week ** 8 hours **

If speed is high or loads are severe, re-lubrication intervals could be even shorter for larger size bearings. ** For temperatures above 149 Deg C, it is suggested that user should contact t h e b e a r i n g a s w e l l a s g re a s e m a n u f a c t u r e r. I n t h e s e temperature ranges speciality high temperature resistant grease may be required. Thorough analysis should be done to check that at these temperature gradients there are no metallurgical changes within the bearing material as well as no disintegration of the microstructure.

Authored by:

Sudip Chowdhury Customer Engineering Timken India Limited

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lubrizol reference library. Oil separation from lubricating grease by IOC. LUBE-TIPS from Noria Corporation. Right solution for the rolling mill industry By The Timken C o m p a n y.

Editorial team : Sudip Chowdhury, T. M. Ramesh, P. Ghose, Indranil Chaudhury