Abstract:
Frictional wear is one of the most common causes of material failure. Different studies have
been carried out to overcome this type of failure. The different techniques applied in this
regard include: smoothening of surfaces to minimize area of contact, coating with special
material and many others. Among these, one of the most common techniques is to lubricate
the surfaces in contact using an optimum amount of appropriate lubricant. Same technique is
utilized in the present case to overcome the problem of frictional wear between two parallel
surfaces subjected to high temperature and pressure. The lubrication solution proposed is a
modification of “Numerical model for mixed lubrication” presented in 1990s. The objective
of present research is to verify the applicability of the model for piston-liner assembly in
mixed lubrication developed by Dong Zhu, to the present case of Elastohydrodynamic
lubrication for parallel conformal surfaces. Keeping in view the problem constraints as
explained in section 3, certain modifications are proposed. Outcome of the research is a
graphical pattern showing the lubricant film thickness required at different positions between
the contacting surfaces which can overcome the problem of frictional wear. Different grades
of Krytox are used for the solution as it is nonflammable, anticorrosive Perfluoropolyether
based grease, commonly used for high temperature cases. The results obtained by the
numerical model are compared and found well-in-accordance with the experimental data
available and with the analytical predictions made by scholars in the past, which verifies the
applicability of the model chosen for solution.
