A new journal bearing tester: The VTT water tribotester

Peter Andersson

    Research output: Book/ReportReport

    Abstract

    The design and operation of equipment for the testing of journal bearings is described. The equipment was developed and used for the first time in a Finnish project on ceramic journal bearings. Two similar units were built in two different laboratories, one for oil and the other for water lubrication. The tribotester was designed for wide flexibility in the selection of the normal force, speed and lubricant and to make rapid test piece exchanges possible. Furthermore, the machine was designed to be easy to build, use, maintain and understand. The journal bearing to be tested has an inner diameter of _ 40 mm and a width of 20 mm. Exchangeable shaft bushes are used as counterpieces in the tests. The tribotester is designed for normal loads of up to 40 kN, and rotational speeds of up to 5300 R.P.M. can be allowed. During the tests, at least the frictional force and the bearing shell temperature are continuously recorded. The wear rates are determined after a test. The first test programme consisted of 22 water-lubricated tests, 16 of which were performed with specimens made of monolithic ceramics and 6 with steel specimens plasma-coated with ceramics. The results of the journal bearing tests are in good agreement with previous pin-on-disc model tests. In the majority of the tests the equipment behaved as planned, and new investigations will follow.
    Original languageEnglish
    Place of PublicationEspoo
    PublisherVTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
    Number of pages24
    ISBN (Print)951-38-4158-8
    Publication statusPublished - 1992
    MoE publication typeNot Eligible

    Publication series

    SeriesVTT Tiedotteita - Meddelanden - Research Notes
    Number1345
    ISSN1235-0605

    Keywords

    • test equipment
    • laboratories
    • tests
    • journal bearings
    • tribology
    • wear
    • wear tests
    • friction
    • lubrication

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'A new journal bearing tester: The VTT water tribotester'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this