A finite-element-aided ultrasonic method for measuring central oil film thickness in a roller-raceway tribo-pair
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Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Roller bearings support heavy loads by riding on an ultra-thin oil film (between the roller and the
raceway), the thickness of which is critical as it reflects the lubrication performance. Ultrasonic
interfacial reflection, which facilitates a non-destructive measurement of oil film thickness, has been
widely studied. However, insufficient spatial resolution around the rolling line contact zone remains
a barrier, despite the employment of miniature piezoelectric transducers. In this paper, a finiteelement-aided method is utilized to simulate wave propagation through a three-layered structure
of roller-oil-raceway under elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL), with nonlinear characteristics
of i) the deformed curvature of the cylindrical roller and ii) the non-uniform distribution of fluid bulk
modulus along the circumference of the oil layer taken into account. A load- and speed-dependent
look-up table is then developed to establish an accurate relationship between the overall reflection
coefficient (directly measured by an embedded ultrasonic transducer) and the objective variable of
central oil film thickness. Moreover, the proposed finite-element-aided method is verified
experimentally in a roller-raceway test rig, with the ultrasonic measured oil film thickness
essentially corresponding to the calculated values by EHL theory.
raceway), the thickness of which is critical as it reflects the lubrication performance. Ultrasonic
interfacial reflection, which facilitates a non-destructive measurement of oil film thickness, has been
widely studied. However, insufficient spatial resolution around the rolling line contact zone remains
a barrier, despite the employment of miniature piezoelectric transducers. In this paper, a finiteelement-aided method is utilized to simulate wave propagation through a three-layered structure
of roller-oil-raceway under elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL), with nonlinear characteristics
of i) the deformed curvature of the cylindrical roller and ii) the non-uniform distribution of fluid bulk
modulus along the circumference of the oil layer taken into account. A load- and speed-dependent
look-up table is then developed to establish an accurate relationship between the overall reflection
coefficient (directly measured by an embedded ultrasonic transducer) and the objective variable of
central oil film thickness. Moreover, the proposed finite-element-aided method is verified
experimentally in a roller-raceway test rig, with the ultrasonic measured oil film thickness
essentially corresponding to the calculated values by EHL theory.
Date Issued
2022-06-01
Date Acceptance
2021-07-21
Citation
Friction, 2022, 10, pp.944-962
ISSN
2223-7690
Publisher
SpringerOpen
Start Page
944
End Page
962
Journal / Book Title
Friction
Volume
10
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2021. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made.
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The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
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License URL
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Engineering, Mechanical
Engineering
ultrasonic measurement
central oil-film thickness
rolling line contact
ray model
finite-element-aided method
ACOUSTIC MEASUREMENT
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-12-06