Uncommon lubricating fluid studies in plain bearing applications: design and realization of a tribometer

Friction and wear phenomena are nowadays considered as a strategic research field in support of the European Union's sustainability objectives. According to recent studies, tribological improvements in industry could lead to a reduction of up to 24% in primary energy consumption [1]. Spanning through the multidisciplinary field of tribology concerning shaft-journal bearing systems, the mechanics of non-lubricating fluid environments remains a largely unexplored scientific territory. Numerous industrial sectors face with the challenge of transporting and storing non-lubricating fluids, often employing technologies that prove to be not sufficient for this task. Poor material selection and not balanced operating conditions shorten the lifespan of numerous mechanical components, and also force users to adopt inefficient technologies to address industrial challenges. This situation even worsen when non-lubricating fluids contain solid particles, which can act as abrasive agents against materials. The present study is based on an industrial problem to analyze this engineering issue. A custom-designed tribometer is proposed to simulate the performance of various materials, treatments and coatings for shaft and journal bearings in non-lubricating environments. The instrument is designed to operate under high rotational speeds, heavy radial loads, and fixed operative temperature. First results are illustrated, toghether with a proposed statistical approach, to correlate torque and heat outputs with operating parameters, according to models proposed in previous literature. [2]