Study the Effect of Oil Viscosity on Friction Coefficient at Point Contact Elasto-Hydrodynamic Lubrication Based on Experimental Analysis

Abstract

This study presents an experimental work for elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) in point contact case. In this study, experimental studies have been conducted to show how friction varies over a wide range of running conditions. The effect of the change in parameters such as lubricant’s viscosity, base oil type, and load on power loss is investigated.  The oils have used (5W-20, 10W-30, 10W-40 and 20W-50) which have a different grade of viscosity. The test is conducted using a ball on disc test rig. Different loads have been used (30, 40, 50, and 60 N). The boundary conditions are: the oil’s temperature is (25 ^oC temperature room); the radius of ball is (0.018 m). The coefficient of friction of oils for each load has been calculated. At the same load and same initial conditions the results shows, the increase in friction coefficient with the increase of viscosity is almost linear with an average slope of 1.4 (Pa.s)^-1. Also, the increase in load results in linear increase in friction coefficient by an average slope of 0.63 N^-1