Research On The Tribological Properties Of Sliding Bearings Based On Bionics Principle

The tribological property of the sliding bearing is likely to be improved in some degree with the appropriate pits on its surface. Besides, when the lubricating oil descends to a certain scope, the tribological property of the sliding bearing with pits still can be superior to that of the smooth sliding bearing with sufficient oil,which consequently prolongs the bearing’s life.To study the influence on the tribological property of the sliding bearing caused by the pit structure of bionic surface and oil supply,two models-the smooth sliding bearing with sufficient oil and starved oil-were set up to make an analysis in the paper. The film pressure distribution and the film supporting capacity were got by using the finite difference method. The calculated results show that on the condition of unchanged bearing’s parameters,compared with the bearing with sufficient oil,the maximum film pressure and supporting capacity of the oil starvation bearing is on a downward trend. In addition,as the film supporting capacity decreases,it will fall dramatically when the oil-starvation drops to 20%　of the full loaded.By the analysis of dung beetles and shark’s skin structure,the model of sliding bearing with bionic surface is established. It throughout V type groove with residual type a V-shaped grooves, hemispherical, semi ellipsoidal and complex five different forms of bionic concave surface of the sliding bearing.Take hemispherical pits for example, it analyzed two kinds of arrangement-The array arrangement and staggered arrangement, which finally led to the foundation of mathematical equation of the bionic sliding bearing surface structure.The lubrication analysis model of the sliding bearing with various bionic forms and oil supply state were set up.The film pressure distribution and its supporting capacity were got by using finite method. Meanwhile, the influence on the tribological property of the sliding bearing caused by the quantity、size、 distribution and depth of the bionic pit were studied. So it can draw the conclusion that compared with the smooth surface,on the condition of adequately lubricated state and unchanged bearing’s parameters,the pit with appropriate quantities、size、distribution and depth can improve the film pressure and its supporting capacity in some degree.Moreover,under the sufficient lubricating state,when the oil-starvation decreases to 15%　or even lower,the load region of the film will expand due to the bionic pit’s oil reserving function. The tribological property of the sliding bearing with bionic surface can still be superior to that of the smooth sliding bearing with sufficient oil. But for the sliding bearing with the bionic shark structure,when the oil-starvation is less than 12%,the film pressure is still greater than the smooth sliding bearing with sufficient oil. Finally,after optimizing these two bionic structure, we found that the optimum state of the bionic sliding bearing is the basic pit structure in semi-oval shape. The conclusion offers an effective approach to improve the lubricating property of the sliding bearing.Finally, the main work is summarized in this paper, and the prospect of further research is put forward in the future.