Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of surface precision on the lubrication state of the roller chain under adequate and rare oil supply conditions, respectively.
Design/methodology/approach
The straightness error and roughness error of the pin generatrices were measured and the influence of surface precision on the lubrication behavior under steady state and reciprocating motion was studied through optical interference experiments.
Findings
The lubrication state is strongly influenced by the surface precision of the roller surface both under adequate oil supply and rare oil supply conditions.
Originality/value
In industrial applications, the machining errors of parts cannot be completely eliminated. Studying the influence of the surface precision on the lubrication behavior of pin–bush pairs can provide the experimental basis for the optimal design of the bush roller chains.
For industrial roller or bush chains, the bush swings relative to the pin at working condition. If proper lubrication is maintained, an elastohydrodynamic lubrication contact is formed between the pin and the bush. In this study, a custom-made pin was used to replace the steel ball of a ball-disk test rig and optical interferometric experiments were carried out to study the effect of pin generatrix on the lubrication performance. The effects of generatrix shape, stroke length and oil supply condition on the lubrication state were explored. It is found that the change of the generatrix has an important influence on the oil film thickness, especially under rare oil supply condition.
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