Experimental investigation of vibration damping capabilities of 3D printed metal/polymer composite sleeve bearings

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing (AM) method enables to produce products easily, cheaply and quickly with more complex geometry compared to traditional production methods. In this context; Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is a widely used for AM method that requires a large number of process parameters. In this study, it is aimed to experimentally investigate the damping capabilities of the metal/polymer composite sleeve bearings printed using FDM. A total of 54 pieces (27 pairs) were printed from composite filaments such as nine pairs for each of PLA, PLA + 20% Bronze, and PLA + 20% Copper metal/polymer with different filling structures (Octogram spiral, Archimedian chords, and 3D Honey comb) and different occupancy rates (10, 30, and 50%), respectively. The experiments were carried out using the shaft-bearing system under the same operating conditions at a rotational speed of 900 revolution per minute (rpm), and vibration data was collected from the rotating shaft with proxy probes. Rotating shaft position is very important to determine journal position in bearing for understanding deterioration in the bearing. Bode and Orbit plots are used to detect the level of deterioration in the bearing. The value of bearing to shaft clearence can vary widely depending on application. Since the bearings were heavily loaded, they were compressed by radial load caused large clearence. The results showed that compressed bearing had significant influence on the stability of rotating shaft system and significant differences in damping capabilities of composite sleeve bearings with different filling structures and occupancy rate. Increasing occupancy rate decreases the vibration amplitude values in copper-reinforced sleeve bearing but increases in bronze-reinforced sleeve bearing. From the microstructure analysis, it has been observed that the vibration absorbation capability is better due to the more homogeneous distribution of the copper reinforced bearings than the bronze reinforced bearings. Also, vibration absorption capability of sleeve bearings with 3D Honeycomb filling structureis increased significantly proportion to the occupancy rate.

A Review on Vibration Characteristics of Additively Manufactured Metal Alloys

“…In another study, M. Kam et al conducted experimental investigations into the damping properties of metal/polymer composite sleeve bearings. [ 101 ] They revealed that composite sleeve bearings, characterized by diverse constructions and varying occupancy rates, exhibited substantial disparities in their damping capacities. Among these variations, sleeve bearings featuring a 3D honeycomb filling structure demonstrated a notably heightened capacity for vibration absorption.…”

Analysis of the influence of FDM parameters in the tensile strength response using machine learning

“…Tensile stress has been extensively studied by various authors, and is one of the most important properties of parts manufactured by 3D printing, whose application must withstand this type of stress to a great extent. These studies have been carried out using different statistical techniques such as factorial design [4,5,6,7,8,9], response surface methodology [10,11,12,13,14], Taguchi [15,16,17,18,19] and machine learning algorithms [20] [21].…”

The Utilization of a Damping Structure in the Development of Self-Adaptive Water-Lubricated Stern Bearings

“…This alloy showcased commendable strength, ductility, and damping properties. Kam et al [31] utilized the additive manufacturing method to produce composite sleeve bearings with diverse filling structures and scrutinized their damping capacity. The results indicated that the compressed bearing significantly influenced the stability of the rotating shaft system, and the damping capacity of the composite sleeve bearings varied considerably depending on their filling structures and occupancy rates.…”