Experimental Study on In Situ Storage of Grease-Lubricated Ball Screws

Abstract

Lubricating grease plays an important role in the rolling screw transmission of the actuation system and is particularly concerned with the performance stability of long-term storage in aerospace applications. In this article, a batch of ball screws that were lying flat in the warehouse for about eight years were selected to extract lubricating grease from the screw raceway after being stored in situ. The oxidation performance, friction performance and rheological properties of lubricating grease were tested and compared to those of fresh grease to analyze and summarize the performance changes in lubricating grease. The transmission efficiency, friction torque, and temperature rise of ball screws without removing the original grease and those filled with fresh grease after cleaning were tested and compared. The impact of grease degradation on the transmission performance of ball screws was analyzed to provide a reference for ball screw lubrication schemes and further accelerated storage experimental design.