Calculation-experimental method for determining the pre-failure state of complexly loaded journal bearings

The article deals with the types of wear and failures of journal bearings. Based on the physics of failures, a method for determining the pre-failure state of plain bearings is proposed, including: determination of the limiting clearance in the bearing; determination of the limit value of oil viscosity; determination of the limiting value of the ovality of the shaft neck and liners; determination of the maximum area of chipping of the surface of the liners; determination of the limit value of the concentration of active abrasive particles in the lubricant. The solution of these problems is based on the calculation of the determination of the hydromechanical characteristics (HMC) of bearings using the hydrodynamic theory of lubrication, the determination of the zones of contact interaction between the elements of the rolling stock, the duration of the boundary lubrication regime, the amount of wear on the surfaces of the sleeve and the shaft neck. Calculation studies were carried out on the example of calculating the dynamics of the connecting rod bearing of the crankshaft of a heat engine. In particular, it is shown that with a diametrical clearance in the connecting rod bearing of 90-120 μm, the duration of the boundary regime of lubrication is more than 25%, which is the limiting value. Reducing the oil viscosity (measured at 100 C) below 9.5 mPa∙s is unacceptable, as it leads to an increase in the duration of the boundary lubrication regime by up to 42%. For the same reasons, the ellipticity of the liners more than 5 microns is unacceptable. A mass concentration of active abrasive particles in the oil of more than 0.1% leads to a sharp increase in the maximum wear rate of the bearing, and this concentration should be considered the limit in terms of its pre-failure state. The technique allows at the early stages of designing machines, which include hydrodynamic plain bearings, to determine the criteria for their pre-failure state.