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Reference Number EP/E034179/1
Title A General Approach to the Analysis of Fatigue Cracks in Lubricated Contacts
Status Completed
Energy Categories Renewable Energy Sources(Wind Energy) 5%;
Not Energy Related 85%;
Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electric power conversion) 5%;
Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Oil and gas combustion) 5%;
Research Types Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering) 100%
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator Dr D Dini
No email address given
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Imperial College London
Award Type Standard
Funding Source EPSRC
Start Date 11 September 2007
End Date 10 September 2010
Duration 36 months
Total Grant Value £205,124
Industrial Sectors Manufacturing
Region London
Programme NC : Engineering
 
Investigators Principal Investigator Dr D Dini , Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London (100.000%)
  Industrial Collaborator Project Contact , SKF Engineering & Research Services B.V., The Netherlands (0.000%)
Web Site
Objectives
Abstract In recent years there has been noticeable appreciation of the importance of failure mechanisms which affect the performance of the most critical assemblies, whose components undergo mutual contact interactions. In particular, most of the complex engineering products such as bearings, gas turbine blades/shafts, gears, railways, bolted flanges, car engines, etc. could not operate without contact and frictional interfaces. Therefore the assessment of tribological performance (i.e. how the materialstrength of couplings if affected by the presence lubricants, friction and wear) of these assemblies is a must for any industrial setting.Let us consider bearings as an example application. They are mechanical components used to reduce friction and provide load support for rotary or linear equipment. A single bearing failure can cause hours of downtime, including the identification and replacement of the failed component. For this reason, companies around the world have spent a vast amount ofmoney and resources on different types of predictive maintenance technology. This suggests that fundamental research on the main phenomena responsible for such failures needs to be carried out.The proposed work will attempt to address the root causes of material failures in the presence of lubricated contacts. The role of fluid, according to some experimental observations, experience gathered from engineering practice, and the results of the theoretical analyses, is often regarded as the main contributor to catastrophic crack growth. The origin of cracks induced by the rolling/rubbing of contacting pairs will be studied and the fluid/solid interaction which is deemed as responsible for the propagation of such cracks will be investigated. Furthermore, robust experimental techniques will allow monitoring and measuring the presence of fluid within cracks generated during rolling contacts and subsequent crack growth to failure.A properly managed research programme will provide valuable feedback about how a component performs when subjected to contact loading under different working conditions. It will uncover information for improvements that prevent future failure. Rigorous root cause determination might lead to improvements that yield:(a) Greater safety(b) Improved design and reliability(c) Greater efficiency(d) Reduced maintenance(e) Reduced life-cycle cost
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Added to Database 22/02/07