OBSERVATION OF CAVITATION IN GREASE LUBRICATED EHD CONTACTS

Increasing environmental demands push the limits of lubrication of machine elements, towards thinner films, higher operating temperatures, lower friction and higher durability. In this context the need for a better understanding of the physical and chemical processes which take places at intimate, molecular levels of rubbing surfaces, becomes crucial. Grease have important advantages over oil lubricants such as lower lubricant losses, better corrosion protection, improved sealing, easy to handle and the elimination of complex and costly oil supply system. At the same time the complex nature of lubricating grease is little understood and only little knowledge about its chemistry and physics is accessible. In the present paper the relation between lubricating grease composition and characteristics and the cavitation length of point EHD contacts was evaluated.