Experimental Determination of Oil Rheology Parameters to be Implemented in Power Loss Predictions of Gears and Rolling Element Bearings

Rheology models express the way tribological conditions translate to shear stress of the lubricant and friction force on the interacting surfaces. Due to the complexity of the lubricant rheology, the friction coefficient is usually obtained experimentally either under the same operating conditions or by curve fitting in a properly chosen friction map. The current study aims at determining the rheological parameters of a lubricant based on friction measurements carried out on a commercial, readily available ball-on-disc machine.