Flow Characteristics of a Powder Lubricant in a Slider Bearing

This paper deals with a systematic development of theory of powder lubrication with the appropriate formalism based on the fundamentals of fluid mechanics. The theory is capable of predicting flow velocity, fluctuation (pseudo-temperature), powder volume fraction, and slip velocity at the boundaries. An extensive set of parametric simulations covering particle size, surface roughness, volumetric flow, load and speed are performed to gain insight into the performance of a powder lubricated thrust bearing. The results of simulations are compared to the published experimental results. Good agreement between the theory and experiment attests to the capability of the model and its potential for design of powder lubricated bearings.