Elastohydrodynamics Lubrication for Bio-based Lubricants in Elliptical Conjunction

This paper emphasizes on bio-based lubrication issue of elastohydrodynamic lubricants in mechanical part. The bio-based lubricant has a great potential as a substitute for conventional lubricant in industries. In this work, the elastohydrodynamic lubrication flows were investigated at the elliptical conjunctions by using bio-based lubricants and mineral oil. The computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software was used to determine the effect of lubricants and helps to verify the deformation of the pressure distribution at the conjunctions. The results show that at constant speed, the mineral oil exhibits higher value of dynamic pressure than the bio-based lubricant along X and Y axis between two mating surfaces. It is also found that the mineral oil carried more load compared to bio-based lubricant. Owing to the promising properties of lower dynamic pressure than the mineral oil, the bio- based lubricant exhibits significant behaviour in protecting the surfaces from wear and damage.