Difference in Preventive Mechanism for Fretting Wear Between Oil and Grease Lubrication
Rolling bearings sometimes suffer from the fretting wear as a result of an oscillatory motion. The fretting wear on a bearing surface could cause a reduction of bearing performance, such as an excessively noise, an increase of torque, and the flaking. This study investigated the difference in preventive mechanism for the fretting wear between the oil and grease lubrication by using thrust bearings. The fretting wear was reduced when the high viscosity oil was used in the oil lubrication. In the case of the grease lubrication, the frequency influenced the relationship between the fretting wear and the viscosity. Specifically, the fretting wear was reduced when the high viscosity oil was used at the low frequency. On the other hand, the fretting wear was also reduced when the low viscosity oil was used at the high frequency.