Frictional power loss in solid-grease-lubricated needle roller bearing

ABSTRACT The use of solid grease as a lubricant, in comparison with standard grease or oil, is a pre‐requisite when needle roller bearings undergo a high‐speed oscillating motion and when access to the bearing is difficult for maintenance purposes. This paper examines the frictional power loss of a solid‐grease‐lubricated needle roller bearing. First set of measurement result reveals that the test bearing has higher frictional power loss as compared with other bearings with conventional lubrications, due to the high viscosity of the solid grease. Furthermore, measurements are compared with the Palmgren and SKF models. For improving these models, the parameters of the models are updated on the basis of the measurement data. A second set of measurement result shows that the use of oil (kept at higher temperature) in addition to solid grease significantly reduces the frictional power loss. The reduction is due to the decrease in operational viscosity of the solid grease. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.