A thermal EHL investigation for size effect of finite line contact on bush-pin hinge pairs in industrial chains

Purpose This paper aims to study the influence of the dimension change of bush-pin on the pressure, oil film thickness, temperature rise and traction coefficient in contact zone by using a thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) model for finite line contact. Concretely, the effects of the equivalent curvature radius of the bush and the pin, and the length of the bush are investigated. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the contact between the bush and pin is simplified as finite line contact. The lubrication state is studied by numerical simulation using steady-state line contact thermal EHL. A constitutive equation Ree-Eyring fluid is used in the calculations. Findings It is found that by selecting an optimal equivalent radius of curvature and prolonging the bush length can improve the lubrication state effectively. Originality/value Under specific working conditions, there exists an optimal equivalent radius to maximize the minimum oil film thickness in the contact zone. The increase of generatrix length will weaken the stress concentration effect in the rounded corner area at both ends of the bush, which can improve the wear resistance of chain. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-10-2019-0448..