Influence of surface topography on stick slip effects an experimental and numerical study

Lubricated sealing systems tend to have undesirable stick-slip-effects under certain service conditions. This paper presents a tribometer test to analyze the influence of the surface topography on the stick-slip effect. In this test, it is possible to provoke or avoid the stick-slip effect by rotating the surface structure by 90°. Corresponding numerical contact- and CFD simulations, based on the measured surface topography show clearly the influence of the surface structure on the flow in the lubrication gap. These numerical studies show the influence of the surface topography on the fluid dynamics in the lubrication gap of translational seals and enable a deeper understanding of the stick-slip mechanisms in lubricated sealing contacts.