The Rheological Properties of Elastohydrodynamic Lubricants

The methods of measuring the rheological properties of EHD lubricants are reviewed, but for pressures in excess of 1.0 GPa there is currently no simple alternative to the disc machine. A technique has been developed which enables disc machine traction tests to be carried out at constant mean film temperature. Isothermal tests provide further evidence for the existence of a limiting shear stress τ c at which the fluid shears in the manner of a plastic solid. At stresses below this limit the experimental data are found to be in very good accord with the non-linear Maxwell rheological model based on the Eyring theory of fluid flow proposed by Johnson and Tevaarwerk and by Hirst and Moore. The model incorporates three fluid properties: shear modulus G, viscosity τ and Eyring stress τ 0 . Disc machine measurements of τ, τ 0 and the limiting shear stress τ c for three fluids—a mineral oil HVI 650, a synthetic polyphenyl ether 5P4E and a traction fluid Santotrac 50—are presented for a range of pressures (0.6–2.5 GPa) and temperatures (40–120°C).