Effect of composite textured rough surfaces on the lubrication performance of cylindrical roller bearings

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of different types of textures on the friction lubrication performance of cylindrical roller bearings. Design/methodology/approach In the present study, the composite texture hydrodynamic lubrication model that takes into account the effects of surface roughness is established, and the Reynolds equation for the oil film is numerically solved using the finite difference method. The study investigates the oil film carrying capacity and maximum pressure of bearings under two different arrangements of four composite textures and conducts a comparative analysis of the oil film characteristics under various texture parameters and surface roughness levels. Findings When the roughness of the inner texture surface and the contact surface are equal, the bearing capacity of the composite texture is intermediate between the two textures. The impact trend of surface roughness on fluid dynamic pressure effects varies with the type of composite texture; the internal roughness of the texture affects the micro-hydrodynamic pressure action. Composite textures with different depths exhibit improved bearing capacities; elliptical cylindrical parallel and elliptical hemispherical parallel textures perform better when their area densities are similar, while other types of composite textures show enhanced bearing performance as the ratio of their area densities increases. Originality/value This paper contributes to the theoretical investigations and analyses on designing the textured rolling bearings with high lubrication performance. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-02-2024-0050