Design and Development of a Ball on Three-Plates Tribometer Under Controlled Magnetic Field and Impact of Magnetohydrodynamic Lubrication on Elastohydrodynamic Point Contact

Abstract

Understanding magnetorheological (MR) fluids' tribological behavior is essential for various applications, especially under variable magnetic fields. Therefore, this work is concerned with designing a ball on the three-plate tribometer with an electromagnet to measure the tribological properties of MR fluid under variable magnetic fields. The magnetic field simulation has been conducted using comsol multiphysics software and the results have been compared with the experimental values obtained through a 3D Gauss meter. The experiment is performed to find the effect of load, speed, and magnetic field on the coefficient of friction, and it has been found that changes in load and magnetic field greatly influence the coefficient of friction. The numerical simulation of magnetohydrodynamic for point contact has been conducted using the finite volume method and the effect of the Hartmann number on the film thickness and pressure distribution has been discussed. The increase in the Hartmann number improves the lubrication for the point contact.