Influence of talc concentration in oil lubricant on the wear response of a bronze journal bearing

Abstract This study pertains to the examination of the effects of dispersing talc particles in an oil lubricant towards controlling the sliding wear characteristics of a journal bearing (bush) fabricated using a leaded-tin bronze. Influence of the content of the suspended mass in the oil and applied load on the wear behavior was also investigated. Properties evaluated were wear loss, frictional heating and friction coefficient. Addition of talc particles to the oil lubricant decreased the wear loss, frictional heating and friction coefficient while the applied load produced a reverse effect. Further, increasing content of talc up to 3–5% led to a decrease in the observed properties; the trend reversed at higher concentrations of the suspended mass in the oil. The increasing test duration caused the frictional heating and friction coefficient to increase at a high rate initially. The rate of increase lowered down at longer test durations. The observed wear behavior of the samples has been substantiated through the characteristics of wear surfaces and subsurface regions. The latter also enabled to understand the operating wear mechanisms.