Porous bearings

• Published in: Tribology international Vol. 15; no. 5; pp. 235 - 242
• Main Author: Braun, A.L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.10.1982
• Subjects: lubricant loss; lubrication; porous bearings; lubrication; lubricant loss; porous bearings
• ISSN: 0301-679X; 1879-2464
• DOI: 10.1016/0301-679X(82)90074-3

Much equipment in everyday use, such as small domestic appliances and audio equipment, has porous bearings to support a rotating shaft. The bearings in this type of equipment can only be supplied with lubricant once, during manufacture, so the use of porous bearings is an obvious solution. The porous wall of these bearings functions as a reservoir from which the bearing gap is filled with lubricant. With these bearings, problems are regularly encountered, such as noise, loss of lubricant, premature failure, irregular friction and inaccurate shaft position. In a practical investigation, attempts were made to obtain a better understanding of the causes of these problems and, where possible, to lay down guidelines for restricting or avoiding them. The investigation was concerned exclusively with cylindrical porous bearings, between 2.5 and 5 mm diameter, impregnated with oil having a relatively low viscosity and operating in the mixed lubrication regime