Abstract The purpose of this study was to design a tribotester that can evaluate the lubrication performance of ferrofluids under the effect of a magnetic field. A novel bronze-based tribopair was fabricated with the potential to employ a controllable magnetic field in such a way that it accurately mimics the friction of a thrust pad bearing. The designed experimental scheme enables direct measurement of the normal load and the friction torque of ferrofluid-lubricated contacts. The stability of the tribotester was ensured by calibration tests. After calibration of the tribotester, lubrication tests were carried out. The surface morphology of the rubbed specimens was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and optical microscopy. The friction-reducing property, antiwear mechanism, and self-repairing ability of ferrofluid lubrication are discussed according to the test and characterization results. The results show that the ferrofluid lubrication method is an effective approach for lubrication of a thrust pad bearing.

中文翻译：

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开发用于研究推力瓦轴承铁磁流体润滑性能的摩擦测试仪

摘要 本研究的目的是设计一种可以评估铁磁流体在磁场作用下的润滑性能的摩擦测试仪。制造了一种新型青铜摩擦对，有可能采用可控磁场，以精确模拟推力瓦轴承的摩擦。设计的实验方案可以直接测量铁磁流体润滑触点的正常负​​载和摩擦扭矩。通过校准测试确保摩擦测试仪的稳定性。校准摩擦仪后，进行润滑测试。摩擦试样的表面形貌通过扫描电子显微镜、能量色散光谱和光学显微镜进行表征。减摩性能、抗磨机理、根据试验和表征结果讨论了铁磁流体润滑的自修复能力。结果表明，磁流体润滑方法是一种有效的推力瓦轴承润滑方法。