Lubricating behavior of tripod sliding universal joints

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand the lubricating properties of the tripod sliding universal joint (TSUJ) in order to overcome its premature failures caused by the poor lubricating regime. Design/methodology/approach - A simplified geometrical model is derived from the main mating surfaces redesigned, and then the effects of the applied load and reduced elastic modulus, as well as the lubricant viscosity on the pressure and film thickness, are theoretically studied by using multi-level methods. Findings - The obtained results show that increasing applied load increases the overall pressure distribution and decreases the overall film thickness. Higher viscosity results in a thicker oil film and a remarkable second pressure peak even exceeding the central pressure. High-reduced elastic modulus increases the overall pressure but hardly influences on the film thickness. Research limitations/implications - Numerical analysis on the lubricating properties of TSUJ has been carried out on the basis of the simplified geometrical model. However, there are other factors affecting the lubricating performance such as temperature and surface roughness and so on. Besides, the corresponding experimental investigation should be conducted in the succeeding work. Originality/value - This work is a new application of elastohydrodynamic lubrication in practical viewpoint and provide a new direction in designing futuristic tripod universal joints. Thus, the results are of great value for its design and application.