Insight into the self-lubricated performance of Lignum vitae-inspired composites manufactured by filament-winding against the brass ball

Abstract

The self-lubricated performance of Lignum vitae makes it suitable for the construction of water-lubricated bearings, its performance lies in the internal vessel and oil content. Therefore, Lignum vitae's self-lubricated mechanism always inspired the design of novel materials to improve the lubrication capacity under harsh conditions such as heavy load or low speed. In this study, a Lignum vitae-inspired composite was fabricated by filament-winding with different winding angles. The parameters of the composite's internal fiber and lubricant were based on Lignum vitae's vessel characterization. The tribological tests were conducted between the composites and brass, which is the common building material of the propeller shaft of the ship to simulate the friction contact of water-lubricated bearing. After a series of reciprocating-sliding point-contact wear tests under un/water-lubricated conditions, the results showed the filament-winding angle has a significant effect on the tribological performance of the composite. Among these, the winding angle of 55° shows the best capacity of load distribution and advantages in lubrication secretion, resulting in excellent mechanical properties and self-lubricated performance in both lubrication conditions. This study combines the bionic and filament-winding manufacture to reproduce Lignum vitae's self-lubricated performance on the polymer composite, which provides a new reference for water-lubricated bearing material design.