Selection of Suitable Lubricant for Sliding Contact Bearing and the Effect of Different Lubricants on Bearing Performance: A Review and Recommendations

The word bearing implies to an element of the machine which allows one moving or vibrating part to support other rubbing surfaces by which the load can transmit. Depending upon in nature and application of load, an extensive variety of different bearing is available. They can generally be categorized into two kinds of bearing such as rolling element bearing and a sliding bearing. Lubrication is required in the middle of rubbing surfaces, which enacts as a medium between the moving surfaces to diminish friction and to take away heat for survival during the transmission of the load. In this paper, a literature review has been made on the influence of different lubricants on the performance of various bearing. The selection of an appropriate lubricant is a very critical decision to take for the efficient performance of a bearing because each lubricant has its own merits and demerits on various kinds of bearing. In the later portion of this paper, a selection process of right lubricant in sliding contact bearing is analyzed mathematically. This critical decision is being made by using PROMETHEE method (broadly Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations) hybridized by Entropy Weight Measurement method and Fuzzy scale. As per the ranking of Entropy-PROMETHEE method, the best suited lubricant for sliding contact bearing is SAE20W40