Self-Lubricating Sliding Bearings

November 13, 2017

Jennifer Shuttleworth

Following in-house tribological testing and customer-specific field investigations, Federal-Mogul Powertrain's (Southfield, MI) deva.tex self-lubricating composite bearings are being commercialized for use in construction machines, agricultural vehicles and other special-purpose vehicles, such as road sweepers. According to the company, the fiber-reinforced bearings can reduce the environmental impact, downtime and maintenance costs associated with traditional grease-lubricated bearings. A significant advantage of DEVA composite materials is the ability to reduce wear and eliminate the premature failures that can occur in metal bearings when subjected to shaft misalignment. This is made possible by the materials’ heightened tolerance of shaft offset or misalignment: unlike metal bushes, the softer DEVA materials conform better to the shaft geometry, spreading the contact over a larger area and increasing the load capacity.