A Validated Computational Study of Lubricants under White Etching Crack Conditions Exposed to Electrical Fields

Abstract

The problem of White Etching Cracks (WEC) leading to failures in the life cycle of industrial and automotive drive trains has existed for more than 30 years. Many parameters leading to WEC, such as the presence of electricity, unfavorable lubricants, and other factors, have been identified by the use of test rigs. However, since (a) within lifecycle operation these impacts appear incidentally, and (b) the identified impacts stimulate each other as stated in WEC research, the appearance of WEC in a drive train is impossible to predict for any given application. This difficulty causes WEC to be a serious problem. Obtaining reliable failure prediction rates using construction guidelines is still impossible, resulting in warranty claims. The aim of this paper is, first, to establish a routine to determine if and how lubricants could be described numerically with respect to their susceptibility toward electrical fields and to see how this factor could be added in a later stage to construction guidelines. Second, this paper aims to give advice to the applicant in terms of countermeasures. Currently, as predictors are missing, extensive and time-consuming testing is required. Contradictory test results in the field of application, indicate the need for fundamental parameters to determine in which circumstances the application is exposed to WEC risk and to suggest countermeasures. The current study presents a simulation method based solely on the chemical structure of lubricant components, investigating the appearance of WEC and their response to increasing electrical fields. The results show a clear pattern in WEC criticality with respect to lubricants: if two or more components present in the lubricant create clusters through their dipolar interaction, an apparent WEC risk could be accurately predicted apart from test rig results. These clusters are charged like one big particle in an early stage of electrical field exposure. As a result, the surface area increases, facilitating a higher uptake of charge. The incidental breakdown of this charge is assumed. As the charge of a cluster is higher than that of single molecules, WEC critical lubricants are subjected to this pattern. The study validates these results by comparing them using lubricants known to be critical with respect to WEC, suggesting further tests in the near future. Despite the fact that some lubricants seem more critical than others related to WEC, each lubricant clearly might lead to WEC under given conditions. Thus, constructing guidelines for a prediction routine is essential.