A Study for Measurement of Oil Film Thickness on Engine Bearing by using Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) Method

The focus of this study was to accurately measure the oil film thickness across the width of a connecting rod bearing operating under load. A new experimental method using Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) was developed for this purpose. The oil film thickness setup was first calibrated under static load and the accuracy of the system was successfully confirmed. The experiment indicated that the oil film thickness near the outer edges of the bearing was thinner than at the center in all tested conditions. This phenomenon has not been verified experimentally until now. The experimental results were confirmed by Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication (EHL). This study indicates that the experimental method is useful to prove the calculation.