Friction Properties of Journal-bearing-like Conformal Contacts in Microgravity Environment

Friction is a primary failure mode in micro-nano electromechanical systems due to the high surface-to-volume ratio. Microgravity further complicates this issue in journal-bearing-like conformal contacts by promoting irregular disturbances. This paper aims to gain insights into the anti-friction design of journal-bearing-like devices through molecular dynamics simulation. A molecular dynamics model was proposed and the calculation method of the friction force was derived. In the absence of disturbance, the proposed model was compared with a non-conformal model which unfolded the bearing as a plane, and the influence of initial radial clearance and axis inclination on the friction force was investigated. The results showed that the proposed model could present more accurate friction forces than the non-conformal model. The friction force was inversely proportional to the initial clearance, and the axis inclination could reduce the friction force. Regarding disturbances as the superposition of two vibrations perpendicular to each other, in which case the trajectory of the journal was a Lissajous curve, the effects of frequency, stiffness coefficient, amplitude ratio, and frequency ratio were investigated. The results showed that the average friction force increased with the rising frequency in the range of 0.8 ~ 4.8 GHz, then decreased with the further increase of frequency. The average friction force was lowered when the stiffness coefficient increased from 100N/m to 1000N/m. For two representative frequencies, the average friction force exhibited different trends with the amplitude ratio. Except for the case of 1.25, increasing the frequency ratio could reduce the friction force. It seemed that applying a well-designed Lissajous route was a promising way to reduce friction.