The Impact of the Deformation Phenomenon on the Process of Lubricating and Improving the Efficiency Between the Slipper and Swashplate in Axial Piston Machines

The process of lubricating a sliding interface between the Slipper and the swashplate in axial piston machines is a major solution for the improvement of its efficiency and performance. This lubrication process is largely influenced by the phenomenon of the thermoelastic and hydrodynamic deformation of the solid-liquid structure on this interface. This paper is mainly based on the study of the causes and processes of deformation, as well as the conditions of improvement of this deformation by the lubrication on the interface slipper/swashplate. For this, a mathematical model detailing the model deformation elastic and hydrodynamic on the slide interface Slipper/swashplate is made. The major parameters in the deformation such as the loads and the oil size are simulated. The energy equation is solved to understand the effect of the temperature on the oil behavior. The Reynold equation is solved to simulate the hydrodynamic pressure between the Slipper and the swashplate. A test rig is specially built to measure the torques and loads, the pressure, the oil height, and the temperature between the Slipper and the swashplate for different input conditions. The comparison between the simulation results and the experimental ones proves the coherence and the precision of the results of this research. Finally, some propositions to improve the performance of the axial piston machines for the lubrication mechanism on the Slipper/swashplate interface are given.