Introduction:

Hydrodynamic lubrication occurs when a sufficiently thick lubricant film is formed that prevents contact between the sliding surfaces. This physical phenomenon is characterized by a low friction coefficient that improves machine efficiency and reduces the wear of its elements.

Objective:

A theoretical study is carried out to determine the possibility of achieving this lubrication regime in cane mills supports.

Materials and Methods:

To achieve this objective, a spreadsheet is developed that provides the dependence of the minimum lubricating film thickness on the diametric clearance between the shaft and the bushing. When comparing the obtained function with the minimum permissible thickness recommended in literature, the diametric clearance interval in which hydrodynamic lubrication is achieved is obtained. It is also verified that this interval is sufficient to contain shaft and bush manufacturing tolerances.

Results and Discussion:

The result of carried out calculation shows that hydrodynamic lubrication can be achieved in all the tandem rolls, except for the upper one of fourth and fifth mills.

Conclusions:

In this way, it is concluded that it is possible to significantly improve the efficiency of the tandem of the sugar mills by making the necessary modifications to its design in such a way that a constant supply of lubricant to the contact area of the sliding surfaces is guaranteed.

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