The load on transport and logistics systems is increasing every year. This is due to car park growth around the world. Thus, increasing bridge structure durability is an urgent task for bridge-building companies. This study analyses the contact deformation of spherical bearing elements through an anti-friction polymer layer with different geometrical configurations of recesses for the lubricant, i.e., annular grooves and spherical holes. The material of the anti-friction layer (a modified polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)) is modelled within the framework of the deformation theory of plasticity. The procedure of automating the numerical model construction depends on the input parameters, including the thickness of the layer, the basic geometrical parameters of the recesses for the lubricant, and the distance between the rows of recesses, etc. The influence of the arrangement of filling sliding anti-friction layers on recesses for lubricants in the form of spherical holes on the contact deformation behaviour of bridge bearings has been considered. The reduction of lubricant volume in the sliding anti-friction layer with the geometry of recesses in the form of spherical holes ranges from 26 to 48.4%, depending on the filling scheme, has been found. In this case, structures with lubrication recesses in the form of spherical holes have several advantages, including a more uniform distribution of contact parameters in the interface areas of the steel plates with the anti-friction layer, reduction of the maximum level of the plastic deformation intensity, displacements along the normal relative to the free end of the sliding layer, and the settlement of the bearing.

The study of the rheological properties of a lubricant allows for the assessment of the structure’s durability in which they are used. Computer engineering enables the prediction of the structure performance using refined mathematical models of its materials. This paper presents an experimental investigation of the rheological behavior of a lubricant that is actively used in bridge structures. The paper proposed a methodology for determining the rheological characteristics of the lubricant using a rotational viscometer. Additionally, the article performed the task of identifying the mathematical model of the lubricant behavior based on the Maxwell body, using two approaches: the Anand model and the Prony series. The proposed models allow for numerical modeling of the structure’s performance throughout their lifecycle within the scope of computer engineering.

The article considered the three types of description of the material behavior model: elastic, elastic–plastic, and viscoelastic. The problem is considered in the framework of deformable solid mechanics. The paper considers the possibility of describing modern polymeric and composite materials used as antifriction sliding layers in the viscoelasticity framework. A numerical procedure for finding the coefficients to describe the viscoelastic material behavior using the Prony model has been implemented. Numerical results and experimental data are compared. The model problem of spherical indenter penetration into polymer half-space is realized. The influence of the system discretization on the numerical solution is analyzed. The influence of the polymer behavior description in static and dynamic problem formulations is analyzed.

The results of experimental studies of the modern antifriction polymer materials and composites based on them are presented in the work. The 6 most promising materials for use as antifriction coatings and interlayers in friction units of critical structures were selected from a set of materials: bearings, expansion joints etc. The deformation theory of elastic-plasticity for the active loading case is chosen to describe the polymer behavior model based on the experiments results in a first approximation. Compression charts are defined for the selected materials. Numerical models of constrained and free compression experiments are constructed. The series of numerical experiments established that the contact pressure level of composite materials is 25-40% lower at a single level of deformation. UHMWPE and modified PTFE under uniaxial deformed conditions state have an almost elastic behavior with weakly nonlinear hardening and in test problems their deformation behavior has small differences.

The aim of the work is to provide a mathematical description of the lubricant’s behavior model used in sliding bearings of bridge structures. It was previously established that the Maxwell model does not correctly describe the lubricant’s behavior in a wide range of temperatures and deformation rates. The lubricant model should take into account not only viscosity but also plasticity. The Anand model, which was adapted by introducing temperature dependencies for a number of material parameters, was chosen to describe the lubricant behavior. The functionality of the previously created procedure for identifying material properties was also expanded on the modified Anand model. This made it possible to obtain a lubricant mathematical model with an error of less than 5% in the operating temperature range from −40 to +80 °C. The study included a description of the behavior model for two lubricants: CIATIM-221 and CIATIM-221F. CIATIM-221F differs from CIATIM-221 by including superfine particles of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to improve properties. The study confirmed that the modified Anand model allows describing the material behavior more accurately than the Maxwell model. It was found that the samples behave as a solid over the entire temperature range (from −40 to +80 °C). A comparative analysis of the thermal behavior of CIATIM-221 and CIATIM-221F was performed.

Polymers have gained a foothold in the international market and are actively utilized at a large scale in various industries. They are used as sliding layers in various types of friction units. However, there is a lack of research on their deformation behavior under different design conditions. This work is focused on studying the influence of the geometrical design of lubrication recesses in a polymer sliding layer operating under conditions of frictional contact interaction. The article investigated an element of bridge-bearing steel plate with recesses for lubrication. Two geometrical configurations of recesses are studied: the annular groove and spherical well in the engineering software package ANSYS Mechanical APDL. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is considered an elastic-plastic sliding layer. A comparative analysis of two models with different geometrical configurations of cutouts for lubrication, with/without taking into account its volume in the recess, has been conducted. The article establishes that in the absence of lubrication in the recesses, large deformations of the polymer sliding layer occur. This effect negatively affects the structure as a whole. Changing the geometry of the recess for lubrication has the greatest effect on the intensity of plastic deformations. Its maximum level is lowered by almost ~60% when spherical notches are used for lubrication instead of grooves. The friction coefficient of the polymer has a great influence on the contact tangential stress. At the experimental coefficient of friction, it is lowered on average by ~85%. The friction coefficient of the lubricant has almost no effect on the deformation of the cell (<1%).