The tribological and vibration behaviors of a lubricated system are often studied separately. However, in recent years, the combination of tribology and mechanical vibration significantly contributes in analyzing and solving many practical problems. The main objective of this study is to establish empirical equations that describe friction–-vibration interactions under dynamic (sliding) lubricated contacts. The effects of operating conditions on the tribological and vibration behaviors of lubricating oils having different viscosities were experimentally investigated using a four-ball wear test machine. The results indicated that the vibration velocity tends to increase with the sliding velocity. With a lower combination of ratio of the vibration velocity to the sliding velocity and the specific film thickness, lower friction coefficients were observed in the boundary and mixed lubrication regimes. The mean wear scar diameters exhibited positive correlations with the amplitudes of vibration accelerations. The empirical equations provide basic information for the prediction of friction variation by measuring vibration signals.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of friction on static and dynamic characteristics, as well as the strength and lifetime of a flexible three-axes computer numerical control (CNC) machine tool. Design/methodology/approach: The machine tool is first modeled by using finite element method to analyze static structure with frictionless surface-to-surface contact type. Because the machine tool structure is becoming more and more sophisticated over time, the significant influence of contact conditions between structural elements on the dynamic characteristics of the whole structure must be considered. To examine the dynamic effects caused by inertia forces and displacement of moving bodies on contact stress, the coefficient of friction between two contact bodies is added to perform dynamic simulation and compare the results with the static analysis results. Findings: Distribution of stress and contact forces in solid-flexible contact is also studied by using the fundamental dynamic characteristics of a bushing joint. Originality/value: Finally, the influence of dynamic structure, cutting conditions and material properties on the strength and lifetime of the CNC machine tool is discussed by using fatigue analysis. Consequently, this research can be used for efficient simulation of structural dynamics, lifetime assessment and interactions of the real CNC machine with the machine tool structure in a virtual environment.