Self-lubricating spherical plain bearing is a kind of spherical plain bearing that relies on solid lubricating material between inner and outer rings to realize lubrication. Because of its advantages of small volume, light weight, maintenance-free and high reliability, self-lubricating spherical plain bearing has gradually replaced traditional oil and grease lubricated bearings in some special working conditions. In actual service, wear failure is the main cause of failure of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing. Exploring the evolution law of wear life of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing is an important measure to ensure the safety of equipment in service. Therefore, the work aims to introduce the development status of research methods on wear life of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing. The research methods of wear life of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing were summarized into two categories: numerical calculation based on computer and direct test based on testing machine. Firstly, three kinds of numerical calculation methods for life prediction of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing, including finite element analysis method, molecular dynamics method and artificial neural network method, were summarized. Finite element analysis method was used to study the wear life problems of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing, which was one of the most commonly used computer numerical calculation methods. The finite element software could not only analyze the effect of bearing molding process of wear life, but also investigate the load distribution of friction contact surface, the temperature distribution and displacement variation of numerical calculation when combined with the corresponding theory of wear and tear. Then, the wear life of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing was obtained. Molecular dynamics method was an indirect method to evaluate the performance of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing, which was mainly applied to the simulation calculation of the friction and wear performance of the self-lubricating material used in the self-lubricating spherical plain bearing. In a set of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing system, the self-lubricating material was the main factor affecting its wear performance. Therefore, the performance of self-lubricating materials could indirectly reflect the life of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing. Because the relationship between the wear life of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing and various factors was complex nonlinear relationship, artificial neural network method could fully approximate the complex nonlinear relationship. Therefore, artificial neural network method was a relatively accurate method to predict the wear life of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing. In the second aspect, the main research content of the test method was summarized. In general, the research and development of the wear life testing machine of the spherical plain bearing was the premise of the test. The wear life distribution of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing was the main content of experimental research. Accelerated life test was the most commonly used method for self-lubricating spherical plain bearing test. Firstly, the development status of joint bearing testing machine in China and abroad was studied. By comparison, the research progress of independent development of spherical plain bearing testing machine in China was confirmed, the deficiencies in the design and manufacture of spherical plain bearing testing machine in China were clarified, and the future development direction was indicated. The experimental design of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing was mainly based on the main factors affecting the wear life of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing, including bearing material, self-lubricating system, load on the bearing, swing frequency, service temperature and other environmental media. The purpose of the test was to explore the effect of these factors on the wear life of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing and the mechanism of wear failure of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing, so as to develop high-end self-lubricating spherical plain bearing with longer life, better performance and higher reliability. Finally, the application of accelerated test means in the spherical plain bearing test was introduced. Because the bearing test generally had a long period, accelerated test could effectively shorten the test period and improve the work efficiency. With the wide application of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing in such fields as aerospace, there was still a certain gap in the field of high-end self-lubricating spherical plain bearing in China compared with foreign countries. Finally, the development direction of self-lubricating spherical plain bearing in China in the future was prospected. © 2023 Chongqing Wujiu Periodicals Press. All rights reserved.
