complex bearings

Two-dimensional space-filling bearings are dense packings of disks that can rotate without slip. We consider the entire first family of bearings for loops of four disks and propose a hierarchical construction of their contact network. We provide analytic expressions for the clustering coefficient and degree distribution, revealing bipartite scale-free behavior with a tunable degree exponent depending on the bearing parameters. We also analyze their average shortest path and percolation properties.

Bearings have an initial fill of lubricant when we manufacture them, therefore it is not necessary to lubricate prior to their initial operation. Below is a list of our standard lubricants and their basic physical properties.