Study on Influence of Cylinder Liner Surface Texture on Lubrication Performance for Cylinder Liner–Piston Ring Components

A marine diesel engine, where the cylinder liner–piston ring (CLPR) pair is one of the most important rubbing pairs, is the heart of a marine system. Studying the lubrication characteristics of the CLPR will provide a guide for rational design of the CLPR to reduce wear and prolong its service life. The surface texture features have a significant impact on the lubricating performance of the CLPR. In this study, the tribological system of the CLPR was investigated. Different surface textures (such as different sizes of surface concaves and grooves, etc.) were designed and produced on the cylinder liners using surface treatment. A series of experimental tests were then carried out in a specially designed diesel engine tester to investigate the tribological characteristics of the treated CLPR pairs. The comparison analyses of the worn surface texture features, element content of the lubrication oil, and abrasive particle characteristics were conducted under different wear surface texture features and cylinder liner speeds. The analysis results showed that there were significant differences in the tribological and lubrication properties of the rubbing pairs in different wear surface texture features. The wear performance of the CLPR pair with a regular concave texture was superior to that of the concave and groove, and regular groove textures. In addition, the regular concave with a depth-diameter ratio of 0.1 was the most effective surface texture to improve the lubrication and wear properties of the CLPR pairs. It is believed that the knowledge obtained in this study provides the real practical basis for tribological design and manufacturing of CLPR pair in marine diesel engines.     

Effect of Bio-Lubricant and Biodiesel-Contaminated Lubricant on Tribological Behavior of Cylinder Liner–Piston Ring Combination

This article addresses the issue of friction and wear characteristics of diesel engine cylinder liner–piston ring combinations under different lubricating conditions using a pin-on-disc wear tribometer. The discs were made out of actual engine cylinder liner material using a casting process. Pins were made out of top compression ring material. The tests were conducted on a pin-on-disc tribometer for wear and friction characteristics of the cylinder liner and piston ring combination with diesel-contaminated rapeseed oil–based bio-lubricant, diesel-contaminated commercial synthetic lubrication oil (SAE 20W40), biodiesel-contaminated commercial synthetic lubrication oil (SAE 20W40), and used (150 h) commercial synthetic lubrication oil (SAE 20W40). Experimental results demonstrated that the rapeseed oil–based bio-lubricant and biodiesel-contaminated synthetic lubricant exhibited better performance in terms of wear, friction, and frictional force under similar operating conditions. Thus, usage of newly formulated bio-lubricant and biodiesel in the long run may have a positive impact on engine life.     

Investigation on Dimples Distribution Angle in Laser Texturing of Cylinder–Piston Ring System

The effectiveness of laser surface texturing in reducing wear rate was studied, with emphasis on dimple distribution angle. Experiments were performed by varying the texturing parameters to derive variational rulesof the wear scar depth on laser-textured cylinder walls under starved lubrication conditions, and the optimum laser texturing dimple distribution angle was obtained. It was found that the laser texturing could result in less wear rate compared to mechanical honing.     

Optimization of Pocket Geometry for Friction Reduction in Piston–Liner Contacts

It has recently been shown that rectangular surface pockets are effective in reducing friction in a piston–liner type contact, providing that they are oriented with their long axis transverse to the sliding direction so that entrained features fit completely within the contact area (Vl?descu, et al., Tribology International, 82, 28–42, 2015; Vl?descu, et al., Tribology International, 115, 140–153, 2017). The aim of the current study was to identify the optimal geometric parameters of theses rectangular features. To do this, a friction rig that simulated a piston–liner contact under highly controlled conditions was used to test a series of textured specimens with pockets of different depth, breadth and density. Each of these geometric parameters was varied and tested independently, while keeping the other two constant. Experimental conditions were set in order to place the contact in different lubrication regimes.

Results were analyzed to determine a set of criteria for the optimum pocket geometry; however, this was shown to change depending on the test conditions and should therefore be adjusted depending on the position along the stroke. Specifically, at low speed when the contact is operating under boundary lubrication, pockets should be deep, wide, and densely spaced. This confirms recent findings, which suggested that, in this regime, pocket volume is often a more critical parameter than depth, width, or spacing individually. Conversely, under mixed lubrication toward the transition to the full film regime, pockets should be narrow and sparsely spaced. These results also explain the difficulties encountered in several previous studies that attempted to define a single optimum pocket geometry.

Finally, the impact of pocket position relative to reversal was assessed for various lubrication conditions. This revealed how pockets should be placed close to, but not directly at, top and bottom dead center to provide a beneficial squeeze film, which is present at reversal.     

Influence of Cavitation on the Working Surfaces of the Cylinder–Piston Group in a Diesel Engine during Maintenance

Russian Engineering Research - When a diesel engine runs on water–fuel emulsion, carbon deposits break down on account of microimpact by the fuel droplets in the emulsion. The evaporation of...     

The Effects of Roughness on Piston Ring Lubrication—Part II: The Relationship between Cylinder Wall Surface Topography and Oil Film Thickness

In this investigation, a theoretical piston ring/cylinder wall model has been utilized to study the dependence of the oil film thickness on surface roughness shape and amplitude, as well as on engine operating conditions. For a given roughness, a plateau honed cylinder wall surface was found to produce a thinner oil film. It has also been shown that the small crosshatch angle used when honing the cylinder wall produces surfaces that enhance hydrodynamic action.     

Modeling of Abrasive Wear in a Piston Ring and Engine Cylinder Bore System©

Engine-related improvements such as more efficient engine components, improved engine oils, and high-performance coating materials, need to be verified in terms of their effects on the tribological performance of the piston ring/cylinder bore system. The main purpose of this research is to develop an abrasive wear model for the piston ring/cylinder bore system during steady-state operation by considering the effects of temperature, load, oil degradation, surface roughness, and material properties. The model can be used either in theoretical modeling or integrated with finite element analysis. Based on a laboratory simulator, a three-body abrasive wear model has been developed to model the wear progression of the piston ring/cylinder bore system during steady state operation. The proposed novel abrasive wear model addresses the effects of temperature, load, oil degradation, surface roughness, and material properties. The feasibility of the proposed model is illustrated by a numerical example.     

Tribological Performance of Microwave-Heat-Treated Copper–Graphite Composites

Copper–graphite composite is a tribological composite that can be used in sliding electrical contact applications requiring low friction and wear in addition to high electrical conductivity. The graphite powder (5 wt%) was mixed with the copper powder, and then composite was fabricated through powder metallurgy (P/M) route. P/M product generally requires secondary operations such as rolling, extrusion, etc. to improve their mechanical properties. Post-heat-treatment technique is also applicable to improve the properties of P/M components. Microwave-post-heat-treatment research studies are gaining momentum nowadays due to the improved quality of products with reduced time, energy, and associated cost. Microwave post-heat treatment of copper–graphite composites for different heat treating duration was carried out in a hybrid microwave heating setup. Microstructural studies were carried out using SEM with EDAX. Microwave-heat-treated samples exhibited reduced porosity, improved density, and hardness. In order to understand the friction and wear properties of microwave-heat-treated copper–graphite composites, pin-on-disk wear experiments were conducted. For comparison, untreated copper–graphite composites were also subjected to similar studies. Microwave-heat-treated samples exhibited reduced coefficient of friction and specific wear rate when compared to the untreated ones. The wear mechanism of untreated composites was observed to be plastic deformation characterized by large wear fragments, whereas the mechanism of heat-treated composite was delamination observed through peel off tribolayer.     

Tribological Performance of Ti–Si-Based in Situ Composites

In this study, a series of Ti–Si-based in situ composites was manufactured by means of a common argon arc melting technique and tribologically evaluated using a sliding ball-on-disc tester under simulated body fluid lubrication. The composite microstructure, mechanical properties, and surface roughness were characterized using light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), vertical scanning interferometry (VSI), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and hardness measurements. The evolution of coefficients of friction (COFs) and the appearance of contacting surfaces showed that two the principal wear mechanisms were mixed elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL), typically followed by abrasive wear. The mixed EHL was due to the combined effect of serum solution lubrication and surface irregularities, which were produced during the routine surface preparation of samples. The mixed EHL provided the absence of wear and low and stable COFs, which did not depend on the phase composition, microstructure, or hardness of Ti–Si-based alloys. However, in most cases, the change in contact geometry led to the transition from mixed EHL to conventional boundary lubrication, accompanied by increased and unstable friction, adhesive material transfer of metal to the ceramic counterbodies, and abrasive wear. In this respect, the low wear resistance and high adhesion affinity of the titanium matrix of Ti–Si-based alloys should be improved.     

Effect of Sliding Speed on Surface Modification and Tribological Behavior of Copper–Graphite Composite

In practice, the sliding speed is an important parameter for materials applied in sliding condition. We have conducted an experimental study to explore the effect of sliding speed on friction and wear performance of a copper–graphite composite. The sliding tests were carried out over a wide range of speeds with a pin-on-disc configuration. The results show that there is a critical speed at which there is a transition of the friction and wear regimes of the composite. In addition, the formation of a lubricant layer on the contact surface (surface modification) determines the actual tribological performance of the composite. The wear mechanisms in different wear regimes are also discussed.     

Tribological Performance of Silver Nanoparticle–Enhanced Polyethylene Glycol Lubricants

This article introduces a new type of nanoparticle additive for tribological purposes. A nanolubricant was synthesized and studied that consists of metallic silver nanoparticles suspended in polyethylene glycol (PEG). Silver nanoparticles were prepared directly in liquid PEG by introducing aqueous silver nitrate and subsequent reduction by PEG. The nanolubricant exhibits excellent stability due to poly(vinyl pyrollidone) used as the coating agent. Thorough tribological analysis was performed on the nanolubricant, including rheology, friction, wear, and Stribeck curve analysis. Results show that the nanoparticle additives are capable of reducing both friction and wear at low concentrations. Stribeck curve analysis also revealed that the particles are effective in reducing friction in both the boundary and mixed lubrication regimes. The possible friction and wear reduction mechanism of silver nanoparticles is also discussed in the current work.     

Influence of the Mechanical Seals on the Dynamic Performance of Rotor–Bearing Systems

In this paper, to consider the effects of mechanical seals, a lumped-mass model and the transfer matrix method are used to establish the equations for the dynamics performance of rotor bearing system. The general inverted iteration method is also used to solve the eigenvalue problem of these equations. To check the response of the rotor bearing system under unbalance motivation, the Gauss method is used to calculate the dynamic response of the constrained vibration. The results, based on the dynamic properties calculation of a typical mechanical spiral seal, such as stiffness coefficients and damping coefficients, exert the influence of the mechanical seal on the rotor bearing system of the high-speed machinery. Meanwhile, some structure parameters that may affect the dynamic performance and forced vibration under unbalance motivation of the rotor bearing system considering mechanical seals are analyzed in the paper. The analysis results show that the mechanical seal more or less has effects on the rotor bearing system. The mechanical seal has much more effects on the flexible rotor bearing system than on the rigid one. For instance, in a certain case, if the effects of the mechanical seal were taken into account, the system s critical speed may increase by 70 80%.     

Investigation of the Structure of Surface and Tribological Properties of Composition Coatings Based on Thermosetting Epoxy–Polyester Resins

Composition coatings based on the epoxy–polyester matrix and polydisperse particles of structured carbon have been investigated. The formulation of the mixed compositions has been optimized. The effect of filler particles on structure formation of the surface and tribotechnical characteristics of composition coatings has been shown.     

Impacts of Glyceride Additive on Tribological Properties of Water-Based Drilling Mud for Steel–Steel Contact

In this study, impacts of four types of monoglycerides and four types of triglycerides, which serve as additives, on properties of water-based drilling mud were explored using a ball-on-disk tribometer. It was found that the addition of glycerides increased the viscosity of drilling mud slightly. The results of tribological experiments indicate that carbon chain length, level of unsaturation, and polar groups of additives are three key factors which determine friction reduction and anti-wear behaviors of the drilling mud. The formation of a denser and thicker protective film on steel surface due to presence of glycerides additives is attributed to observed better friction reduction behaviors.     

Tribological Performance of Halogen-Free Ionic Liquids in Steel–Steel and DLC–DLC Contacts

The tribological performance of halogen-free ionic liquids at steel–steel and diamond-like carbon (DLC)–DLC contacts was investigated. Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) and tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) were used as test specimens. Friction tests were carried out on steel–steel, a-C:H–a-C:H, and ta-C–ta-C contacts by using a reciprocating cylinder-on-disk tribotester lubricated with two different types of halogen-free ionic liquids: 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([BMIM][DCN]) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tricyanomethanide ([BMIM][TCC]). From the results of friction tests, the ta-C–ta-C tribopair lubricated with [BMIM][DCN] or [BMIM][TCC] exhibited an ultralow friction coefficient of 0.018–0.03. On the other hand, ultralow friction was not observed at the steel–steel and a-C:H–a-C:H contacts. Measurements obtained with a laser scanning microscope and an atomic force microscope (AFM) showed that a chemical reaction film, derived from the ionic liquid lubricant used, was formed on the steel surfaces. However, this chemical reaction film was not observed on either of the DLC surfaces. The AFM results showed that there were high-viscosity products on the ta-C surfaces, that the wear tracks on the ta-C surfaces exhibited low frictional properties, and that the ta-C surfaces were extremely smooth after the friction tests. Based on these results, it was concluded that an ionic liquid–derived adsorbed film formed on the ta-C surface and resulted in the ultralow friction when lubricated with a halogen-free ionic liquid.     

Tribological Performance of PTFE–Metal Binary Coatings in Rolling/Sliding Contact

Tribological performance of surface coatings with embedded PTFE reservoirs in rolling/sliding contact is reported. Using two different coating materials and two shapes and patterns of PTFE reservoirs test samples in the form of discs were prepared and tested in a four-ball contact configuration under loads corresponding to nominal contact pressure of 0.5 and 1.0 GPa. It was found that one coating, namely aluminium–bronze with embedded PTFE reservoirs is suitable for applications where rolling is also associated with a degree of sliding and there is no external lubrication.     

A Universal Model for Both Flooded and Starved Lubrication Regimes and Its Application in Ring–Liner System

This article presents a new flow continuity model by modifying the traditional Elrod-Adams model. Both fully flooded lubrication and starved lubrication can be predicted using the universal model. In particular, for the starved lubrication problem, the inlet and outlet boundaries of oil film can be automatically determined. The discontinuity of the convection flow (or lubricant transport velocity) at the interface between the full lubricant film region and the partial lubricant film region is overcome by introducing a transition region. In addition, the two-dimensional version of the presented model is deduced. Furthermore, using the presented model, the results are presented to gain insight on the influence of starvation on the friction for the textured ring–liner system.     

The Influence of Surface Modification on Friction and Lubrication Mechanism Under a Bovine Serum–Lubricated Condition

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) and microdimples are two potential surface modification techniques that are extensively studied to be utilized in biotribological interfaces in order to reduce the friction coefficient and wear rate. However, in situ observation of bovine serum–lubricated DLC and microdimpled surface contacts are not well understood. In this study, a DLC-coated and a microdimpled steel ball rubbing against a Cr-coated glass disk, where 25% bovine serum was used as a lubricant and the temperature was maintained at 37°C, were investigated. The behaviors of ithe nterface were ca`ptured using optical interferometry and the friction coefficients were simultaneously measured using a torque sensor. The experimental results reveal that DLC/glass sliding is scuffing-free, with a lower friction coefficient; however, the formation of a lubricating film is insignificant. On the other hand, the dimples retained lubrication and, as a result, the wear of the glass disk was minimized; however, the friction coefficient was not reduced. Therefore, DLC and microdimples individually have few improved tribological features, but their combination should be considered to maximize performance.     

Influence of Finite Lower-level Lifetime on the Performance in CW Four-level Laser

在考虑了有限的下能级寿命和激光能级与晶格场的相互作用的基础上，对四能级激光的速率方程组进行了求解。结果表明由于这个有限寿命的存在，激光阈值升高，输出与输入之间出现了非线性。与下能级瞬时跃迁的理想情况不同，泵浦功率增大时，四能级激光器的输出趋向于一个极限值，并且，下能级寿命越长，激光器所能获得的最大输出越小。     

Effect of Operating Conditions on Tribological Response of Al–Al Sliding Electrical Interface

Aluminum is widely used in electrical contacts due to its electrical properties and inexpensiveness when compared to copper. In this study, we investigate the influence of operating conditions like contact load (pressure), sliding speed, current, and surface roughness on the electrical and tribological behavior of the interface. The tests are conducted on a linear, pin-on-flat tribo-simulator specially designed to investigate electrical contacts under high contact pressures and high current densities. Control parameters include sliding speed, load, current, and surface roughness. The response of the interface is evaluated in the light of coefficient of friction, contact resistance, contact voltage, mass loss of pins, and interfacial temperature rise. As compared to sliding speed, load, and roughness, current is found to have the greatest influence on the various measured parameters. Under certain test conditions, the interface operates in a “voltage saturation” regime, wherein increase in current do not result in any increase in contact voltage. Within the voltage saturation regime the coefficient of friction tends to be lower, a result that is attributed to the higher temperatures associated with the higher voltage (and resulting material softening). Higher interfacial temperatures also appear to be responsible for the higher wear rates observed at higher current levels as well as lower coefficients of friction for smoother surfaces in the presence of current.