Control of cold start hydrocarbon emissions of motor bike engine by gasoline-ethanol blends and intake air heating

Two wheeled motor bikes are playing an important role in urban passenger transportation owing to ease of handling and affordable cost. Maximum amount of unburnt hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) are emitted during cold start of spark ignition engines. The current work presents the possible reduction of cold start HC emissions of 150 CC motorbike spark ignition (SI) engine with ethanolgasoline blends and/or with intake air heating by glow plug. Anhydrous ethanol was blended with unleaded gasoline in the range of 0% (E0) to 20% (E20) by volume to be used as fuel. The experimented parameters were intake air temperature, exhaust gas temperature, fuel consumption and exhaust gas emissions. Without intake air heating, E10 was found to be the optimum to reduce the cold start HC emissions by 23%. With intake air heating in the range of 40°C to 70°C, maximum HC emissions reduction was 23.8% for neat gasoline at 50°C and 33.6% for E10 blend at 60°C.     

A study of HC reduction with hydrocarbon adsorber systems

Hydrocarbon adsorber is considered as a promising technology to reduce cold start HCs in automotive exhaust gas. In this study, three in-line adsorber systems were tried to reduce the cold start emission. To check the basic characteristics of adsorber converters, surface areas, TPD and TPA were examined after a hydrothermal aging. Also idle engine bench was used to find the adsorption and desorption capabilities of the adsorber systems at cold start. Finally a practicability of the adsorber systems for the LEV achievement was checked with FTP test on a 2.0 D M/T vehicle. The results of this study indicate that hydrocarbon adsorber system is one of the promising passive technologies to meet the ULEV regulation.     

The adsorption of zinc dialkyldithiophosphates on partially stabilized zirconia from hydrocarbon solution

Kinetics, isotherms and enthalpy of adsorption of zinc di-n-alkyl(di-n-alkylphenyl, di-n-dialkylphenyl)dithiophosphates (ZDTPs) lubricating oil additives on zirconia partially stabilized by yttria (PSZ) powder from hydrocarbon solution at temperatures 25 °C and 35 °C were done. The adsorption enthalpy has been determined using a Montcal calorimeter. ZDTP adsorption isotherms are Langmuir-like. The adsorption quantities and differential molar enthalpies of ZDTPs adsorption on PSZ are low for n-alkyl derivatives, the adsorption decreases with the increasing length of the hydrocarbon chain of the additive ZDTP, the unexpectedly for di-n-propyl ZDTP the differential molar enthalpies of adsorption at 25 °C are very low, near zero and for di-n-dialkylphenyl ZDTP only at lower coverage ratios are endothermic, at higher surface coverage for this and remaining additives are exothermic. At 35 °C all n-alkyl ZDTPs adsorb on PSZ endothermically endothermic, while both aryl ZDTPs exhibit exothermic effects. All ZDTPs are reversibly physisorbed at 25 °C and at 35 °C except for both mono- and dialkylphenyl ZDTPs, which are weakly chemisorbed.     

Effect of Temperature on the Dry Sliding Friction and Wear of Rice Bran Ceramics against Different Counterpart Materials

In this study, we investigated the effect of temperature on the friction and wear of rice bran (RB) ceramics, a hard porous carbon material made from rice bran, sliding against alumina, stainless steel, and bearing steel balls under dry conditions. Friction tests were performed using a ball-on-disk-type friction tester wherein a ceramic heater was installed in the rotational stage. The surface temperature of the RB ceramic disk specimens was controlled at 20, 100, 150, or 200°C. The normal load was 1.96 N, sliding velocity was 0.1 m/s, and number of cycles was 20,000. The effect of surface temperature on the friction and wear of RB ceramics substantially differed among the ball material types. The friction coefficient for the RB ceramics sliding against an alumina ball decreased with increasing temperature and exhibited an extremely low value (0.045) at 200°C. The friction coefficient in the case of the RB ceramics sliding against a stainless steel ball exhibited a stable value as the temperature was increased to 150°C and slightly decreased as the temperature was increased further, reaching a low value of 0.122 at 200°C. The friction coefficient for the RB ceramics sliding against bearing steel ball drastically increased with increasing temperature, reaching 0.381 at 200°C. The specific wear rate of the RB ceramics increased with increasing temperature; it was lowest when sliding against alumina and highest when sliding against bearing steel. The wear of the alumina ball was the lowest and that of the bearing steel ball was the highest under all investigated temperature conditions. On the basis of these results, we concluded that alumina is a promising counterpart material for RB ceramics sliding at high temperatures (≤200°C).     

Friction and Wear Behaviour of Brake Pads Dry Sliding Against Semi-Interpenetrating Network Ceramics/Al-alloy Composites

Semi-interpenetrating network composites containing 40 vol.% ceramics (5Al₂O₃·8SiO₂) and 60 vol.% Al-alloy were fabricated in place of cast iron available for automotive brake rotors. The friction and wear performances of brake pads dry sliding against the composites were measured using a SRV testing machine. The test procedures include friction fade and recovery, load sensitivity at 100 and 250°C, and wear. The friction was found to increase first and then decrease with increasing temperature, followed by the inverse recovery upon cooling. Wear showed an incremental tendency over a wide temperature range. For loads from 40 to 160 N, the friction decreased at 100 and 250°C. At load below 128 N, the former friction was inferior to the latter while at load above 128 N the friction exhibited an inverse tendency. Wear mildly increased with load at 100 °C and decreased dramatically at 250 °C. SEM and EDS investigations revealed that the worn pad surfaces at 250 °C were covered by more tribofilms, including more coke and graphite with friction-reducing action as well as fewer compounds (corresponding to Si and Al) with friction-increasing action in comparison with those at 100 °C. The compression of the tribofilms contributed to a large decrease in the friction and wear with increasing load. However, at 100 °C E-glass fibers exposed at the worn surfaces inhibited the excessive wear of the pad despite lack of more tribofilms. Their glossy surfaces decreased the friction. The proposed friction models explain some friction and wear behaviour better.     

Influence of temperature and humidity on the detection of benzene vapor by a piezoelectric crystal sensor

Abstract

The influence of temperature and humidity on the determination of benzene concentration were characterized using a piezoelectric crystal gas sensor. Sensing layers coated with polymethylphenylsiloxane and polyvinylchloride was used for real-time monitoring of benzene, a major atmospheric pollutant. When the humidity was varied from 35% to 75%, the detection limitations of the sensor were reduced and the response and frequency recovery times increased. However, when the temperature was increased from 5?°C to 60?°C, the response and recovery time were decreased but the sensitivity performance was degraded. Models were developed for the correlation between the benzene concentration and temperature and humidity.     

A study on tensile and fatigue properties of aged NAS 254N stainless steel at elevated temperatures

The effects of aging on tensile properties and fatigue crack growth behaviors of NAS 254N stainless steel was studied. Yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the aged specimens were almost the same as the as-received (as-rec.). The fracture strain, however, was decreased significantly by the aging, and the fracture surface of the aged at room temperature (RT) test was intergranular. As test temperature increased, yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation decreased. And a type of serration was observed at 550-650°C As strain rate decreased, yield strength and ultimate tensile strength decreased, but elongation increased. It was observed that tensile strength and strain had a sudden change at one point. And this critical temperatureT _cr was 550°C. The effect of aging time on the tensile strength and strain was also investigated. Tensile strength and strain decreased significantly beyond 100hrs. Fatigue crack growth rate at RT was enhanced by the aging at high stress intensity factor range. This is due to the occurrence of the intergranular fracture in the aged specimen. At 650°C, the fatigue crack growth behavior was almost the same without intergranular fracture.     

Tribological Performance of Engine Oil Blended with Various Diesel Fuels

In this study, petrodiesel (D100) and different concentrations of commercial biodiesels (B100, B50, B5) were blended with a commercial engine oil at a fixed volume ratio of 1:9 to investigate the tribological effect of the biodiesels on the antiwear performance of the engine oil. The antiwear performance of the blended oils was evaluated using a Plint TE77 reciprocating ball-on-flat tribometer at room temperature and 150°C. Results show that the antiwear performance of the engine oil blended with petrodiesel is worse than that of the other blended oils with biodiesels at both temperatures. At room temperature, the physical adsorption and local hydrodynamic effects of the blended oils dominate the tribological behavior; at 150°C, the biodiesel seems to promote the growth of a reaction film with the antiwear additives in engine oil and enhance the growth rate of chemical films. However, an excess concentration of biodiesels causes tribochemical wear, thus reducing antiwear performance.     

Microstructural and Tribological Characterization of Stainless Steel–Reinforced Aluminum Matrix Bimetal Composites Produced at Various Mold Burnout Temperatures

This study aims to identify the optimal burnout temperature (BT) of a plaster mold that was used in bimetal composite production. To achieve this goal, the mold was gradually heated up to 600, 650, 700, and 750?°C prior to melt infiltration casting. Molten A356 aluminum alloy was cast into mold at 730?°C for each casting process. Fifty percent porous 304 stainless steel (SS) preforms, obtained by assembling recycled SS shavings, were placed in a mold and infiltrated by A356 alloy until solidification was completed. The produced bimetal composites were subjected to a ball-on-disc tribometer with loads of 5, 10, and 15 N for 100 m sliding distance using an Al₂O₃ ball as a counterpart. θ-Fe₄Al₁₃ and η-Fe₂Al₅ phases were formed at A356 Al–304 SS interfaces for all samples. Wear rates increased with increasing load and decreased with increasing BT, except at 750?°C. At this temperature, interfacial phases with excessively increased layer thickness, hardness, and brittleness were fragmentized during the test, and these cracked particles decreased wear resistance by participating in the wear process. The most suitable BT of the mold was found to be 700?°C, considering the microstructure and wear results of bimetal composites.     

High temperature friction and wear mechanism map for tool steel and boron steel tribopair

Abstract

Tribological systems working under severe conditions like high pressures, sliding velocities and temperatures are subjected to different phenomena such as wear, oxidation and changes in mechanical properties. In many cases, there are several mechanisms occurring simultaneously. The predominating type(s) of wear mechanism(s) presented will depend on the materials in contact, operating parameters and surrounding environment. In this work, high temperature tribological studies of boron steel sliding against tool steel were conducted using a pin-on-disc machine under unlubricated conditions at five different temperatures ranging from 25 to 400°C, three different loads: 25, 50 and 75 N (contact pressures of 2, 4 and 6 MPa respectively) and a sliding speed of 0·2 ms^?1. Scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray techniques were used for analysing the resulting damage and tribolayers of the worn surfaces. Additionally, hardness measurements were carried out in a special hot hardness rig in the same temperature range as that used in pin-on-disc tests. The results have shown that for a given load, the wear rate of boron steel decreased as the temperature increased, reaching its lowest value at 400°C at 50 N. In the case of the tool steel, it could be observed that at 200°C and above, the wear rate decreased as the load increased. This behaviour is consistent with the formation of a protective oxidised layer initiated at 100°C. At higher temperatures, such layers become more pronounced. The obtained data were finally used to construct a friction and wear mechanism map for this material pair that takes temperature and pressure into account.     

Effect of cooling flow on thermal performance of a gas foil bearing floating on a hot rotor

This paper presents the measurements of the thermal behavior of a gas foil bearing (GFB) floating on a hot rotor in a tangential air injection cooling scheme. The cooling air was tangentially injected against rotor spinning into the inlet mixing zone of the test GFB. The hollow rotor was heated by a cartridge heater. The GFB temperatures were measured at intervals of 30 deg along the circumference of the axial center except for at 45 deg, where the cooling flow is injected. The rotor temperatures were measured near the GFB side ends using an infrared thermometer, which was calibrated with a thermocouple. Load cells measure the static load and bearing torque. The baseline rotor temperature was measured without GFB over the axial length at rotor speeds up to 15 krpm and for increasing heater temperatures up to 400 °C. The results showed relatively uniform rotor temperatures at the test journal GFB section, and severe heat convections on the rotor surfaces. The GFB and rotor temperatures were measured under a static load of 80 N for increasing heater temperatures of 100 °C, 200 °C, 300 °C and 400 °C and with increasing cooling flow rates of 100 liter/min, 150 liter/min, and 200 liter/min. The circumferential GFB temperatures showed the maximum temperatures at the loaded zone and the minimum temperatures in the unloaded zone. The increasing cooling flow effectively reduced both the rotor and GFB temperatures, showing a dramatic decrease with the smallest amount of cooling flow. GFB friction torque was measured for two test cases for the static load of 80 N at a rotor speed of 10 krpm: 1) A lift-off and touch-down operating cycle for increasing heater temperatures without the cooling flow, and 2) a continuous operation for the heater temperature of 400 °C with increasing cooling flows. In test case 1, the GFB friction torque decreased for higher heater temperatures due to a larger thermal expansion of the bearing housing than the rotor’s. In test case 2, the GFB friction torque decreased with increasing cooling flows due to strong cooling effects on the rotor temperature. The results imply that the tangential air injection increased the GFB clearance by directly cooling the rotor and effectively alleviating the rotor expansion; hence, the scheme is capable of an effective cooling for high temperature GFB applications, such as micro gas turbines.     

Tribological and electrical properties of nanocrystalline Cu films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering with varying temperature

Cu films were deposited on Si substrates by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering at three different substrate temperatures such as room temperature (RT), 100 °C and 200 °C. Possible mechanisms for substrate temperature dependent microstructure evolution in Cu films are discussed in this paper. Enhanced mechanical properties such as high hardness, high elastic modulus, low friction coefficient and high wear resistance of the films were obtained at deposition temperature of 100 °C. However, high friction coefficient as well as high wear rate was measured in films deposited at room temperature and 200 °C.     

Effects of temperature and sliding distance on the wear behavior of austenitic Fe-Cr-C-Si hardfacing alloy

The effects of temperature and sliding distance on the metal-to-metal wear behavior of austenitic Fe-20Cr-1.7C-1Si hardfacing alloy were investigated in air in the temperature range from 25 to 450 °C. The applied contact stress was 55 MPa and the maximum sliding distance was 18 m. In the temperature range from 25 to 200 °C, the weight loss increased linearly with increasing sliding distance. The weight loss increased parabolically with increasing sliding distance up to 18 m at 300 °C, but at 450 °C, the weight loss drastically increased from the beginning of the wear test and became almost saturated above a sliding distance of 3.6 m. The initial friction coefficient was not changed with temperature up to 300 °C. However, at 450 °C, the initial friction coefficient increased abruptly. It was thought to be due to the increasing tendency of adhesive bonding to occur between the two self-mating specimens. At temperatures below 200 °C, the steady state friction coefficient did not change significantly. Above 300 °C, the steady state friction coefficient decreased due to the oxide layers that formed on the worn surfaces during wear.     

Particle erosion behaviour of boiler tube materials at elevated temperature

The particle erosion behaviour of typical boiler tube materials, including carbon steel, low alloy steels and austenitic steels, at elevated temperatures up to 650 °C was studied using irregularly shaped silica particles. Using 304 steel, the influence of various factors, namely particle concentration, velocity and impingement angle, was examined. The erosion behaviour did not seem to differ significantly from that obtained at room temperature. The erosion rate was a linear function of the particle concentration. The velocity exponents obtained at 300 and 650 °C were both approximately 2.8. The peak impingement angle was at acute angles of 20° – 30°, with a tendency for the peak angle to be slightly higher at 300 °C than at 650 °C. However, the temperature effect was clearly observed in that the erosion rate at acute impingement angles increased significantly with the temperature suggesting that the steel tends to show a behaviour more typical of ductile materials as the temperature is increased. The erosion morphologies at low angles indicated cutting for every temperature used and the lengths of the cutting tracks obtained at 20° also increased with temperature.The erosion rate varied significantly between materials, e.g. the alloy (Incoloy) 800 eroded the most and the 12Cr-1Mo-V steel eroded the least at every temperature used, although every material showed an increase in the erosion rate with temperature. From an attempt to compare the erosion rate data obtained at 20° for every material at every temperature with the tensile properties of the steels, it was found that the yield strength of materials correlates reasonably well with the erosion rate. The erosion rate was apparently proportional to the reciprocal of the yield strength, suggesting that the flow stress included in Finnie's cutting theory may be conveniently substituted by the yield strength multiplied by a constant.     

The Annealing Behavior of the Subsurface Zone Induced by Friction in Bismuth Detected by Positron Lifetime Technique

The annealing behavior of the subsurface zone (SZ) in pure bismuth induced by dry sliding was studied using the positron lifetime measurement. This measurement allows us to detect the SZ and its recovery, and recrystallization processes. The comparative measurements of the sample exposed to compression revealed the thermal stability of the SZ. The compressed sample rebuilt its structure due to the recovery and recrystallization processes at the temperature of 60 °C, whereas the sample exposed to dry sliding does it at higher temperature of 260 °C, which is close to the melting point. The isothermal annealing at the temperature of 100 °C confirmed these results. The defect depth profile induced by dry sliding evolves with the annealing temperature in such a way that the concentration of defects at the worn surface gradually decreases, but at the depth between 50 and 170 μm, the generation of new defects takes place at the temperature of 75, 100 and even at 175 °C. At the temperature of 175 °C, the defects still are extended up to the depth of about 60 μm from the worn surface. The results were qualitatively confirmed by the measurements of the Vickers microhardness depth profile. Similar annealing behavior of the SZ was observed in pure magnesium.     

Microstructural,Mechanical, and Tribological Properties of Rice Husk–Based Carbon: Effect of Carbonizing Temperature

In this study, we investigated the microstructural, mechanical, and tribological properties of rice husk (RH)-based carbon carbonized at various carbonizing temperatures under dry conditions. All samples exhibited amorphous carbon structures and the X-ray diffraction spectra of the samples carbonized at 1300 and 1400?°C indicated the presence of a polymorphic crystals of silica. The hardness increased with temperature due to the densification of the structure and the presence of the hard crystalline silica. At low normal loads, the mean friction coefficient of the material decreased as the carbonizing temperature was increased from 600 to 800?°C and slightly decreased as the carbonizing temperature was further increased from 800 to 1400?°C. At the highest load, all samples, except for that carbonized at 600?°C, exhibited extremely low friction coefficients (around 0.05). The wear rates of the all samples were smaller than 10^?5 mm³/N·m, indicating that RH carbon exhibits sufficient wear resistance. A Raman spectroscopic analysis of the worn surface of a steel ball revealed that the transfer layer at 600?°C had a less graphitic structure compared to the other carbonizing temperature. Based on these findings, we recommend an optimal carbonizing temperature for applications of sliding materials exposed to dry sliding contact.     

Physical and chemical changes of organic disc pads in service

Automotive organic disc pads undergo a series of physical and chemical changes at the frictional heat affected layer (FHAL) in service. To determine these changes as a function of energy absorption, a series of inertial dynamometer tests was run for a full size passenger car disc brake to different energy levels to produce a series of FHALs with progressively different compositions. The FHALs produced as wear surfaces between 238°C and 438°C were subsequently characterized by a combination of optical microscopy, X-ray fluorescence and diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. As the temperature increased there was a decreased organic content, an increased inorganic content, a decreased asbestos content, an increased olivine content and the formation of carbonaceous residues. These formations were produced under conditions where the FHALs were undergoing increasing exponential wear as the temperature increased.     

The mechanisms of formation of ohmic contacts to AlGaAs: A microstructural,elemental diffusion and electrical investigation

Interfacial microstructure and phase composition of PtTiGePd ohmic contacts to heavily C-doped AlGaAs were investigated as a function of annealing temperatures. Results of the material analyses were used to explain the specific contact resistances measured for each thermal treatment. Evidence of interdiffusion and compound formation between AlGaAs and Pd was visible in a Ga-rich Pd-Ga-As reaction zone prior to heat treatment. As the annealing temperature was raised from 530 to 600°C, As began to out-diffuse. At 600°C, this As out-diffusion, which is critical to the formation of good p-type ohmic contacts, contributed to the creation and development of the laterally continous two-phase interfacial region, TiAs/Pd₁₂Ga₂Ge₅, overlying the AlGaAs substrate. The minimum specific contact resistance was also achieved at this temperature. As the annealing temperature was elevated to 650°C, the specific contact resistance degraded in response to intensive chemical diffusion and development of a broad, nonuniform multiphased interfacial region.     

Acoustic-Emission Testing of Failure in Samples of CFRP Exposed to Static and Heat Loads

The results of testing samples made of T700 carbon fiber reinforced plastic with a stress concentrator in the form of a hole 14 mm in diameter are considered. Some of the samples were heated to a temperature of +100°C, followed by exposure to a static tensile load, with the remaining samples statically loaded at a temperature of +20°C. In the process of loading, information was recorded using the method of acoustic emission. At first, the samples were loaded statically up to 50 kN, which was 50% of the average breaking load. Then the load was increased in increments ΔP = 10 kN until sample failure. It was observed that the simultaneous exposure of samples to static and heat loads decreased the load capacity of the samples.

     

The use of microcrystalline cellulose to extract metals from lubricating oils

The effectiveness of macrocrystalline cellulose as an adsorber of trace amounts of metals from oils was investigated. Prepared samples and samples from engines were used. Samples were prepared by admixture of known amounts of metal-cyclohexyl butyrates of copper, lead, iron and aluminium. Microcrystalline cellulose moistened with aqueous HCl (0.2 ml g^?1) was added to a sample diluted with toluene. The mixture was heated to 60 °C and the adsorbed metal was removed by filtration and ashed. The metals present in the ash were separated and their concentration was determined by standard Chromatographic methods. The minimum time for sorbent and sample to remain in contact to ensure the complete extraction of contaminant metals was determined.