Differential heterodyne interferometer for measuring thickness of glass panels

Differential heterodyne interferometer is applied for measuring spatial thickness variations across glass panels of liquid-crystal displays. This system uses the Zeeman laser as a source of two-frequency shifted orthogonally linearly polarized probe waves, passing through the glass in two spatially separated points. These waves are then recombined in a single beam to produce the intermediate frequency signal with the phase proportional to the thickness gradient of a glass sample. The phase of the intermediate signal is measured against the laser reference by means of a lock-in amplifier, and finally real-time integration provides the thickness variation. Since spatial separation of the probe beams is only 1.35 mm good approximation for the thickness gradient is achieved. Detailed design of the interferometer and experimental results on real samples are presented.     

Effects of Ethanol Contamination on Friction and Elastohydrodynamic Film Thickness of Engine Oils

The use of ethanol as engine fuel has increased for environmental reasons, both in flex-fuel engines and as increasing amounts of ethanol blended with gasoline in conventional engines. This article describes an investigation into the effects of ethanol contamination of lubricants during engine use with ethanol fuel. To facilitate this, a new technique was developed to measure small amounts of ethanol in lubricants. Elastohydrodynamic film thickness measurements and Stribeck curves were obtained for Group I base and formulated oils containing small added amounts of ethanol. The effect of the water present in hydrated ethanol was evaluated by carrying out tests using both hydrated and anhydrous ethanol. Measurements were also carried out using a Group II base oil with added ethanol. These measurements showed that in the low entrainment speed region, where the elastohydrodynamic film is very thin so that boundary lubrication prevails, the addition of ethanol produced a boundary film, which was not present for the base oils. By contrast, the addition of ethanol to formulated oil reduced film thickness in all lubrication regimes. The friction tests showed friction reduction due to addition of ethanol to the base oil, in particular at low speeds. For the formulated oil, ethanol reduced friction at high speeds, which was associated with a reduction in the viscosity of the lubricant, but at low speeds, ethanol reduced the formation of a boundary layer, increasing friction. The presence of water in hydrated ethanol did not significantly change the film thickness and friction when compared with anhydrous ethanol.     

探头中心频率与摩擦副材质对超声膜厚测量范围的影响*

目前超声膜厚测量研究均是在固定探头中心频率(或单一摩擦副材质)下进行的,未考虑探头中心频率与摩擦副材质的变化对膜厚可测量范围的影响。为定量分析2种因素对膜厚测量范围的影响,设计一种压电陶瓷驱动的高精度微调式实验装置,基于弹簧模型利用不同中心频率探头对不同摩擦副材质间的水膜厚度进行测量。实验结果表明:膜厚的可测量值随探头中心频率的增大而减小,随摩擦副阻抗值的增大而减小;与理论值相比,利用超声探头测量水膜厚度的相对误差均低于10%,验证了实验装置及方法的可行性。提出一种根据摩擦副材质和期望测量膜厚范围来确定探头有效带宽的方法并进行试验验证,可为工程实际中不同膜厚测量时超声波探头的选型提供参考。     

不同润滑状态下游离水对点接触油润滑润滑性能的影响*

为研究水污染对润滑油性能的影响,通过点接触光干涉试验得到充分供油、轻微乏油及严重乏油3种润滑状态下的油膜光干涉图和膜厚形状曲线,研究游离水对接触区油润滑润滑性能的影响。结果表明:在充分供油条件下,游离水对点接触润滑油膜厚度的影响不大,主要影响中心膜厚;在乏油润滑状态下,游离水对点接触润滑油膜厚度有增益效果;但3种润滑状态下,游离水都会使气穴区边界变得模糊不清,提高了油润滑的弹流润滑性能。     

润滑油水侵对动压可倾瓦推力轴承润滑性能的影响*

针对核主泵、船用轴系等特定工况下推力轴承润滑油的进水问题,以46润滑油和68润滑油为例研究润滑油水侵对推力轴承润滑性能的影响。通过黏度测试获得润滑油中水分质量分数为0、0.5%、1.0%时的运动黏度,采用黏温曲线对润滑油含水前后的动力黏度进行表征。将润滑油的黏温关系代入推力轴承的润滑计算当中,获得不同含水量下轴承的最小油膜厚度、温升、流量及功耗等静态特性参数,并分析含水量对推力轴承起飞转速的影响。研究结果表明：润滑油含水后对最小油膜厚度和功耗影响较大,对温升和流量影响较小;随着润滑油含水量的增加最小油膜厚度和功耗均降低,而温升增大,流量减小;使用2种润滑油在不含水和水分质量分数为0.5%时的起飞转速都在50 r/min以下,水分质量分数为1.0%时起飞转速都在50 r/min以上,表明随着含水量的增加起飞转速增大。     

Increased Film Thickness of Oil-in-Water (O/W) Emulsions at High Speed

The thickness of films formed by oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions under confined conditions can be tens of nanometers, which is much thicker than that formed by pure water. Film thickness can increase even more with limited lubricant supply, especially for O/W emulsions with a low oil percentage. The central film thickness of a 1% oil emulsion can increase to up to 2.4 times its initial value. In this paper, the film-forming behavior and mechanism driven by the competitive wetting behavior of oil and water are investigated and discussed.     

Observation of lubrication conditions using an ultrasonic technique

Evaluation of lubrication conditions for a real frictional surface, such as a steel bearing, becomes an important issue for safe operation of a machine. In this paper, an application of ultrasonic technique is attempted for a purpose of evaluating the lubrication conditions. Ultrasonic waves emitted towards a hydrodynamic lubrication interface are reflected multiple times in oil film, and an echo height of reflected waves from the boundary is dependent on film thickness. The results of this study indicated that the ultrasonic technique is able to measure film thickness of approximately 50 nm in the case of a standstill surface having extremely small surface roughness. Furthermore, a potential for estimating the oil film thickness between a piston ring and cylinder is also indicated. In addition, in the case of a ball bearing, quantitative measurement of a size of dent, which forms the origin of flaking, is important for an evaluation of lubrication conditions. This becomes possible with an observation of a change in the echo height reflected from a boundary surface between a housing and an outer ring of the ball bearing. In this study, quantitative measurement of an indentation having 0.32 mm width on a raceway surface of an inner ring was achieved. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Possibility of slip in hydrodynamic oil films under sliding contact conditions

In hydrodynamic lubrication theory, the oil film thickness build‐up increases with increasing sliding speed or oil viscosity, and the viscous resistance or shear stress also increases, both without limit. The entraining force forming the oil film is given by the moving surfaces, or by the adhesive force of the oil molecules on the rubbing surfaces and the interaction force between them. Therefore, the maximum friction force and maximum oil film thickness will be limited by the operating conditions, such as oil properties, rubbing materials, sliding speed, and load. In this study, friction tests were conducted using a plate‐on‐cylinder sliding contact apparatus. It was found that a critical shear stress existed, above which the friction force and oil thickness decreased from theoretical values. Slip in an oil film seems to occur when the theoretical shear stress exceeds the critical value of the oil, according to test conditions. The occurrence of slip in an oil film is responsible for the reduction in the oil film and friction force from theoretical values, leading to the lower‐viscosity components of the oil selectively passing through the conjunction zone.     

带式啮合介质齿轮传动

研究提出一种以柔性带作为啮合介质的齿轮传动.给出带式啮合介质齿轮及其基准齿条的合理齿廓和齿厚计算方法;在电功率流封闭式齿轮试验台上进行该传动与渐开线齿轮传动的性能对比试验以及水、油润滑性能对比试验:根据试验结果优选介质带进行传动性能和疲劳寿命试验.结果证明,介质带能改善齿轮的流体润滑、降噪、减振,使齿面不易损坏,降低制造工艺要求,并可能实现水润滑.     

转阀控制式脉冲波生成方法

脉冲波浪的模拟产生及其对海洋工程结构冲击的研究已成为研究的热点。为更真实地模拟高能量的冲击波浪,提出一种转阀控制式脉冲波生成方法,利用Matlab/Simulink工具进行新方法数学模型的数值分析,研制出转阀控制式推板造波试验装置,并进行试验验证。研究结果表明：转阀控制式推板造波系统能够实现波幅在确定推板频率下进一步提高,且易于叠加生成脉冲波浪;试验水槽中的水深对生成波浪的波幅有一定的影响,水深越深,生成脉冲波波幅也越高;脉冲波波幅的大小取决于系统中的阀口轴向开度和供油压力的控制,且阀口轴向开度和供油压力设定越大,脉冲波波幅越高。新的造波方法对指导大功率电液控制式造波装置实现更大能量脉冲波浪具有重要的工程价值。     

Deposit-Forming Tendencies of High-Temperature Lubricants

A laboratory unit is described with a method for determining the deposit-forming tendencies and oxidation stabilities of lubricants in thin films. The test oil is passed over a spinning aluminum disk heated to temperatures of 500–650 F, which provides a dynamic oil film of about 0.0003 inch thickness. Oxidation stability is determined by measurement of the oxygen consumed. The deposits on the disk are estimated visually. The test can be used for comparative evaluation of base fluids and inhibited fluids.

Test results on a series of high-temperature lubricants approximate deposition data obtained in jet engine tests and in CRC high-temperature bearing tests.     

Some Environmental Factors Affecting Surface Coating Formation with Lubricating Oil Additives

Dynamic friction and static immersion tests in which oil temperature was varied and dynamic friction tests in which load was varied have been run on steel balls with oil blends containing seven commercial additives. Analyses of the ball surfaces by X-ray fluorescence have shown that significant surface coating formation is initiated at calculated surface temperatures of from 250 to 350 F for most of the additives studied. Although the surface coating “thickness” generally increased with temperature, the rate of increase was generally different for the static and dynamic tests. Both surface temperature and mechanical shearing appear to influence the reactions responsible for the surface coatings. Used oil analyses showed that base oil oxidation, additive decomposition, and, in some cases, sludge formation became detectible at temperatures corresponding to the start of significant surface coating formation. The results suggest that in situ polymerization may be an important phenomenon occurring on rubbing surfaces.     

Writing subwavelength-sized structures into aluminium films by thermo-chemical aperture-less near-field optical microscopy

An optical near-field at the tip of an atomic force microscope probe is utilised to pattern aluminium thin films on glass substrates by photo-thermally induced corrosion in water. Aluminium forms a thin passivating oxide layer when immersed into neutral water at room temperature. Owing to the high energy density of the near-field, the metal below the probe tip can be heated to 100°C due to absorption of the light, which then provokes breakdown of the passivation and metal corrosion. The localised near-field is generated by tip-induced enhancement of an evanescent field originating from a laser beam, that is totally internally reflected at the glass–aluminium–water interface. The process is governed by surface plasmons excited in the aluminium film by the evanescent waves and the field enhancement of the probe tip. Holes of 40 nm diameter and lines below 100 nm width have been written into a 20-nm-thick aluminium film. Applications of the scanning probe lithography process may include the one-step fabrication of point contacts or contact masks for near-field optical lithography and reactive ion etching.     

Comparative evaluation of coil and hall probes in hole detection and thickness measurement on aluminum plates using eddy current testing

The design, test, and comparison of one coil probe and one Hall probe using eddy current testing in the field of non-destructive evaluation is presented. Real tests were performed using alumi- num plates. This research concludes that (1) both probes provided broadband frequency responses up to 1000 KHz, which are wide enough for the most common applications; (2) the coil probe provided higher signal to noise ratio (SNR) than the Hall probe; (3) both probes detected the four holes success- fully and provided enough sensitivity to classify them by diameter; and (4) the coil probe provided higher accuracy than the Hall probe when measuring thickness lower than 1 mm, and lower accuracy when measuring thickness higher than 1.5 mm.     

基于表面等离子体共振技术油水持率传感器的实验研究

为研究表面等离子体共振技术在油井产液剖面持率参数测试方面的潜在应用,采用磁控溅射方法在三棱镜底面沉积不同厚度的金膜,制作Kretschman型表面等离子共振传感元件,对不同体积浓度的油水折射率进行测定。实验结果表明,对于折射率相同的三棱镜,沉积的金膜厚度越大,共振吸收峰越弱。表面等离子体共振峰位对不同体积浓度的油水介质很敏感,介质体积浓度由低到高变大时,表面等离子体共振吸收峰向右平移,共振角逐渐增大。实验表明,表面等离子体共振传感测试技术对不同浓度油水介质的折射率变化非常敏感,能够用其进行流体持率的测量。     

The monitoring of the two phase flow-annular flow type regime using microwave sensor technique

Accurate monitoring of a multiphase fluid flow in a dynamic pipeline is a significant problem in the oil industry. For efficient management of oil field wells, a real-time online system with capabilities to monitor fractions of oil, gas and water in oil production pipelines is required. These parameters determine the oil quality and inform how much water, oil and gas is produced from oil wells. This paper reports on the development of a novel non-intrusive sensor, which is based on electromagnetic waves cavity resonator. It determines and monitors the percentage volumes of each of the two phases (oil and gas) in the pipeline using the resonant frequencies shifts that occur within the resonator. A laboratory prototype version of the sensor system was constructed and tested. Experimental results were in good correlation with theoretical model that was simulated with High Frequency Structure Simulation (HFSS) software. Reported system will form the basis for the advanced real-time multiphase fluid composition monitoring platform.     

Oils with low environmental impact for modern combustion engines

Experimental work was carried out to evaluate the influence of synthetic lubricants on engine performances and their consequences for the environment. The effect of the rheological and compositional characteristics of lubricants on fuel efficiency, oil consumption, thermo-oxidative stability, and wear was investigated. To this purpose, both conventional tests normally used for assessing oil quality according to European specifications and non-conventional/in house tests were used. Among the latter, engine oil consumption, minimum oil film thickness, bearing wear, valve train wear, thermo-oxidative stability, and high temperature deposit tests were included. Preliminary conclusions show that a 5W-30full synthetic oil has a lower impact on the environment than a current IOW-40 part synthetic‘European’oil and is a better compromise between fuel efficiency and oil consumption. A field test programme is in progress in order to assess general engine performance, especially oil consumption and the effect of oil on catalyst efficiency.     

AN ONLINE MONITORING AND ALARMING INSTRUMENT FOR OIL LEAKAGE BASED ON ULTRASONIC EMULSIFYING TECHNOLOGY

An online monitoring and alarming instrument, based on ultrasonic emulsifying technology for measuring oil leakage of circulating cooling systems is put forward in this paper. The instrument consists of a data acquisition circuit which is based on a single chip microprocessor, ultrasonic emulsifiers, photoelectric probes, and remote alarming devices.

The key parts of the instrument are the ultrasonic emulsifier and the photoelectric probe. The former changes oil concentration in a sampled solution of cooling water into turbidity, and the latter detects the turbidity. Precision and reliability of the instrument depends on the function of the ultrasonic emulsifier and the photoelectric probe. Different types of oil need different input power of the ultrasonic emulsifier to yield full emulsification. Input power selections for the ultrasonic emulsifier driver, the structure of sampling tank, and the instrumentation static modeling results are presented in this paper.     

An equivalent electrical circuit design for pipeline corrosion monitoring based on piezoelectric elements

Underground pipelines are important infrastructure for transporting energy resources, particularly water and oil. Due to the high risk of damage and possible consequences, close monitoring of pipelines is a serious challenge for researchers and decision makers. Piezoelectric sensors/actuators are being used to monitor the physical characteristics of pipelines, including corrosion and crack. Piezoelectric ceramics as transmitters and/or receivers are connected to data concentrators in order to monitor the defects in pipelines. The performance and accuracy of this system highly depends on the accurate interpretation of the received electrical signals due to changing mechanical fields. However, due to the existence of two different fields, namely, electrical and mechanical, in this problem, simulation and interpretation of the damages occurring in pipelines is a consistent challenge. This paper proposes an equivalent electrical circuit model for a complete monitoring system which contains piezoelectric ceramics and a pipeline equivalent electrical circuit with corrosion defects and cracks through the pipeline. The pipeline is integrated with PZT sensor and actuator, in which PZT actuator generates waves along the thickness of the pipeline and its response is received by a PZT sensor. The proposed model approximates the electrical signal achieved by the PZT sensor to a complete health monitoring system. As the sensing signals in the present model are in one single field (i.e. electrical instead of mechanical and electrical), analysis and signal processing are more efficient, and the results are better understood. Numerical examples and, where applicable, simple tests have been presented to show the functionality and performance of the system.