Effects of surface texturing on the tribological behavior of piston rings under lubricated conditions

2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yali Zhang ◽  
Xiaogang Zhang ◽  
Tonghai Wu ◽  
You-bai Xie

Purpose – The piston ring-cylinder liner pair is one of the most important tribological systems of an internal combustion engine. The friction loss of the piston ring-cylinder liner pair accounts for the largest portion of total efficiency losses. Therefore, improving the tribological system design of the piston ring-cylinder liner pair can reduce friction losses and bring tremendous economic benefits to society. This paper aims use surface texturing, which is proving to be an effective method, for improving the tribological performance of sliding surfaces. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, an experimental study using a pin-on-disk tribometer was carried out to evaluate the effects of surface texturing on friction reduction of piston rings under various loads and sliding velocities. Rectangular- and circular-shaped textures with different depths and area densities were produced by a Femtosecond laser. Comparison experiments were conducted with un-textured rings. Findings – The results indicate that the friction performance of the ring surface was significantly improved by surface texturing, and the running-in stage was also shortened. More specifically, it was found that the rectangular-shaped texture had a better effect on friction reduction than the circular-shaped texture. Results also indicate that an optimum texture density existed for the rectangular-shaped texture. Additionally, it was observed that the average friction coefficient reduction of the textured ring decreased with increasing load and increased with increasing sliding velocity. Originality/value – Consequently, these findings provide a more in-depth understanding of the relationship between micro-textures and tribological properties of piston rings in lubricating sliding.

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Venkateswara Babu P. ◽  
Ismail Syed ◽  
Satish Ben Beera

Purpose In an internal combustion engine, piston ring-cylinder liner tribo pair is one among the most critical rubbing pairs. Most of the energy produced by an internal combustion engine is dissipated as frictional losses of which major portion is contributed by the piston ring-cylinder liner tribo pair. Hence, proper design of tribological parameters of piston ring-cylinder liner pair is essential and can effectively reduce the friction and wear, thereby improving the tribological performance of the engine. This paper aims to use surface texturing, an effective and feasible method, to improve the tribological performance of piston ring-cylinder liner tribo pair. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, influence of positive texturing (protruding) on friction reduction and wear resistance of piston ring surfaces was studied. The square-shaped positive textures were fabricated on piston ring surface by chemical etching method, and the experiments were conducted with textured piston ring surfaces against un-textured cylinder liner surface on pin-on-disc apparatus by continuous supply of lubricant at the inlet of contact zone. The parameters varied in this study are area density and normal load at a constant sliding speed. A comparison was made between the tribological properties of textured and un-textured piston ring surfaces. Findings From the experimental results, the tribological performance of the textured piston ring-cylinder liner tribo pair was significantly improved over a un-textured tribo pair. A maximum friction reduction of 67.6 per cent and wear resistance of 81.6 per cent were observed with textured ring surfaces as compared to un-textured ring surfaces. Originality/value This experimental study is helpful for better understanding of the potency of positive texturing on friction reduction and wear resistance of piston ring-cylinder liner tribo pair under lubricated sliding conditions.


Author(s):  
Parul Mishra ◽  
Ramkumar Penchaliah

It is well-established that the piston ring/cylinder liner (PRCL) contact is the major contributor to friction losses in the internal combustion engine. While numerous studies have evaluated the individual effect of surface engineering techniques like surface texturing, coating, on the PRCL system, however, its combined effect has not been thoroughly explored. In this work, the combined effect of surface coating and texturing on the frictional properties of piston ring/cylinder liner (PRCL) contact in different lubrication regimes has been simulated using a reciprocating tribometer rig. A cylinder liner of cast iron material and three different types of piston ring coatings, namely Diamond-like-carbon (DLC), chrome, and moly-chrome-ceramic (MCC) were used as samples. Under all lubrication regimes, the coated samples with texturing had better frictional performance compared to non-textured coated samples. The maximum friction reduction was observed for textured DLC coated samples under boundary lubrication regime. This behaviour was proposed to be a result of the synergistic effect of graphitisation and texturing.


2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 687-699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Wopelka ◽  
Ulrike Cihak-Bayr ◽  
Claudia Lenauer ◽  
Ferenc Ditrói ◽  
Sándor Takács ◽  
...  

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the wear behaviour of different materials for cylinder liners and piston rings in a linear reciprocating tribometer with special focus on the wear of the cylinder liner in the boundary lubrication regime. Design/methodology/approach Conventional nitrided steel, as well as diamond-like carbon and chromium nitride-coated piston rings, were tested against cast iron, AlSi and Fe-coated AlSi cylinder liners. The experiments were carried out with samples produced from original engine parts to have the original surface topography available. Radioactive tracer isotopes were used to measure cylinder liner wear continuously, enabling separation of running-in and steady-state wear. Findings A ranking of the material pairings with respect to wear behaviour of the cylinder liner was found. Post-test inspection of the cylinder samples by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed differences in the wear mechanisms for the different material combinations. The results show that the running-in and steady-state wear of the liners can be reduced by choosing the appropriate material for the piston ring. Originality/value The use of original engine parts in a closely controlled tribometer environment under realistic loading conditions, in conjunction with continuous and highly sensitive wear measurement methods and a detailed SEM analysis of the wear mechanisms, forms an intermediate step between engine testing and laboratory environment testing.


2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 66-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Koszałka ◽  
Mirosław Guzik

Abstract This paper presents a mathematical model of piston-rings-cylinder sealing (TPC) of a combustion engine. The developed model is an itegrated model of gas flow through gaps in TPC unit, displacements and twisting motions of piston rings in ring grooves as well as generation of oil film between ring face surfaces and cylinder liner. Thermal deformations and wear of TPC unit elements as well as heat exchange between flowing gas and surrounding walls, were taken into account in the model. The paper contains descriptions of: assumptions used for developing the model, the model itself, its numerical solution as well as its computer application for carrying out simulation tests.


2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-141
Author(s):  
Andrzej WOLFF

In the paper a model of a piston ring pack motion on an oil film has been analysed. The local oil film thickness can be compared to height of the combined roughness of mating surfaces of piston rings and cylinder liner. Equations describing the mixed lubrication problem based on the empirical mathematical model formulated in works of Patir, Cheng [6, 7] and Greenwood, Tripp [3] have been combined [12] and used in this paper. A model of a gas flow through the labyrinth seal of piston rings has been developed [13, 15]. In addition models of ring twist effects and axial ring motion in piston grooves have been applied [14, 15]. In contrast to the previous papers of the author, an experimental verification of the main parts of developed mathematical model and software has been presented. A relatively good compatibility between the experimental measurements and calculated results has been achieved. In addition this study presents the simulation results for an automobile internal combustion engine


2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 642-652
Author(s):  
Selman Demirtas ◽  
Hakan Kaleli ◽  
Mahdi Khadem ◽  
Dae-Eun Kim

Purpose This study aims to investigate the tribological characteristics of a Napier-type second piston ring against a cylinder liner in the presence of graphene nano-additives mixed into 5W40 fully synthetic engine oil. Design/methodology/approach Wear tests were carried out in the boundary lubrication condition using a reciprocating tribometer, and real engine tests were performed using a single spark ignition Honda GX 270 test engine for a duration of 75 h. Findings The experimental results of the tribometer tests revealed that the nano-additives formed a layer on the rubbed surfaces of both the piston ring and the cylinder liner. However, this layer was only formed at the top dead center of the cylinder liner during the engine tests. The accumulation of carbon (C) from the graphene was heavily detected on the rubbed surface of piston ring/cylinder liner, mixed with other additive elements such as Ca, Zn, S and P. Overall, the use of graphene nano-additives in engine oil was found to improve the frictional behavior in the boundary and mixed lubrication regimes. Abrasive wear was found to be the main mechanism occurring on the surface of both piston rings and cylinder liners. Originality/value Though many researchers have discussed the potential benefits of graphene as a nano-additive in oil to reduce the friction and wear in laboratory tests using tribometers, to date, no actual engine tests have been performed. In this paper, both tribometer and real engine tests were performed on a piston ring and cylinder liner using a fully formulated oil with and without graphene nano-additives in the boundary lubrication condition. It was found that a graphene nano-additive plays an active role in lowering the coefficient of friction and increasing surface protection and lubrication by forming a protective layer on the rubbing surfaces.


2017 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 276-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Zhu ◽  
Jiujun Xu ◽  
Xiaoguang Han ◽  
Yan Shen ◽  
Mei Jin

Purpose The paper aims to investigate the friction and wear properties of three surface-modified piston rings matched with a chromium-plated cylinder liner. Design/methodology/approach Samples were taken from the chromium-plated cylinder liner, Cr-Al2O3 ring, CrN ring and Mo ring. Tribo-tests were conducted on a reciprocating sliding tribometer under fully formulated engine oils. Friction coefficients and wear depths of three friction pairs were tested. Surface morphologies of cylinder liners and piston rings before and after test were analyzed. Findings Experimental results show that in the Cr-Al2O3 piston ring, scuffing occurred easily when matched with the chromium-plated cylinder liner; compared with the Mo ring, the CrN ring could decrease the wear depth of the piston ring from 2.7 to 0.2 μm, and the wear depth of cylinder liner remained; however, the friction coefficient increased from 0.113 to 0.123. The tribological performances of three surface-modified piston rings were significantly different when they matched with chromium-plated cylinder liner. Originality/value Chromium-plated cylinder liner and the three kinds of surface-modified piston rings have excellent friction and wear properties, respectively. However, according to the systematic characteristics of internal combustion (IC) engine tribology, only the appropriate cylinder liner–piston ring can improve the tribological performance of the IC engine. This paper reports the tribological performance of three surface-modified piston rings matched with a chromium-plated cylinder liner. The results can be used as reference for the design of high-power-density diesel engine.


2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuwen Wang ◽  
Feiyan Yan ◽  
Ao Chen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the tribological effects of laser surface texturing (LST) and residual stress on functional surfaces. Design/methodology/approach Three different surface textures (circular dimple, elliptical dimple and groove) with two different textured area ratios (10 and 20 per cent) are designed and fabricated by a Picosecond Nd YAG Laser machine. The friction and wear performance of textured specimens is tested using a UMT-2 friction and wear testing machine in mixed lubrication. Findings Test results show that elliptical dimples exhibit the best performance in wear resistance, circular dimples in friction reduction and grooves in stabilization of friction. The surfaces with larger textured area density exhibit better performance in both friction reduction and wear resistance. The improved performance of LST is the coupled effect of surface texture and residual stress. Originality/value The findings of this study may provide guidance for optimal design of functional surface textures in reciprocating sliding contacts under mixed or hydrodynamic lubrication, which can be used in automotive and other industrial applications.


2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 986-990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Tremmel ◽  
Max Marian ◽  
Michael Zahner ◽  
Sandro Wartzack ◽  
Marion Merklein

Purpose This paper aims to derive tailor-made microtextures for elastohydrodynamically lubricated (EHL) contacts under consideration of manufacturing possibilities. Design/methodology/approach Component tests were used for the evaluation of the influence of surface texturing on the friction behavior in the cam/tappet contact. Furthermore, the manufacturing possibilities and limitations of a combined μEDM and micro-coining process and the feasibility of integration into a forming process were studied. Finally, a methodology based on transient EHL simulations and a meta-model of optimal prognosis was exemplarily used for microtexture optimization. Findings It was found that surface texturing in EHL contacts with high amount of sliding is promising. Moreover, the combination of μEDM and micro coining and the integration into established production processes allow the manufacturing of microtextures with desirable structural parameters and sufficient accuracy. Originality/value This paper gives a holistic view on surface microtexturing over several phases of the product life cycle, from the design, over efficient manufacturing to application-related testing.


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