Use of a Micro-Contact Model to Optimize SI Engine’s 3-Piece Oil Ring Profiles Regarding Wear and Lubrication

Author(s):  
Eduardo Tomanik ◽  
Andre´ Ferrarese

A computer model that addresses the wear behavior by calculating hydrodynamic and asperity contact pressures was used to optimize the running face of three-piece oil control rings. The model incorporates Reynolds equation to calculate the oil film thickness for two sliding surfaces under a given condition (profile and topography of the surfaces, load, speed, lubricant viscosity grade and operation temperature). Prediction of the resultant asperity contact pressures is made by Greenwood-Williamson model. More scraping ring rail profiles are better for oil control, but present more wear due to higher asperity contact pressures. This higher wear can lead to less scraping profile, increasing ring end gap and lower ring tangential load, which deteriorates long term oil consumption control, hence engine durability. In the present work, a relatively simple computer program was used to predict lube oil film thickness and wear for different rail running profiles. Ring wear was assumed to be proportional to the calculated asperity contact pressure. Different rail profiles where the running profiles had a flat portion varying from less than 0.10 mm to higher than 0.20 mm were simulated and then tested in a bench test consisting in an electrical motored engine. Except for the combustion absence, all other engine characteristics were preserved (e.g., stroke, piston-ring pack, lubrication system) in the bench test. The measured oil control ring wear correlated very well with the predicted one. The model allowed the numerical optimization of the running profile of ring rail, which has lower asperity contact pressure, hence wear, but still has a good scraping capability. Two actual ICE tests were also realized. The predicted lower wear of the optimized profile was experimentally confirmed and no differences on LOC were found.

2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 206-212
Author(s):  
T. Icoz ◽  
Z. Dursunkaya

Blowback of engine oil suspended in combustion gases, when the gas flows from the piston second land back into the combustion chamber, is believed to contribute to oil consumption and hydrocarbon emissions in internal combustion engines. Oil accumulation in the region between top and second compression rings is a factor that influences this phenomenon. The effects of individual parameters, such as oil film thickness and viscosity, however, have still not been understood. The present study was aimed at constructing an experimental setup to study the effect of oil film thickness on oil accumulation in the second land of internal combustion engines. Due to the inherent difficulties of experimentation on production engines, a modeled piston-cylinder assembly was constructed. Total oil accumulation in the modeled second land after a single piston stroke was measured and compared to oil consumption in operating engines.


1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 456-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian (Jane) Wang ◽  
Fanghui Shi ◽  
Si C. Lee

Numerical analyses of finite journal bearings operating with large eccentricity ratios were conducted to better understand the mixed lubrication phenomena in conformal contacts. The average Reynolds equation derived by Patir and Cheng was utilized in the lubrication analysis. The influence function, calculated numerically using the finite element method, was employed to compute the bearing deformation. The effects of bearing surface roughness were incorporated in the present analysis for the calculations of the asperity contact pressure and the asperity contact area. The numerical solutions of the hydrodynamic and asperity contact pressures, lubricant film thickness, and asperity contact area were evaluated based on a simulated bearing-journal geometry. The calculations revealed that the asperity contact pressure may vary significantly along both the width and the circumferential directions. It was also shown that the asperity contacts and the lubricant film thickness were strongly dependent on the bearing width, asperity orientation, and operating conditions.


Author(s):  
Katsuhiro Ashihara ◽  
Hiromu Hashimoto

In the designs and analysis of engine bearings for automobiles, the precise prediction of the lubrication condition in severe condition is important. In the mixed-elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication analysis, the contact between the projections of surface roughness distributed stochastically is usually considered. This paper describes a theoretical model under the mixed lubrication in the microgrooved bearing. In this modeling, it is assumed that the section shape of microgrooved bearing alloy takes the circular arc form. In the part where contact is caused, the contact pressure is calculated by the Hertzian equation. The elastic deformation of the bearing by the mixed pressure with which oil film pressure and contact pressure are mixed by each allotment ratio is considered. Moreover, the balance requirement between the sum total of mixed pressure on bearing surface and the journal load is met. Under such an assumption, the numerical calculation model is newly obtained to predict the bearing performance in the mixed lubrication of microgrooved bearing. The numeric solutions of EHL based on the mixed lubrication are compared with EHL based on the fluid lubrication. The predicted oil film thickness at the center of bearing by the mixed lubrication model is remarkably thin compared with that by the fluid lubrication model. This shows that the load ability of the oil film thickness decreases by generating contact.


Author(s):  
Akemi Ito ◽  
Kazuya Mochiduki ◽  
Koji Kikuhara ◽  
Masatsugu Inui ◽  
Hirotaka Akamatsu

Engine oil consumption must be reduced for reducing exhaust gas emissions. It is well known that a cylinder bore shape under engine operating condition affects oil consumption. This study aimed clarifying the conformability of an oil ring against the distorted cylinder bore. Oil film thickness at the sliding surface of oil ring upper and lower rails was successfully measured by LIF method using optical fiber, which was embedded in the oil ring. The piston motion was also measured and compared with measured oil film thickness. It was found that the piston tilting motion affected oil film thickness hence its conformability. It was also found that thicker oil film was found at the following rail than that at former rail, and it was suggested that oil was supplied to the following rail from not only the sliding surface of the former ring but also somewhere, for example, the oil ring groove.


1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Smeeth ◽  
H. A. Spikes

A new optical technique has been developed which is able to obtain accurate film thickness profiles across elastohydrodynamic (EHD) contacts. This has been used in conjunction with a high pressure EHD test rig to obtain both central and minimum EHD film thicknesses at high contact pressures up to 3.5 GPa. The results have been compared with the classical film thickness equations of Hamrock and Dowson and also with recent high pressure computations due to Venner. It is found that minimum film thickness falls more rapidly with applied load at high than at low contact pressures, with a film thickness/load exponent of −0.3. This confirms the findings of recent high pressure computational EHD modeling.


1999 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Tian ◽  
V. W. Wong

A theoretical model was developed to study the lubrication, friction, dynamics, and oil transport of twin-land oil control rings (TLOCR) in internal combustion engines. A mixed lubrication model with consideration of shear-thinning effects of multigrade oils was used to describe the lubrication between the running surfaces of the two lands and the liner. Oil squeezing and asperity contact were both considered for the interaction between the flanks of the TLOCR and the ring groove. Then, the moments and axial forces from TLOCR/liner lubrication and TLOCR/groove interaction were coupled into the dynamic equations of the TLOCR. Furthermore, effects of piston dynamic tilt were considered in a quasi three-dimensional manner so that the behaviors of the TLOCR at different circumferential locations could be studied. As a first step, variation of the third land pressure was neglected. The model predictions were illustrated via an SI engine. One important finding is that around thrust and anti-thrust sides, the difference between the minimum oil film thickness of two lands can be as high as several micrometers due to piston dynamic tilt. As a result, at thrust and anti-thrust sides, significant oil can pass under one land of the TLOCR along the bore, although the other land perfectly seals the bore. Then, the capabilities of the model were further explained by studying the effects of ring tension and torsional resistance on the lubrication and oil transport between the lands and the liner. The effects of oil film thickness on the flanks of the ring groove on the dynamics of the TLOCR were also studied. Friction results show that boundary lubrication contributes significantly to the total friction of the TLOCR. [S0742-4795(00)01801-9]


2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (8) ◽  
pp. 1494-1499
Author(s):  
Han Qing ◽  
LiangXi Xie ◽  
Lu Li ◽  
Chuang Jia

Purpose This paper aims to establish a numerical model to calculate contact pressure for rectangular vane sealing surface of hydraulic rotary actuator. Numerical model can be applied to solve the steady-state Reynolds equation after the oil film thickness and the contact pressure distribution curve of the vane sealing surface are obtained. Design/methodology/approach The authors established the numerical model of contact pressure base on the theory of elastic after, the Reynolds equation is solved by the inverse solution. Findings The relationship between the oil film thickness of vane sealing surface and the contact pressure on different sealing location for hydraulic rotary actuator is obtained. At the same time, the lubrication state on the surface of seal is also found when the hydraulic rotary actuator runs stably. Originality/value The study shows that the lubricating state of the vane sealing surface is mixed lubrication, when the rotor of the hydraulic rotary actuator is running stably at a certain speed. Meanwhile, this research will provide a theory basis for later experiment for the hydraulic rotary vane actuator.


Author(s):  
R. S. Dwyer-Joyce ◽  
J. Zhu ◽  
T. Reddyhoff

The reflection of ultrasound can be used to determine oil film thickness from the stiffness of the separating film. However, boundary or mixed film lubrication is a common occurrence in elastohydrodynamic lubricated (EHL) contacts, as the nominal thickness of the separating film approaches the surface asperity height. In this paper an ultrasonic investigation was carried out on the interface between a steel ball sliding on a flat disc as the speed was reduced into the boundary regime. The ultrasonic reflection then depends on the stiffness of the interface that now consists of an oil layer and asperity contacts. To distinguish the stiffness contribution from asperity contact and oil layer, a mixed lubrication model for circular contacts was established. This predicted the lubricant film thickness and proportions of solid and liquid mediated contact. The total stiffness predicted by theoretical models showed a good agreement with experimental measurement for kinematic cases. The model can then be used to extract the proportion of real area of contact, and the oil film thickness, from ultrasonic results.


Author(s):  
Gong Cheng ◽  
Ke Xiao ◽  
Jiaxu Wang

The contact properties of an interface are crucial to the performance of equipment, and it is necessary to study the contact damping and contact stiffness, especially in the case of mixed lubrication. A calculation model for contact damping and contact stiffness considering lubrication was proposed on the basis of the KE contact model and mixed elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory. Both the damping and the stiffness were composed of the oil film portion and the asperity contact portion. Since the damping and the stiffness of oil film mainly depended on the film thickness and the pressure, which can be obtained with the mixed lubrication model, another crucial point was to figure out the contribution of asperity contact. Ignoring the effect of the tangential deformation, the stiffness and the load determined with the normal deformation of the asperity were obtained. Then, the contact damping and the contact stiffness considering lubrication could be derived. Finally, the model was applied to the study of contact damping and stiffness of the involute spur gear.


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