Lubricants, Volume 5, Issue 2 (June 2017) – 11 articles

NaCl particles were added into Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and its composites to produce porous PEEK-based materials by washing NaCl away after the high-temperature compression molding process. After that, an ionic liquid was added into the porous materials under vacuum condition. Carbon fibers (CF), as reinforcement, and PTFE, as an internal solid lubricant, were employed to prepare PEEK composites. Tribological properties under dry friction condition were studied on a ring-on-disc tribo-meter. The influence of CF and PTFE on tribological properties was carefully investigated. The results indicated that, in comparison with traditional PEEK composites (CF/PTFE/PEEK), the porous PEEK composites containing ionic liquid showed much better tribological properties. It is found that CF can help PEEK form effective pores to suck in the ionic liquid resulting in a better tribological performance. CF reinforced porous PEEK containing ionic liquid (p-CF/PEEK + IL) demonstrated the lowest friction coefficient (27% of CF/PTFE/PEEK) and the lowest wear loss (only 0.9% of CF/PTFE/PEEK). Long time tribological test revealed that the wear mass loss comes from the running-in period, while its wear is negligible after this period. It is also found that the addition of PTFE has a negative influence on the tribological behaviors, especially under high sliding velocity and applied load. Full article

In this work, three case studies are reported, namely carbon nanotube/polyvinyl butyral composites, MWCNTs/polydimethylsiloxane-based coatings and vertically aligned CNT forest array, of which the friction and resistance to wear/deformation were assessed through nanoindentation/nanoscratch. Additional deformation parameters and findings are also addressed and discussed; namely, material deformation upwards (pile-up) or downwards (sink-in) with respect to the indented surface plane, hardness to modulus ratio (index of resistance to wear) and coefficient of friction. The enhancement of the scratch resistance due to the incorporation of CNTs in a polymer matrix is investigated. For the case of the forest structure, sliding between neighboring nanotubes is identified, while, through ploughing of the tip, local deformation and the extent of plasticity are also addressed. Full article

Ball bearings are commonly used in high speed turbomachinery and have a critical influence on the rotordynamic behavior. Therefore, a simulation model of the bearing to predict the dynamic influence is essential. The presented model is a further step to develop an accurate and efficient characterization of the ball bearing’s rotor dynamic parameters such as stiffness and deflections as well as vibrational excitations induced by the discrete rolling elements. To make it applicable to high speed turbomachinery, the model considers centrifugal forces, gyroscopic effects and ball spinning. The consideration of an elastic outer ring makes the bearing model suitable for integrated lightweight bearing constructions used in modern aircraft turbines. In order to include transient rotordynamic behavior, the model is built as a full dynamic multibody simulation with time integration. To investigate the influence of the elasticity of the outer ring, a comparison with a rigid formulation for several rotational speeds and loads is presented. Full article

This work presents the bearing design and analysis of radial semi-floating bush oil lubricated bearings for a typical industrial turbocharger configuration. Initially, the stability analysis for a linear rotor/bearing system is evaluated through eigenvalues and eigenvectors. The stiffness and damping coefficients of the inner oil film are obtained for the linear modeling process. The operating speed range of the turbocharger is high enough, at 21,000 to 24,000 rpm, to be unstable, indicating that the analysis should be and is carried out with nonlinear transient modeling. The nonlinear transient analysis evaluates the rotor and bush limit cycle orbits, rotor dynamics, the forces acting on the rotor and semi-floating bush surfaces, the oil flow through the bearing, the oil temperatures, and the power loss of the two oil films. The optimum design of a set of semi-floating bush bearings for this application depends strongly upon the clearances of the bush and squeeze film damper, usually expressed as the non-dimensional clearance to radius ratio. A typical clearance is evaluated to determine the bearing performance in terms of orbit size, forces acting on the bush and squeeze damper surfaces, oil flow through the bearing, power loss, and thermal heating. The nonlinear transient orbit values are evaluated for frequency content using the FFT to determine which orbits show both the synchronous and sub-synchronous vibration components and the associated rotor modes excited. These results are compared to the linear analysis over the operating speed range. The oil flow through the bearing component is much larger than the squeeze film damper. The forces acting on the bush and squeeze damper surfaces are related to the fatigue life of the bearing. Full article

This paper provides a tribochemical study of the selective layer surface by chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). CMP is used to remove excess material obtained in the process of selective transfer. The paper aims at a better understanding of the planarization (polishing) and micromachining. The planarization becomes effective if the material removal rate (MRR) is optimal and the surface defects are minimal. The pH of the slurry plays a very important role in removing the selective layer by CMP, and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is the most common oxidizer used in CMP slurry. The purpose of this paper is the analysis of the pH effect on the etching rate (ER) and on the behavior of selective layer polishing by a constant concentration of H₂O₂ and the influence of nanoparticles size and concentration on selective layer surface CMP. The nanoparticle size used is 250 nm. The MRR results through CMP and ER have been shown to be influenced by the presence of oxides on the selective layer surface and have been found to vary with the slurry pH at constant H₂O₂ concentrations. The CMP slurry plays an important role in the CMP process performance and should be monitored for optimum results and minimal surface defects. The paper analyzes the impact of chemical-mechanical, inter-nanoparticle, and pad-nanoparticle-substrate interactions on CMP performance, taking into account the state of friction at the interface, by measuring the friction force. Selective layer CMP optimization studies were required to control the chemical and mechanical interactions at the interface between the slurry and the selective layer, the slurry chemistry, the properties, and the stability of the suspended abrasive nanoparticles. Full article

The present overview will focus on the tribological applications of what we have called ionanocarbon lubricants, that is, the combination of carbon nanophases (graphene, carbon nanotubes, nanodiamonds, carbon nanodots) and room-temperature ionic liquids in new dispersions, blends, or modified nanostructures and their use in tribology, lubrication, and surface engineering as friction-reducing, antiwear, and surface-protecting agents in thin films and composite materials. Further research lines and factors that limit the practical applications of the outstanding research results are also highlighted. The very recent results in these lines of research make this a necessary brief review. Full article

In order to improve the tribological properties of an engine piston ring and enhance its service life, magnetron sputtering technology and low temperature ion sulphurizing treatment technology were used to prepare CrMoN/MoS₂ solid lubricant coating on the surface of an engine piston ring. The morphologies and compositions of the surface and cross-section of the sulfuration layer were analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and wear property under high load, high speed and high temperature conditions were tested by a SRV^®4 friction and wear testing machine. The results show that the CrMoN/MoS₂ composite coatings appear as a dense grain structure, and the coating is an ideal solid lubrication layer that possesses an excellent high temperature wear resistance, reducing the engine operating temperature abrasion effectively and prolonging the service life of the engine. Full article

In this work, a series of experimental tests is carried out in laboratory conditions which set the rubber compound (soft and stiff), the normal load, and the direction of propagation of sea water droplets into the interface of rubber–steel pipe contact as variables. The results show that the maximum static frictions (F) of rubber–pipe contacts increase as the normal load increases in both dry and lubricating conditions, and the values of F for the softer rubber are higher than that for the stiffer rubber. However, significant reduction in static friction is found due to the lubrication of sea water droplets. The influence of lubrication is stronger when the droplets propagate into the contact interfaces at the tail edge than that at the front edge. Capture sequences of the contact region facilitate the lubrication of seawater droplets by accelerating the progress of separation in the contact interfaces, thus reducing the static friction force. This investigation improves our understanding of the lubrication of sea water droplets during pipe-laying operation, and it will help us to conduct further research on the accuracy and safety of offshore engineering. Full article

Canola oil and canola biodiesel derived alkoxides are prepared in the present investigation through a series of structural modifications. Epoxidation of canola oil and canola biodiesel were carried out by hydrogen peroxide using IR-120 as an acidic catalyst. The alkoxylation of epoxidized feedstocks was promoted using 2-propanol and tert-Butyl alcohol in the presence of montmorillonite catalyst and optimum reaction conditions were obtained for complete epoxide conversion to alkoxylated products as follows: reaction temperature of 90 °C, epoxide to alcohol molar ratio of 1:6, and reaction time between 6 and 8 h. The products were identified with one- and two-dimensional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) techniques, and the kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of the alkoxylation reactions were also investigated. The thermo-oxidative stability, rheology, biodegradability and lubricity properties of the prepared alkoxides were determined using American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS) standard methods. Structural modification of the feedstocks enhanced the significant properties for lubrication and exhibited their potential application as gear and engine oils. Full article

Aerodynamic bearings with elastically supported tilting pads have operational properties comparable with widely-used foil journal bearings. They combine the excellent stability of tilting pad bearings, as a result of very small cross-coupling stiffness terms, with the positive properties of foil bearings, namely their ability to adapt to changing operating conditions and presence of additional damping due to friction between elastic members and bearing casings. Air cycle machines (ACMs) are used in the environmental control systems of aircrafts to manage the pressurization of the cabin. An ACM with the abovementioned type of bearings and an operational speed of 60,000 rpm was designed and successfully tested, even under conditions of strong external excitation. Some problems with rotor stability in certain operation regimes were encountered. Rotor relative vibrations measured at both bearing locations increased substantially when excitation frequency was close to the lowest rotor eigenvalues. In spite of that and the 1000 start/stop cycles passed by the end of the test, any traces of wear on the bearing sliding surfaces were negligible. When the bearing distance had to be shortened in order to insert the machine into the defined space, the rotor quickly became unstable at relatively low speeds. Although rotor stability reserve was reduced only slightly, the rotor had to be redesigned in order to achieve stability. Operation characteristics of aerodynamic bearings with elastically supported tilting pads are presented together with rotor dynamic analysis and validated with measured results. Full article

With the increasing pressure to reduce emissions, friction reduction is always an up-to-date topic in the automotive industry. Among the various possibilities to reduce mechanical friction, the usage of a low-viscosity lubricant in the engine is one of the most effective and most economic options. Therefore, lubricants of continuously lower viscosity are being developed and offered on the market that promise to reduce engine friction while avoiding deleterious mixed lubrication and wear. In this work, a 1.6 L downsized Diesel engine is used on a highly accurate engine friction test-rig to determine the potential for friction reduction using low viscosity lubricants under realistic operating conditions including high engine loads. In particular, two hydrocarbon-based lubricants, 0W30 and 0W20, are investigated as well as a novel experimental lubricant, which is based on a polyalkylene glycol base stock. Total engine friction is measured for all three lubricants, which show a general 5% advantage for the 0W20 in comparison to the 0W30 lubricant. The polyalkylene glycol-based lubricant, however, shows strongly reduced friction losses, which are about 25% smaller than for the 0W20 lubricant. As the 0W20 and the polyalkylene glycol-based lubricant have the same HTHS-viscosity , the findings contradict the common understanding that the HTHS-viscosity is the dominant driver related to the friction losses. Full article