Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is a polymer commonly used in various applications, particularly in hip joint replacements. Despite its good performance, it is susceptible to oxidation degradation, which can be mitigated with the addition of vitamin E, and to excessive wear against metal countersurfaces, which can potentially be improved with the addition of nanoparticles. In this work, sixteen newly developed UHMWPE nanocomposites with different nanofillers (multi-walled carbon nanotubes, graphene oxide and nanodiamonds), blended with and without vitamin E, and both irradiation crosslinked and non-crosslinked were studied. Thermomechanical characterisation (dynamic mechanical analysis and thermogravimetric analysis) and tribological pin-on-disc testing showed that both nanofillers and the addition of vitamin E ensured improved the performance of the nanocomposites compared to the virgin UHMWPE. Vitamin E improved the oxidative and thermal stability of UHMWPE, decreased the wear and increased the coefficient of friction. The nanoparticle reinforcements contributed to improved thermal stability to some degree and decreased the wear. Crosslinking was also shown to result in improved thermomechanical performance, although it appears that the addition of vitamin E inhibits the crosslinking process.

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In this thesis, the development of a new type of seal is presented along with the steps taken to attain the conclusive design. The results are presented in this paper as a cross-sectioned CAD-model along with the selection of materials and suggestions for future work. The project was commissioned by the multi-discipline engineering consultancy company Projektengagemang AB in Karlstad, Sweden, and carried out as a master’s thesis at Karlstad University. The commission was due to a demand for a new type of sealing solution, as friction is a problem within the field of micro-pneumatics. The work done consists of a study of different low-friction materials where a 30/70 PTFE/PEEK compound was selected as it displayed promising friction and wear properties. The material was then implemented into a design concluded by employing a product development process. The result rendered a prototype for a new kind of low-friction seal which uses the fluid pressure to achieve a sealing contact load between a piston/rod and the seal, which also was the goal set to achieve at the start of the project. Additionally, a design of experiments study was conducted to settle what design parameters were significant with respect to the contact load. For proceeding, making the concept a product ready for production, additional work is needed in the form of experimental material testing, development of a leakage model to optimize the contact load, determination of temperature and creep behaviour, as well as sufficient field testing. Lastly, a die tool must be designed for manufacturing with injection moulding as well as determining if any further processing is required. / Detta arbete behandlar utvecklingen av en ny sorts tätning samt arbetet som utförts för att nå en slutlig design. Resultaten presenteras i form av en CAD-modell tillsammans med materialval och förslag till fortsatta studier. Projektet utfördes efter förfrågan av konsultconcernen Projektengagemang AB i Karlstad, Sverige och utfördes som ett examensarbete för civilingenjörsexamen i maskinteknik vid Karlstads universitet. Detta gjordes eftersom det finns en efterfrågan på lågfriktionstätningar inom mikropneumatik där friktion är ett rådande problem. Arbetet består av en studie över att antal lågfriktionsmaterial där en komposit med 30/70 PTFE/PEEK valdes på grund av dess lovande nötnings- och friktionsegenskaper. Materialet implementerades sedan i design som togs fram genom en produktutvecklingsprocess. Resultatet är en prototyp för en ny sorts lågfriktionstätning som utnyttjar fluidtryck för att uppnå en tätande effekt mellan tätning och kolv vilket även var målsättningen för projektet. Flerfaktorförsök har under processen utnyttjats för att hitta vilka geometriska parametrar som påverkar kontaktkraften mellan tätning och motliggande yta. För att ta konceptet till en färdig produkt krävs fortsatt arbete innehållande experimentella materialtester, framtagning av en läckagemodell att optimera kontaktkraften mot, studier kring temperatur- och krypberoende samt fälttester för att verifiera funktionen över tid. Slutligen behöver ett verktyg för formsprutning tas fram tillsammans med eventuell ytterligare bearbetning för slutlig tillverkning av produkten.

The question for this work was: How to design and control the guidance of sheet metal molding tool in order to achieve precision over time.The work has been based on the method of product development where the product development is methodically done, individual opinions are eliminated to the greatest possible extent.Several different concepts have been developed, which have since been evaluated in a selection process that has been done by using elimination matrice and criterion weight matrice.A knee joint mechanism has emerged from this selection process. The main advantage of the knee joint mechanism is that it is least affected by the dynamic forces that excite in the molding tools. When the magnitude of the dynamic forces could not be determined, a mechanism emerged that largely eliminates this problem. / Frågeställning för detta arbete var: Hur skall en styrning av ett formverktyg för tunnplåt utformas för att kunna uppnå precision över tid.Arbetet har utgått från metoden om produktframtagning där produktutvecklingen sker metodiskt och individuella åsikter elimineras till största möjliga utsträckning.Flera olika koncept har tagits fram, dessa har sedan har sedan utvärderats i en urvalsprocess som har använts sig av elimineringsmatris samt kriterieviktsmatris. Ur denna urvalsprocess har en knäledsmekanism framkommit. Knäledsmekanismens främsta fördel är att den är minst påverkad av de dynamiska krafterna som exciterar i formverktygen. Då storleken på de dynamiska krafterna inte har kunnat fastställas framkom en mekanism som till stor del eliminerar detta problem.

The use of computational methods in tribology can be a valuable approach to deal with engineering problems, ultimately saving time and resources. In this work, amodel problem and methodology is developed to deal with a common situation found in experiments in tribology, namely a linearly reciprocating block-on-flat drysliding contact. The modelling and simulation of such case would allow a better understanding of the contact pressure distribution, wear and geometry evolutionof the block as it wears out during a test. Initially, the introduction and motivation for this work is presented, followed by a presentation of relevant scientific topics related to this work. Wear modelling of published studies are reviewed next, along with studies available in the literature and the goals for this thesis.The fourth section refers to the methodology used and the built-up of the model problem. In this work the Finite Element Method and Archard’s wear model through COMSOL Multiphysics® and MATLAB® are used to study the proposed contact problem. The construction of the model problem is detailed and the procedure for wear, geometry update and long term predictions, is presented inspired by the literature reviewed. Finally, the results are presented and discussed; wear increment and new geometries evolution are presented in the figures, followed by pressure profile evolution at selected times. The final geometry is also compared for different time steps. At last, conclusions and recommendations for future work are stated.

BorgWarner located in Landskrona are developing components for the four-wheeldrive drivetrain that are being massed produced in the automotive industry. Thanks to Borg- Warner’s unique product’s properties they have achieved a worldwide leading position as a provider of systems for advanced four-wheeldrive drivetrain (all-wheel drivetrain). The assignment from the BorgWarner is to create a better understanding about when vibrations occur and what properties of a friction disc affect vibrations in the wet clutch. The goals of this thesis are to: Map system parameters like Surface topografy. Measure pressure distribution between the friction discs. Measure the Youngs modulus, also known as stiffness. It is not sure that a bad pressure distribution could cause vibrations in the wet clutch. The results from the topography explain the appearance of the pressure distribution. Varying stiffness means that the density of the material is also varying because the stiffness depends on the material composition. When forces are applied on the friction disc, it leads to varying deformation on samples. When the samples all deforms different, the result of the different deformation could be slanting surface. When a disc with non- parallel friction surface rotates it could generate vibration in the wet clutch.

To ensure that manufactured cartridges is safe to use, a tensile test is performed. The frictional force between the bullet and the case is required according to Normas standard to be between 15 – 75 Kg. Variations of the frictional force, with values outside of the standard had been noted by Norma Precision without understanding the cause. The aim of this report was to investigate and evaluate possible causes of the variations measured by tensile tests, difference between extreme values and to find a solution to what can be done to prevent the variations. Two different cases and three different bullets were used by request from Norma in the scope of this report. Different combinations of the bullets and cases was tested by alternating process parameter, surfaces and loading procedures. The loaded cartridges went through tensile tests to investigate differences. Bullets and cases with extreme values from the measured frictional force were chosen for further investigation in SEM and profilometer. To be able to draw further conclusions four different simulation models was created in Abaqus and different parameters was calculated. The dimensions and shape of the bullet resulted as the cause of changes of the tensile test curves. The smallest frictional force was found to differ from the largest by a change in wear mechanism from mainly abrasive ploughing to cutting and adhesion that caused transfer of material from the bullet to the case. The change in wear mechanism was found to be caused by an increased bullet diameter. The loading procedure was found to cause variations in plastic deformation on the neck of the case and damage the bottom of the bullet. The loading procedure was assumed to have the largest impact on the variations in frictional force. To minimize the variations the central axis of the case was suggested to be in line with the central axis of the bullet.

Wear mechanisms of the cutting tools are well investigated worldwide. Usually researchers use the cutting process itself, turning by single point cutting, as their investigation method, which includes turning a metal cylinder with a pre-selected work-material and predetermined cutting conditions. Thereafter the tool worn surface is examined by scanning electron microscopy in order to characterize the tool wear mechanisms and tool failure. However, this may be the most appropriate way to investigate the wear mechanisms which occur during machining since it simulates the real operation. Metal cutting involves extreme conditions such as high temperature and high-pressure and the different condition results in different wear modes on the insert’s surface. The wear modes are overlapping and the transition boarder between them are not sharp making it difficult to obtain a detailed information of wear mechanisms. Because of these reasons many researchers try to refine the machining to a single condition e.g; high pressure, at the laboratory level in order to characterize the wear mechanisms and to get a more detailed information. In this thesis the wear tests of the cutting tool are performed by using a slider-on-flat-surface (SOFS) wear tester. SOFS involves a normal load, which applies to the sample and a tangential force that enables the sliding of the sample against a counterface. To enable conducting the wear tests in SOFS a newly design of tool holder was prepared. The wear tests were performed at different contact conditions and the stainless steel EN 1.4310 was used as the counterface material. After the tools were tested, the worn surface of the tool was examined by optical light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy in order to identify the wear rate and wear mechanisms. At low load the dominating wear mechanism was adhesive wear. The adhesive wear was induced by material pick-up during sliding i.e. material from the counterface was transferred to the insert’s surface. Further sliding results in delamination of the insert surface and removal of a part of the coatings material. At high load the dominating wear mechanism was a combination of severe adhesive wear and fracture of the coating material. The fracture of the coating material occurred because of overloading. Coating defects promote crack formation under high load and these cracks propagate through the coating during sliding movement and result in microchipping of the coating material. This procedure does not simulate the metal cutting but it still gives an understanding of the behavior of the coating material when it is exposed to a high mechanical stress.

Mechanical components operating at elevated temperatures can be identified in the aerospace industry as well as in metal forming. Hot stamping is a metal forming technique utilized for manufacturing high strength lightweight components for the automotive industry. Three types of Ni-based hardfacings doped with solid lubricants were manufactured using laser cladding. An additional hardfacing was also manufactured using the Ni-based alloy only as a reference. Solid lubricants added were Ag+WS2, WS2 and Cu+MoS2. These hardfacings were manufactured and tribologically evaluated for potential application in hot stamping tooling. Direct diode laser was used for the cladding process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were used for characterization of the microstructure after deposition. Tribological testing was done using a reciprocating pin-on-disk tribometer under dry sliding conditions at temperatures in the range between RT and 600°C. Bearing steel ball and a flat pin made of the same material were used as counterbodies. Wear volume loss was measured using a 3D optical interferometer. For identification of the wear mechanisms SEM/EDS techniqueswere used. Formation of a lubricious CrxSy phase was detected after deposition, additionally encapsulation of silver particles by CrxSy was also observed. Reduction of friction coefficient was observed for every self-lubricating hardfacing compared to the reference. Lowest friction coefficient (0.23-0.3) was observed when the testing temperature was set to 400°C using a pin-on-flat configuration. Lowest wear rate was observed at 400°C, with the coating containing Ag and WS2 having a specific wear rate of 3.04 · 10−5mm3/Nm. The lubricity of the self-lubricating hardfacings was attributed to the CrxSy phase observed on the worn surface. At low to moderate temperatures abrasive wear is the main wear mechanism. At the highest testing temperature, oxidative wear was dominant.

Engine downsizing, improving fuel efficiency while satisfying the environmental legislations are one of the main driving forces in developing new solutions for passenger cars.Engine main bearings, are journal bearings which support the crankshaft and operate principally in full film lubrication. Defining the optimum design parameters of the bearings which can provide low friction and high durability for automobiles represents a multi-variable problem.Being the supporters of the main shaft driven by the internal combustion engine, main bearings are subjected to strenuous operating conditions. These include high loads and pressures amongst others. The trend in lubricant selection for these components is shifting towards choosing engine oils with lower viscosity to further reduce fuel consumption. Simultaneously with the shift in oil, new solutions for controlling the geometry and the topography on the micro-scale are becoming available. Three main bearing top layers plated on a conventional aluminum alloy containing tin and silicon were selected for the study. The top layers, one bismuth based and two newly developed polymer based, were investigated for their frictional and wear performance.In order to study experimentally the influence of different design parameters on bearing performance a test rig and a methodology was developed. The selected engine main bearings were tested in lubricated condition with two oils having different viscosity. Pre - and post test analysis of the shaft surface roughness was performed using white light interferometry. The wear performance of the bearings was measured both as mass loss and surface topography.The results suggest that the developed test rig can be used to simulate close to running condition testing. The measurement method and set up shows good consistency at a load of 2000 N, but indicates inconsistency in set up at 500 N.It is found that the newly developed engine main bearing top layers have promising frictional and wear performance, providing a reduction in friction by up to 20%.