Elasto-hydrodynamic lubricated (EHL) contacts can be found in various machine elements or systems, like rolling element bearings, cam followers or gear transmissions. The service life of these elements and systems are depending to some extent on the performance of EHL contacts. Today most tribological contacts are lubricated with the same type of lubricant throughout the entire service life. However operating conditions can change over the components service life and the contacts will therefore require different lubricant properties. In order to expend the service life of the component, the lubrication of the tribological contacts has to be optimized based on the current operating conditions. A future vision is to develop machine elements which can adopt to the actual operating condition, so called triboactive systems. A first step of necessary research in order to develop such systems is presented in this work.In order to enable operation dependent lubrication the mechanism of monitoring techniques and their interaction with different operating conditions have to be investigated. In this work the effect of surface topography, slide to roll ratio and additives on the running-in and the monitoring by contact impedance were studied. Characteristic dependences between the surface parameter Rq and the contact capacitance and between the surface parameter Rz and the contact resistance were found. Further tests with iron oxide (FE3O4) contaminated bearings, monitored by vibration and acoustic emission were carried out. Premature failure due to iron oxide contamination is the most common problem for rolling element bearings operating in mining environment. Thereby the effect of iron oxide contamination on the vibration and acoustic emission monitoring for two different types of greases were investigated. It was found that a simple RMS analysis of the vibration and acoustic emission signals enables the detection of improvements of contaminated contacts by lubrication. Both vibration and acoustic emission from the investigated bearings were reduced by adding extreme pressure additives (EP) to the contaminated contacts.Monitoring of the lubrication condition is necessary to generate information about the current performance of the tribological contact. However, in order to improve the performance of tribological contacts by changes of the lubricant or additives, the effect of such additives on the lubrication condition and the performance of the tribological contact need to be studied more in detail. The presented running-in tests in this work showed that EP additives are only favourable in the very first stage of running-in. The advantage of EP additives for running-in increases with increased surface roughness and increased slide to roll ratio.Another advantage of EP additives was observed during the tests with iron oxide contaminants. The use of EP additives reduced the acoustic emissions of the tribological contact by 70% and reduced the increase of surface roughness of the raceways by as much as 60%. Furthermore the tests indicate a lower wear rate for contaminated EHL contacts lubricated with greases containing EP additives in comparison to plain grease without EP additives, in case of iron oxide contaminated EHL contacts.

No description available.

The effect of greenhouse gas emissions contributing to the global warming is today becoming an increasingly important problem worldwide and has led to increased efforts being made on improving tribological performance of interacting surfaces in mechanical systems. Due to increasingly stringent CO2regulations, a reduced fuel consumption has become a key area of interest for the automotive industry where low cost, low emission solutions are continuously developed and where low friction alternatives to machine elements currently in use are evaluated. Crankshaft roller bearings have been shown to reduce the mechanical friction in internal combustion engines compared to the plain (sliding) bearings used today, further leading to a reduced fuel consumption and thereby reduced CO2emissions. However, the transition from plain (sliding) bearings into crankshaft roller bearings means new challenges with e.g. increased noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) levels and reduced durability of the bearings. Therefore, in order to optimise the crankshaft roller bearings that operate under the highly transient conditions in the engine, an increased understanding of the tribological system is required. Research related to elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) has led to the possibility to improve friction performance and durability of machine elements where lubricated non-conformal contact geometries interact. Traditionally, simplifications of the contacting geometries and the assumption of steady-state conditions have often been applied to the EHL analysis. The purpose of this work has thus been to develop a simulation model based on previous work done in the field and further utilise the model to simulate the contact on a detailed level, incorporating transient effects and the influence of oil behaviour using state-of-the-art modelling. The influence of the piezoviscous response and the compressibility-pressure behaviour of the lubricant on the sub-surface stress field were studied, showing that stiff lubricants may lead to increased stress concentrations in the vicinity of the surface, which may further influence the durability of the bearing. It was also seen that highly transient loading conditions applied to the contact initiate oscillations in the lubricated system, affecting pressure, film thickness and sub-surface stresses over time. These findings further elucidate the importance of including non-steady behaviour while analysing highly transient lubricating conditions of EHL contacts. By considering and optimising the aforementioned effects during design of crankshaft roller bearings, an improved NVH performance and an increased durability of the crankshaft roller bearing may be achieved.

The journal bearing is a critical machine element typically used to support rotating motion in high speed machinery. Through the generation of a hydrodynamic pressure in its thin lubricant film,which is usually in the order of 10-100μmthick depending on the diameter of the journal itself, the bearing is able to withstand large loads, both statically and dynamically, while having a very low rate of wear. It is of course essential that these components provide for a safe operation with as little wear and frictional losses as possible and it is therefore of great interest to develop simulation models of constantly increasing accuracy. Typical relevant quantities when designing a bearing are the load carrying capacity, metal/oil temperature, minimum film thickness, stiffness, damping and power loss. Classical lubrication theory builds upon the Navier-Stokes equations which, with the thin film approximation, can be reduced to a single equation which governs the hydrodynamic pressure build up in the lubricant. Since the problem now has been reduced to solving a single non linear partial differential equation in 2 dimensions, a significant advantage in terms of simulation time compared to the full set of Navier-Stokes equations can be enjoyed with an, in most cases, insignificant error of approximation. However, with time, as the need for bearings capable of operating at higher loads,speeds and with new designs involving more complex geometries, such as, for example, textured surfaces, the applicability of classic thin film theory should not be taken for granted, especially not when there is an increasing amount of turbulence involved. The purpose of the work contained in this thesis is to develop and asses the performance of a state of the art 3D TEHD model using the commercial finite element multi physics software COMSOL Multiphysics. Of special interest is the assessment of the Menter Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence model, which is a widely used, standard, 2-equation RANS eddy viscosity model, in predicting characteristic values for a bearing operating in the transition range between laminar and turbulent flow. A comparative study is carried out where the present model is benchmarked against experimental data on a large 4 pad tilting pad journal bearing. The present model is also compared to one of the classic models based on thin film theory. The present model is also used to study the influence of the geometry that constitutes the leading edge groove in a tilting pad journal bearing on the turbulence levels. Finally the possibility of using a shear thinning lubricant for reducing the bearing power loss is investigated. The calculations were all performed using the resources of the super computer cluster at HPC2N at Ume ̊a University. The results clearly show the inadequacy of the SST turbulence model when performing calculations on a bearing operating in the transition range between laminar and turbulent flow. Moreover, the model predicts slightly higher average values of turbulence in a leading edge grooved bearing compared to a conventional one, yet a higher maximum value in the latter.

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.

No description available.

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.