This doctoral thesis presents the results of the development of two software programs for the design of progressive distributors and progressive lubrication systems. One of these programs implements a genetic algorithm and the other, which is used to design progressive lubrication systems, implements a parallel genetic algorithm of the island model. The program for the design of progressive distributors was implemented in Java using the NetBeans development environment and the other program was created in Matlab. The thesis further focuses on analytical and computational solutions of the flow of compressible greases seen as viscoplastic fluids. Equations for the numerical solution of the non-steady flow of compressible viscoplastic Bingham fluids were derived and solved by the Lax-Wendroff method in Matlab. As several constants had to be set in the equations, experiments were conducted with the ecological grease Plantogel 2S in the laboratory of the Kaplan Department of Hydraulic Machines, mainly to determine the sound velocity in this grease. The sound velocity was calculated based on the experimental results by applying Fourier transformation and the transition matrix method. In addition to this, the rheological measurements of greases were used. As seen from the results, the ecological greases are actually thixotropic viscoplastic fluids with a significant elastic element. Since a Newton fluid was assumed when calculating the sound velocity, the possibilities of using the transition matrix method for viscoplastic fluids were then considered. No analytical solution of the flow of viscoplastic fluids in a frequency spectrum has been published so far. Because it emerged that greases had a significant elastic stress factor, the problem of the non-steady flow of elastic-viscoplastic fluids was solved numerically between two infinite parallel plates by applying the finite difference method (FDM). The computation was done in Matlab. This doctoral thesis makes a contribution to solving problems related to the design of progressive distributors and progressive lubrication systems used to distribute compressible greases. Considering the complex approach to this field and the achieved results, the thesis also represents a significant contribution to design work.

Dizertační práce se zabývá mechanismy mazání v náhradách kyčelního kloubu. Byla provedena systematická studie formování proteinového filmu při zahrnutí různých materiálů a provozních podmínek. Hlavní pozornost je přitom věnována roli jednotlivých proteinů obsažených v synoviální kapalině při současné přítomnosti dalších proteinů. Jelikož metody aplikované v předchozích studiích neumožňovaly separovat jednotlivé složky maziva, byla vyvinuta optická měřící metoda na principu fluorescenční mikroskopie. Z důvodu verifikace metody byly provedeny dvě nezávislé studie zaměřené na měření tloušťky mazacího filmu a dělení maziva na výstupu mazaného kontaktu. Z důvodu určitých limitací fluorescenční mikroskopie byla dále využita i metoda optické interferometrie, jejíž využití je ilustrováno ve studii zabývající se formováním mazacího filmu v náhradách kyčelního klubu při uvažování reálné konformity třecích povrchů. Závěrečná část práce představuje nový metodologický přístup založený na in situ pozorování kontaktní oblasti umožňující popsat roli jednotlivých proteinů ve vztahu k vývoji tloušťky mazacího filmu. Práce obsahuje originální výsledky, které přináší nové poznání v oblasti biotribologie náhrad kyčelního kloubu vedoucí k dalšímu vývoji implantátů při snaze zabránit jejich selhání v důsledku omezené životnosti.

<div>Positive displacement machines are used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from fluid power where they act as a transmission of power, to lubrication and fluid transport. As the core of the fluid system responsible for mechanical--hydraulic energy conversion, the efficiencies of these units are a major driver of the total efficiency of the system. Furthermore, the durability of these units is a strong decider in the useful life of the system in which they operate.</div><div><br></div><div>The key challenge in designing these units comes from understanding their working principles and designing their lubricating interfaces, which must simultaneously perform a load carrying and sealing function as the unit operates. While most of the physical phenomena relevant to these machines have been studied previously in some capacity, the significance of their mutual interactions has not. For this reason, the importance of these mutual interactions is a fundamental question in these machines that this thesis answers for the first time. In analysis of two different machine types, it is confirmed that mutual interactions of both physical phenomena and neighboring fluid domains of the unit contribute significantly to the overall performance of the machine. Namely, these analyses demonstrate load sharing owing to mutual interactions on average of 20% and as high as 50%, and mutual flow interactions of at least 10%.</div><div><br></div><div>In this thesis, the behavior of the thin films of fluid in the lubricating interfaces of the units, the bodies that make up these films, and the volumes which interface with them will be considered. The resulting coupled problem requires a model that can consider the effects of motion of all floating bodies on all films and volumes, and collect the resulting loads applied by the fluid as it responds. This will require a novel 6 degree of freedom dynamics model including the inertia of the bodies and the transient pressure and shear loads of all interfaces of the body and the fluid domain.</div><div><br></div><div>During operation, fluid cavitation and aeration can occur in both the displacement chambers of the machine and its lubricating interfaces. To capture this, a novel cavitation algorithm is developed in this thesis, which considers the release of bubbles due to both gas trapped within the fluid and vaporization of the operating fluid in localized low pressure regions of the films. In the absence of cavitation, this model will also be used to find the pressures and flows over the film, communicating this information with the remainder of the fluid domain.</div><div><br></div><div>Due to the high pressures that form in these units, the bodies deform. The resulting deformation changes the shape of the films and therefore its pressure distribution. This coupled effect will be captured in one of two ways, the first relying on existing geometric information of the unit, and the other using a novel analytical approach that is developed to avoid this necessity. In either case, the added damping due to the shear of the materials will be considered for the first time. Additionally in regions of low gap height, mixed lubrication occurs and the effects of the surface asperities of the floating bodies cannot be neglected. Accurate modeling of this condition is necessary to predict wear that leads to failure in these units. This work will then develop a novel implementation for mixed lubrication modeling that is directly integrated into the cavitation modeling approach.</div><div><br></div><div>Finally, effort is made to maintain a generic tools, such that the model can be applied to any positive displacement machine. This thesis will present the first toolbox of its kind, which accounts for all the mentioned aspects in such a way that they can be captured for any machine. Using both multithreaded and sequential implementations, the tool will be capable of fully utilizing a machine on which it is run for both low latency (design) and high throughput (optimization) applications respectively. In order to make these applications feasible, the various modules of the tool will be strongly coupled using asynchronous time stepping. This approach is made possible with the development of a novel impedance tensor of the mixed universal Reynolds equation, and shows marked improvements in simulation time by requiring at most 50% of the simulation time of existing approaches.</div><div><br></div><div>In the present thesis, the developed tool will be validated using experimental data collected from 3 fundamentally different machines. Individual advancements of the tool will also be verified in isolation with comparison to the state of the art and commercial software in the relevant fields. As a demonstration of the use of the tool for design, detailed analysis of the displacing actions and lubricating interfaces of these same units will be performed. These validations demonstrate the ability of the tool to predict machine efficiencies with error averaging around 1% over all operating conditions for multiple machine types, and capture transient behavior of the units. To demonstrate the utility as a virtual optimization tool, design of a complete external gear machine design will be performed. This demonstration will start from only analytical parameters, and will track a route to a complete prototype.</div>

The purpose of the project work was to build knowledge of the tribological behaviour of self-lubricating laser cladding, with and without external solid lubricant during conditions relevant for hot metal forming of aluminium. The materials used during the project were plates coated with a Ni-based self-lubricating clad and a reference sample of work tool steel. The self-lubricating laser clad was applied using a high power direct diode laser. The external solid lubricant used was a graphite dispersion. The external solid lubricant was applied on the samples using a spraying technique, leaving a dry layer of solid graphite on the plates. To test the tribological behaviour of the plates, linear reciprocating friction and wear tests were performed both under lubricated and dry conditions. During the dry tests, different surface roughness of the plates where investigated. The pins for the tribological test were made of AA7075. Parameters chosen for the tribological tests were based on conditions during hot forming of aluminium. After having taken images of the plates using scanning electron microscopy, and using a 3D optical profiler, the wear volume and material transfer was evaluated, and wear mechanism analysis was performed.   The tribological behaviour of polished Ni-based laser clad under dry conditions is comparable to that of the reference sample at its best performance. Using a mirror polished Ni-based laser clad under dry condition can be an option to not using external solid lubricant during hot forming of aluminium. Also, the surface roughness of the self-lubricating clad under dry conditions does not affect the coefficient of friction.

Wear is a commonly occurring degradation mechanism for materials and components in the rock drilling industry. The wear can occur by either abrasion or adhesive wear. Further corrosion and presence of water or other lubricating fluids with or without particles may influence the behavior. Which mechanism, or mechanisms, and under which conditions it occurs, as well as the relative wear rate is dependent on the actual operating conditions for the component. In the present study, commonly available and general test methods for wear on high-alloy carbon steel has been analyzed. The project has been carried out through literature reviews and study visits at the tribology laboratory at KTH and at the Angstroms laboratory at Uppsala University. The present study indicates that it is difficult to suggest a feasible test method that is possible to use for all different situations of the wear that may occur. A test adapted to the actual situation is required to achieve a proper wear rate comparable to the wear rate in a real application.  According to the requirements from Ovako AB, a test that is general, cost effective and can be used when developing steel with higher wear-resistance, following wear testing methods has been compared: a pin-on-disk apparatus, a dry/wet sand/rubber wheel, a dry/wet sand/steel wheel, a tumbling mill, a particle erosion rig, a solid particle impingement using gas jets and a grinding machine. The tumbling mill, the grinder and the “Standard Test Method for Wear Testing with a Pin-On- Disk Apparatus” correspond to the requirements best. Ovako AB is recommended to continue the work with these testing methods. / Nötning är en vanlig mekanism som orsakar nedbrytning på material i gruvindustrin. Nötningen kan förekomma som abrasiv eller adhesiv nötning. Korrosion och närvaro av vatten eller andra smörjande vätskor med eller utan lösa partiklar kan påverka beteendet. Den eller de mekanismer som styr nötningen såväl som nötningstalet beror på de aktuella förhållanden vilka materialet eller materialen verkar i. I denna studie har en generell testmetod för att utvärdera nötning på höglegerat kolstål har undersökts. Arbetet har genomförts genom litteratursökning samt studiebesök vid tribologiska laboratoriet på KTH samt på Ångströmska i Uppsala. Utifrån arbetet har det visat sig att det inte förekommer några generella nötningstest för alla applikationer, då det krävs ett test som är anpassat efter verkligheten för att få ut korrekt nötningstal. Utifrån Ovako ABs önskemål om ett generellt test som är ekonomiskt hållbart samt kan användas för att utveckla nötningsbeständigheten i de stål där nötning förekommer har följande testmetoder jämförts: pinne/skiva-maskin, blött/torrt sand/gummihjul, blött/torrt sand/stålhjul, roterande trumma, ”Erofugen”, partikelsprutare och en slipmaskin. De test som motsvarar kravprofilen bäst är den roterande trumman, slipmaskinen samt den standardiserade pinne/skiva-maskinen. Utifrån dessa testmetoder rekommenderas Ovako AB att fortsätta arbetet.

Efficient transmissions systems are key to producing competitive motor vehicles that have a smaller environmental impact. Gears are the main components in vehicle transmissions and although they are already highly efficient, there is still room for improvement. In this study, the focus falls on the lubricant used to create separating films between gears and todissipate heat. When driving, the gears churn this lubricant, giving rise to power losses that are related to the amount and properties of the lubricant. However, any attempt to reduce these losses must not compromise the required lubrication and heat dissipation. Paper A reports on the use of an FZG gear test rig to investigate power losses and heat generation for different gear immersion depths, surface roughness and coatings. The results show that lower gear roughness reduces gear mesh losses and heat generation. A polishing affect was obtained when a non-coated gear ran against a coated gear.The aim of the research reported in paper B was to increase the accuracy of efficiency testing. It investigated how and whether repeated disassembly and re-assembly of the same test equipment, as well as test performance and rig conditions, affect the measured torque loss in an FZG gear test rig. It was shown that the measured torque loss changes between one assembly and another. Repeatability between tests is crucial for accurate conclusions.The aim of the research reported in paper C was to study whether gear efficiency could be increased by a running-in procedure, which would reduce the need for a coolant. A back-to-back gear test rig was used to test two running-in loads. Higher gear mesh efficiency was seen when a higher running-in load was used. / <p>QC 20141006</p>

Requirements today for machines have moved beyond functionality intoefficiency and reliability, gears are no exception. The presented work focuseson the analysis of the measurement, evolution and effect of running-in on geardrives from a surface roughness and efficiency point of view. With no consen-sus on a definition or observation of running-in of gear drives, measurementsof both efficiency and surface transformation during the predefined running-inis explored. A verified methodology on how to separate form, waviness androughness is presented. Two finishing methods, namely generation groundand superfinished, are analyzed in terms of efficiency and surface characteris-tics as manufactured, after running-in and after efficiency testing in order todetermine the effects of load level during running-in.Results show that separation of form can be achieved with a carefullychosen polynomial, while waviness is more subject to how the user definesa cut-off wavelength for the surface roughness. Ground gears show distinctsmoothening in terms of surface roughness at high running-in load, and nogeneral trend for low load. This behavior is also reflected in the efficiencysince higher loads gave overall lower efficiency after running-in when com-pared to lower loads. Superfinished gears in contrast show no running-in ef-fects in terms of efficiency. Additionally, ground gears exhibit general changein friction and surface roughness during the first cycles of running-in whenanalyzing high load. Overall gains in efficiency can be obtained from running-in; however, at most speeds improvements from polishing a surface, in thiscase superfinishing, proved to lead to higher efficiency. / <p>QC 20150922</p>

This report covers the work and results of the thesis project in Mechanical Engineering from Luleå university of technology performed by Niklas Ydebäck. The objective of the thesis project is to research if it is possible, with general principles of fluid flow between components and the corresponding geometric constraints between them and just a few channels of data, to model the leakage of a radial piston hydraulic motor. The model is of the grey box kind which makes use of both numerical and statistical methods together with known physical properties of a system in order to model the system. The unknown parameters of this system that are estimated using the least squares method are the three different gap heights of the system as well as the two different eccentricities in the system. The model contains the physical properties of the system, stated in equations for the leakage in the relevant lubrication interfaces, but no relational properties for the dynamics and affects between the individual lubricating interfaces. The model developed is due to the model generality together with the data quality accessible not able to model the system with reliable quality. The model is however able to capture the general trend of the leakage in the system over the applied time series datasets. / Den här rapporten presenterar arbetsgången och resultatet av examensarbetet för en civilingenjörsexamen i Maskinteknik från Luleå tekniska universitet utförd av Niklas Ydebäck. Målet med examensarbetet är att utvärdera och undersöka om det är möjligt, med generella och vedertagna principer av fluidflöde mellan smorda komponenter tillsammans med de geometriska begränsningarna som hör dem till och några få kanaler av data, att modellera läckaget för en radialkolvsmotor. Modellen är en grålådemodell som med hjälp av numeriska och statistiska metoder och kända fysikaliska principer av ett system bildar en modell av systemet. De okända parametrarna av systemet som estimeras med hjälp av minsta kvadrat metoden är de tre olika typerna av spalthöjderna och de två olika eccentricitetstyperna som finns i systemets smorda kontakter. Modellen består av de fysikaliska egenskaperna i systemet, formerade i ekvationer för läckaget i de relevanta smorda kontakterna, men inga relationella egenskaper för dynamiken och effekterna mellan de olika smorda kontakterna. Den utvecklade modellen är på grund av den generella karaktären av modellen tillsammans med kvaliteten på den data som finns tillgänglig inte möjlig att modellera läckaget i systemet med tillräcklig noggrannhet. Modellen är trots detta kapabel att fånga de generella trender som återfinns i den uppmätta datan på läckaget för de applicerade dataseten.

The temperature distribution of the lubricating interfaces is an important aspect of the functioning of positive displacement machines. It can determine the efficiency and the life time of the unit. In particular, it directly affects the fluid properties and the thermal induced deformations of the solid bodies. A simulation tool capable of predicting the fluid temperature in such gaps thus becomes very useful in the design process of these machines. The temperature distribution in a film comprises of many physical phenomena including convection and conduction along and across the film. Past numerical approaches solved this multi-directional conduction-convection problem using a threedimensional(3D) grid, making the tool computationally expensive and unsuitable for fast simulations. This paper proposes a hybrid fluid temperature solver, based on, a low computational cost twodimensional(2D) grid, to reduce the simulation time with reasonable accuracy. The piston/cylinder interface of an axial piston machine is selected as reference case to demonstrate the proposed approach. The hybrid approach was found to speedup the simulation times by 36%.

With the increasing restrictions in emission legislations, the automotive industry aims to improve the efficiency of the lubricating system and to decrease fuel consumption. In the power cylinder unit (PCU), the piston rings are the major contributor to these consumptions. Hence, focus on the dynamic behaviour of the rings to reduce lube oil consumption (LOC) becomes a key factor in thriving towards sustainability. Several studies have been conducted on the piston ring-pack specifically using a 2D ring dynamics approach. This study focuses on developing a 3D ring dynamics model, in the software tool AVL EXCITE™ Piston&amp;Rings, which is capable of observing the behaviour of the ring along the third dimension i.e. circumferential direction. A coordinated approach used in the methodology gives an insight into the parameters affecting the model behaviour. Within the PCU, wear on the cylinder liner surface and in the piston ring grooves can lead to accelerated LOC. This study further focuses on using the 3D model to analyse the friction and wear on the piston rings. Factors contributing towards LOC are individually studied and the results obtained are compared to the experimental engine test data. The outcome of the 3D numerical model developed shows promising results. The model can therefore be used to simulate different piston ring-packs and analyse the behaviour of the piston ring with a better prediction of friction, wear and LOC. Thus, the model will contribute to reducing the number of physical tests conducted, the expense involved in conducting those tests and would provide satisfactory products to the customer and would manage future emission requirements.