<p>The objectives of this investigation were to experimentally and analytically evaluate the  performance of a valve train cam and oscillating roller follower mechanism. Of particular interest  was the effect of operating conditions on the slide-to-roll ratio (SRR) of the roller follower. In order to experimentally measure the SRR at the cam-roller contact, a valve train test rig  (VTTR) was utilized. The VTTR contained a section of a heavy-duty diesel engine valve train that  was instrumented with encoders and Hall effect sensors to measure the camshaft and roller  follower angular velocities as a function of operating parameters.  To corroborate the experimental with analytical results, a numerical model for the cam and  oscillating roller follower was developed. In this modeling approach, the roller angular velocity  was determined via a torque balance between the frictional torque of the pin-roller follower and  cam-roller follower interfaces. The pin-roller friction was obtained by developing a time-dependent hydrodynamic journal bearing model with variable speed and load. Friction maps were  developed for the cam-roller follower interface using a ball-on-disk EHD2 rig to capture the  friction behavior across a range of entraining velocities, contact pressures, and SRRs. Additional  areas of investigation included thermal effects and wear in the pin-roller contact. Overall, good agreement was obtained between the experimental and analytical roller  follower angular velocity, with the normalized RMS errors less than 7%, across all operating  conditions investigated. The analytical investigation determined that thermal effects in the pin-roller contact are insignificant for the typical operating conditions. However, it was shown that the  pin-roller friction torque is critical in causing roller follower slip, as the SRR greatly increases  once the pin-roller friction torque is greater than the cam-roller friction torque. Finally, pin-roller  local wear was demonstrated to have detrimental effects on the SRR of the roller follower once a  critical wear depth was reached. </p>

Engine development today is driven by cost, performance and government regulations. Customers want cars and trucks to consume less fuel, last longer, pollute less and be safer. Several of the requirements have tribological associations. For example, product longevity can be improved by lowering friction and using more wear-resistant components. In recent decades, the use of new coating application procedures and techniques has produced remarkably advances in relation to cutting tools. The process temperature at which coatings are applied has been lowered to below 200 oC. Thus it is now possible to coat low-alloy temper-sensitive steels, which are widely used in the automotive industry in machine elements such as gears, bearings and cam followers. The aim of this work has been to investigate the possibility of using sputtered amorphous carbon coatings to reduce friction and prevent wear in engine components, and specifically in valve train components. Test equipment simulating near-normal running conditions for the valve mechanism has been developed and used to test standard and coated valve components. The mechanism has also been analysed and simulated numerically. The results show a low velocity difference between the injector cam lobe and the roller, except for a short interval at the top dead centre of the rocker arm. In that region the slip increases significantly at higher speeds due to inertial forces. A three-dimensional finite element parameter study of the coating thickness, elastic modulus, asperity contact size and wavelength has shown that tensional stresses at the coating surface increase significantly when asperity contacts approach and interact. Testing of different thicknesses in rolling contact, together with finite element stress analysis, showed that a higher tensional stress level through the coating thickness increases the possibility of cracks propagating down to the interlayer and causing delamination of the coating. Tests with a rapid load increase on two carbon coatings show no transition from mild to more severe wear. Instead the contact is dimensioned by the plastic deformation of the underlying substrate.

<p>Engine development today is driven by cost, performance and government regulations. Customers want cars and trucks to consume less fuel, last longer, pollute less and be safer. Several of the requirements have tribological associations. For example, product longevity can be improved by lowering friction and using more wear-resistant components. In recent decades, the use of new coating application procedures and techniques has produced remarkably advances in relation to cutting tools. The process temperature at which coatings are applied has been lowered to below 200 oC. Thus it is now possible to coat low-alloy temper-sensitive steels, which are widely used in the automotive industry in machine elements such as gears, bearings and cam followers. </p><p>The aim of this work has been to investigate the possibility of using sputtered amorphous carbon coatings to reduce friction and prevent wear in engine components, and specifically in valve train components. Test equipment simulating near-normal running conditions for the valve mechanism has been developed and used to test standard and coated valve components. The mechanism has also been analysed and simulated numerically. The results show a low velocity difference between the injector cam lobe and the roller, except for a short interval at the top dead centre of the rocker arm. In that region the slip increases significantly at higher speeds due to inertial forces. </p><p>A three-dimensional finite element parameter study of the coating thickness, elastic modulus, asperity contact size and wavelength has shown that tensional stresses at the coating surface increase significantly when asperity contacts approach and interact. Testing of different thicknesses in rolling contact, together with finite element stress analysis, showed that a higher tensional stress level through the coating thickness increases the possibility of cracks propagating down to the interlayer and causing delamination of the coating. Tests with a rapid load increase on two carbon coatings show no transition from mild to more severe wear. Instead the contact is dimensioned by the plastic deformation of the underlying substrate.</p>