The Importance of Crankshaft Surface Texture to Bearing System Reliability

Because of the heavy demands placed on today's internal combustion engine bearings, there is an increasing need for quantitative data in the study of bearing performance. To this end a “Scuff/Seizure Test” has been developed which measures seizure resistance, a complex function of conformability and compatibility of the bearing system. Conformability may be defined as the system's ability to accommodate minor geometrical inaccuracies of the sliding surfaces whilst compatibility is the ability of two surfaces to be in contact without system failure. Besides the study of bearing materials the test has been applied to investigate the influences of shaft surface texture and preparation routes.