Browse Topic: Lubricants
For brake and clutch components of aircraft vehicles which require higher mechanical strength and wear resilient, light-weight aluminium composites were developed infusing solid lubricant. In this study, hybrid composites were developed using powder metallurgy route with aluminum alloy AA356 and various amounts of zirconium oxide (ZrO2) (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt.%) as reinforcements. A solid lubricant hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) at a fixed 5 wt.% is considered. Following the appropriate ASTM guidelines, the specimens were mechanically characterized by measuring their density, porosity, micro-hardness, compression strength, impact strength, and flexural strength, among other properties. The findings showed that the composites' mechanical and physical behaviour were greatly affected by the inclusion of ZrO2. Porosity increased as a result of particle clustering and interfacial voids, while density increased gradually as ceramic content increased. Consistently increasing ZrO2 addition led to micro-hardness improvements; at 20 wt.% reinforcement, values reached their maximum, indicating that the hard ceramic phase contributed to better surface resistance. The best balance between particle reinforcement and matrix continuity was suggested by the compression and flexural strengths peaking at 15 wt.% ZrO2. However, when the addition was raised to 20 wt.%, brittleness and porosity began to marginally deteriorate. Unreinforced and lower ZrO2 composites had superior toughness in impact, whereas materials with a higher content had a poorer energy absorption capacity. The 5 wt.% hBN improved fracture arresting capabilities and helped load transmission over the interface. Inclusion of hBN provides solid-lubricating tribofilm formation that enhances the tribological performance. This study reveals that AA356/ZrO2-hBN hybrid composites have good hardness and compressive strength improvements, with 15 wt.% ZrO2 being the best composition with good strength, toughness, and wear resistance.
Rolling-element bearings in rotorcraft dynamic systems are critical components susceptible to rolling contact fatigue (RCF), a dominant degradation mechanism manifesting through subsurface-initiated spalling, surface micropitting, and fatigue fractures. Robust inspection strategies compliant with EASA and FAA requirements are therefore essential. Traditional methods are often invasive, requiring disassembly, and are susceptible to human-factor errors. Smart Duplex introduces a design-for-monitoring architecture integrating in-situ videoscopic and coherence scanning interferometry (CSI) for high-resolution 3D surface mapping, including under partial grease coverage. This paper details a repeatability and reproducibility (R&R) framework ensuring metric consistency; a maintainability assessment projecting significant man-hour reductions and high availability; certification rationale emphasizing airworthiness improvements via enhanced detectability, workload reduction, and digitized inspection records; and an airworthiness mapping supporting threat assessments, Airworthiness Limitations Section (ALS) entries, and usage-based maintenance credits. By embedding sensing capability and digitizing inspection records, Smart Duplex minimizes downtime, mitigates human-factor errors, and facilitates predictive maintenance, optimizing cost, enhancing performance, and ultimately improving safety.
Bench-level boundary-lubricated fretting experiments were conducted to compare the relative wear of all-steel and hybrid material pairs. Roller-on-raceway contacts were simulated using both AISI M50 steel and Si3N4 cylindrical rollers on flat AISI M50 steel disks. The rollers were 9 mm long with a 9 mm diameter. Tests were conducted with constant amplitude, oscillation frequency, and load. All tests were boundary-lubricated with 0.1 ml of DOD-PRF-85734, MIL-PRF-32538, MILPRF-23699, or unclassified ISO VG 68 aviation gear oil. Wear volume was calculated from 3D measurements on the roller and disk samples after each test. Wear tracks were inspected with light and scanning electron microscopy. It was concluded that hybrid pairs exhibited less wear than all-steel pairs when boundary-lubricated with three of the four aviation gear oils. Both hybrid and all-steel pairs exhibited similar wear when boundary-lubricated with MIL-PRF-23699 oil.
Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) with an increasing level of electrification, are becoming a major part of the global energy transition. To achieve lower engine tailpipe exhaust emissions and improve total fuel consumption, typically the HEV control system expertly and frequently switches between the internal combustion engine and electric motor drive, with multiple stops and restarts of the internal combustion engine (ICE). As a consequential result of this switching, are typically slower or even incomplete engine warm-up times, depending on the engine speed, load pattern and run time of the vehicle drive cycle. Along with the speed and load transient control, the engine stop and start processes are also challenging to control, with respect to cold start fuel and combustion by-products entering the oil. Consequently, contamination enters the engine oil but may not completely leave. These effects are highly transient over the drive cycle. Contaminants and in particular, fuel dilution, will affect the engine oil viscosity. To demonstrate this whilst yielding insights, a precisely controlled engine test cell, running the cold start Worldwide Harmonized Light Duty Transient Cycle (WLTC) for both, a non-hybridized ICE only vehicle and a HEV in charge sustaining mode operation is described. This also has on-line viscosity sensing and oil sampling. Typical data is shared along with engine oil comparisons. For complimentary insights, the impact of the fuel dilution on engine friction was investigated using a novel, precise, fully transient engine friction test rig, which measures gasoline direct injection high pressure fuel-pump friction and engine oil viscosity accurately. The cycle is based on measured data from vehicles tested on a chassis dynamometer. On-line friction data, with oil comparisons is used to show real-time data of the effect of fuel dilution on the frictional energy required, thus CO2 over the full WLTC.
A computational investigation was carried out using SimericsMP+ to analyze oil distribution and aeration behavior in a V6 engine oil pan during severe vehicle maneuvers. The model accounted for the crankshaft/camshaft rotations and piston motions, which allows for capturing realistic oil distribution in cylinder head drainbacks, engine bay and sump after initializing the crankcase with prescribed oil levels to establish baseline aeration prior to applying dynamic maneuver profiles. Of particular interest was the response of the main oil gallery (MOG) pressure and the exposure of the oil pickup tube during kickoff conditions at multiple fill levels. Both a baseline configuration and a modified sump featuring a containment “doghouse” were examined. Results obtained from the kickoff maneuver show complete uncovering of the pickup tube in the baseline design, leading to unstable lubrication. The first doghouse design only delayed pickup tube uncovering briefly, as oil pooled at the rear gap and air ingestion still occurred. Full fill avoids air ingestion; however, high interaction with the crank shaft results in higher oil aeration longer term after kickoff maneuver ends. The findings highlight the complexity of oil behavior in engine environments, where unpredictable interactions during dynamic maneuvers can easily lead to ingestion and aeration. Despite this complexity, the computational strategy developed in this study was able to accurately reproduce and predict these events which were seen in the test scenario as well in the form of pressure readings at the pump inlet. Since these high-aeration events were validated against experimental measurements, this simulation approach proves to be highly valuable for guiding product design and optimization, allowing engineers to identify risks early and improve lubrication performance in the engines before physical testing.
Oil churning and windage power losses in dip-lubricated gearboxes can significantly affect overall transmission efficiency, particularly at high rotational speeds. As modern gearbox systems are pushed toward higher efficiency and reliability, understanding and predicting these losses becomes increasingly important. In addition to energy dissipation, the associated multiphase flow phenomena—such as oil splashing, thin film formation along gear surfaces, and aeration of the sump—strongly influence lubrication effectiveness, heat transfer, and component durability. Capturing these effects requires a robust numerical strategy that can resolve both power loss mechanisms and multiphase flow dynamics with sufficient accuracy. In this study, a single spur gear is numerically analyzed under varying oil depths and rotational speeds to quantify total power loss and investigate oil flow patterns. The computational approach employs a volume-of-fluid multiphase framework, and the predictions are systematically validated against experimental data from the OSU Lab. Validation is carried out in two stages: first, by comparing the simulated oil free-surface shapes with experimental flow visualizations for various operating conditions; and second, by comparing total power loss across a range of rotational speeds and immersion depths. The findings confirm that qualitative comparisons of oil behavior show good agreement with experimental observations including splash generation, oil streak formation, and gear surface wetting. Furthermore, predicted power loss trends align with experiments, exhibiting exponential growth with RPM and a transition toward quadratic scaling as oil depth increases. Overall, this work highlights the capability of the numerical framework to predict both churning losses and multiphase flow behavior in gear lubrication systems, providing a foundation for future gearbox design and optimization.
Oil pressure, the most fundamental to engine's performance and longevity, is not only critical to ensure that the engine components are properly lubricated, cooled, and protected against wear and contamination, but also ultimately contributing to reliable engine performance. Due to several factors of engine such as, rotational fluctuation, aeration, functioning of hydraulic components there are fluctuations in oil pressure. In engines, with a crank-mounted fixed displacement oil pump (FDOP), these inherited pressure fluctuations cannot be eliminated completely. However, it is very necessary to control the abnormal oil pressure fluctuation because abnormal pressure fluctuation may lead to malfunction of hydraulic component functioning like variable valve timing (VVT), hydraulic lash adjuster (HLA) and dynamic chain tensioner which can further cause serious issues like excessive or sudden load drops, unstable engine performance, valve train noise, improper valve lift operation etc. In this paper, engine oil pressure fluctuation in HLA gallery is studied, and its impact was assessed on valve train system. Root cause analysis (RCA) was conducted using high frequency oil pressure measurement to understand the various reasons impacting high oil pressure fluctuations inside HLA galleries. Time domain analysis was performed to understand oil pressure fluctuations with respect to VVT cam phasing. Angle domain analysis was performed to assess the impact of oil pressure fluctuations on valve train behavior. Further findings from this study aim to enhance the understanding of impact of VVT cam phasing in oil pressure fluctuations.
Electric vehicle (EV) transmission efficiency is crucial for optimizing energy use and enhancing performance. It minimizes power losses during energy transfer from the motor to the wheels, directly impacting the vehicle's range and battery life. High efficiency ensures smoother acceleration and better driving dynamics, improving the overall user experience. Unlike internal combustion engine (ICE) transmissions, EV transmissions often employ simpler, single-speed systems, reducing complexity and energy loss. Efficient transmissions help reduce energy usage, lower costs, and minimize environmental impact. As a result, transmission efficiency plays a vital role in ensuring the sustainability and reliability of EV designs. This paper proposes a simulation model based methodology to estimate EV transmission efficiency based on modelica models developed on simulation X. A single speed EV model is developed which contains whole transmission layout discretized into simple components which include shafts, gears, bearing inertias and power loss components. The developed model considers load dependent losses which occur due to frictional losses because of surface contact between gear teeth, bearings, shafts and inertial losses based on operating conditions of the transmission required to accelerate or decelerate rotating components. Other losses due to oil churning, bearing drag and drag due to gears spinning in gear oil can be modelled using elements present in default library provided in simulation X. In the initial simulation runs, efficiency under operating region of torque speed curve of the electric motor are estimated by considering equidistant points and in subsequent runs overall power loss and efficiency over a duty cycle is estimated. Simulation results show good co-relation with measurements carried out at bench level on physical prototypes. The developed model is capable of modification to suit other single-speed EV transmissions with room left out for developing the same for multi-speed EV transmissions.
Emissions regulations, such as Euro VI, drives the Automotive industry to innovate continuously in Engine development. One significant challenge is the engine oil pumping from the crankcase into the combustion chamber, where it participates in combustion, which contributes to increased Particulate Numbers and fails to meet Euro VI emission compliance. This issue is most noticeable during engine idling and motoring conditions. During this time, a higher negative pressure difference develops between the intake manifold, which is acting above the combustion chamber and the engine crankcase. This pressure difference drives oil-laden blow-by aerosols past piston rings during the intake stroke and through the valve stem seals, allowing oil into the combustion chamber. The impact of the pressure difference between the intake manifold and crankcase was studied by varying the crankcase pressure through crankcase ventilation system. The results confirm that oil entry into the combustion chamber, contributing to combustion, occurs primarily through the piston rings, contributing to increase in Particulate Number (PN). To address this issue, it becomes necessary to introduce a mechanism that optimizes negative crankcase pressure across varying engine operating conditions. By reducing the pressure difference between the intake manifold and crankcase, this mechanism prevents oil entering the combustion chamber, thereby minimizing Particulate Number emissions and ensuring Euro VI compliance. This study focuses on the development and implementation of a negative crankcase pressure control system via the crankcase ventilation system. Through targeted optimization, it provides an effective way to control oil pumping into the combustion chamber, thereby enhancing emission control and advancing the development of cleaner Naturally Aspirated Gas engines.
The torque transfer response to rider throttle operation contributes to vehicle control in motorcycles equipped with a DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission). The clutch response is a key parameter to enhance torque transfer response. We have developed three new ECU (Electric Control Unit) control methods to enhance the clutch response on the DCT. The DCT clutch transfers torque by controlling the contact force between the clutch discs and the clutch plates. It is desirable to measure the hydraulic pressure value directly from the clutch piston chamber to control the contact force. However, since the clutch piston is a rotating body, it is impractical to place a hydraulic pressure sensor on it. Therefore, the hydraulic pressure sensor is placed along the clutch control oil line at the existing DCT system. Consequently, when oil flows in the oil line, pressure loss in the oil line causes a deviation between the hydraulic pressure sensor value and the clutch piston chamber pressure value, which limits the enhancement of clutch response. To enhance clutch response, we have studied the estimation of the hydraulic pressure value in the clutch piston chamber using the existing hydraulic pressure sensor value at the oil line. This estimation is based on the reaction force characteristics of the clutch piston and Bernoulli’s principle. By using the estimated hydraulic pressure, half-clutch control can be identified, which allows the application of higher feedback gain to enhance clutch response. We also implement correction of clutch control oil viscosity fluctuations based on the hydraulic pressure variations of the clutch control oil. With these technologies applied, the clutch response time is reduced 45% as reference compared to the existing DCT clutch control. This also reduces torque transfer response time, ultimately allowing for smoother vehicle control.
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