RESUMO
Reduction in friction ensures fuel economy, control on emissions and durability of components in internal combustion engines. A modern gasoline internal combustion engine was instrumented to determine the friction values at the cam-roller interface considering the effects of surface treatment and engine operating state. A series of tests under different operating speeds and lubricant inlet temperatures were undertaken using both an original surface roller and a Wonder Process Craft (WPC) surface-treated engine roller. The results clearly revealed a substantial reduction in friction magnitude for the WPC surface-treated engine roller in comparison to the original roller while operating under similar conditions, indicating their strong potential for employment in engines. An increase in friction with the rise in temperature was also observed for both types of rollers, whereas increased lubricant entraining velocity due to higher operating speed had the opposite impact. A considerable reduction in frictional drive torque ranging from 8% to 28% was observed by employing the WPC-treated roller in comparison to original/untreated roller at various operating conditions, which signifies the strong potential for employment of WPC surface treatment in the roller/follower valve train engines.
RESUMO
The environmental concerns associated with artificially formulated engine oils have forced a shift towards bio-based lubricants. The deposition of hard coatings on engine components and migrating to environmentally friendly green lubricants can help in this regard. Chemically modified forms of vegetable oils, with better low-temperature characteristics and enhanced thermo-oxidative stability, are suitable substitutes to conventional lubricant base oils. The research presented in this manuscript was undertaken to experimentally investigate the wear and friction performance of a possible future generation of an environmentally friendly bio-based lubricant as a potential replacement for conventional engine lubricants. In order to quantify the tribological benefits which can be gained by the deposition of DLC coatings, (an (a-C:H) hydrogenated DLC coating and an (a-C:H:W) tungsten-doped DLC coating) were applied on the cam/tappet interface of a direct acting valve train assembly of an internal combustion engine. The tribological correlation between DLC-coated engine components, lubricant base oils and lubricant additives have been thoroughly investigated in this study using actual engine operating conditions. Two additive-free base oils (polyalphaolefines (PAO) and chemically-modified palm oil (TMP)) and two multi-additive-containing lubricants were used in this investigation. Real-time drive torque was measured to determine the friction force, detailed post-test analysis was performed, which involved the use of a specialized jig to measure camlobe wear. An optical profilometer was used to measure the wear on the tappet, high-resolution scanning electron microscopy was employed to study the wear mechanism and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was performed on the tested samples to qualitatively access the degradation of the coating. When using additive-free TMP, a low friction coefficient was observed for the cam/tappet interface. The presence of additives further improved the friction characteristics of TMP, resulting in reduced average friction torque values. A tremendous enhancement in wear performance was recorded with a-C:H-coated parts and the coating was able to withstand the test conditions with little or no delamination.
