Friction Characteristics of Mechanical Seals with Laser-textured Seal Faces

Heat generated by friction between faces of mechanica l seals is a major factor that causes deterioration of the seals and shortens th eir service life. Excessive temperature rise can greatly alter the seal geometry and vaporize the sealing fluid, resulting in friction of boundary lubrication. These effects on face seals usually lead to excessive leakage and ultimately ren der the seal inoperable. In order to maintain the reliability of seals, high fri ction and unwanted wear must be avoided. Using the laser-texturing process to produce regular micro-surface structures is a fast and convenient technique compared to some more conventional etching or erosion technique currently used by the seal industry for various grooved face seals. Indeed, by using a pulse laser, better control is obtained on the geometr y, size and pore ratio of seal rings made of metallic or ceramic materials. In t his study, seal rings are made of silicon carbide and carbon. Mating faces of th e rings are polished and only silicon carbide rings are laser-textured. The las er texturing can be controlled to produce spherical pores at selected diameters, depths and pore ratio. The textured rings are then super-polished to remove th e bulges formed on the pores rims. After this process the average pore diameter, pore depth and pore ratio reach the predetermined parameter. Some untextured ri ngs are also treated to the same surface roughness and served as a reference for comparison of the textured rings. A special test rig is used to simulate a mech anical seal system and to measure the effect of the laser texturing on friction and seal performance. Tests are performed at various rotational speeds and vario us axial loads. Compared with the conventional mechanical seals, temperature rise, friction torq ue and friction coefficient of mechanical seals with laser-textured seal faces are much lower. These preliminary results show the potential of improving fricti on performance and increasing seal life with laser-textured seal faces.

Friction Characteristics of Nanoscale Sliding Contacts between Multi-Asperity Tips and Textured Surfaces

Nanoscale sliding contacts of smooth surfaces or between a single asperity and a smooth surface have been widely investigated by molecular dynamics simulations, while there are few studies on the sliding contacts between two rough surfaces. Actually, the friction of two rough surfaces considering interactions between more asperities should be more realistic. By using multiscale method, friction characteristics of two dimensional nanoscale sliding contacts between rigid multi-asperity tips and elastic textured surfaces are investigated. Four nanoscale textured surfaces with different texture shapes are designed, and six multi-asperity tips composed of cylindrical asperities with different radii are used to slide on the textured surfaces. Friction forces are compared for different tips, and effects of the asperity radii on the friction characteristics are investigated. Average friction forces for all the cases are listed and compared, and effects of texture shapes of the textured surfaces are discussed. The results show that textured surface II has a better structure to reduce friction forces. The multi-asperity tips composed of asperities with R=20r0 （r0=0.227 7 nm） or R=30r0 get higher friction forces compared with other cases, and more atoms of the textured surfaces are taken away by these two tips, which are harmful to reduce friction or wear. For the case of R=10ro, friction forces are also high due to large contact areas, but the sliding processes are stable and few atoms are taken away by the tip. The proposed research considers interactions between more asperities to make the model approach to the real sliding contact problems. The results will help to vary or even control friction characteristics by textured surfaces, or provide references to the design of textured surfaces.

Experimental Study on Wear Performance and Oil Film Characteristics of Surface Textured Cylinder Liner in Marine Diesel Engine

It is of a vital importance to reduce the frictional losses in marine diesel engines. Advanced surface textures have provided an e ective solution to friction performance of rubbing pairs due to the rapid development of surface engineering techniques. However,the mechanisms through which textured patterns and texturing methods prove beneficial remains unclear. To address this issue,the tribological system of the cylinder liner?piston ring(CLPR) is investigated in this work. Two types of surface textures(Micro concave,Micro V?groove) are processed on the cylinder specimen using di erent processing methods. Comparative study on the friction coe cients,worn surface texture features and oil film characteristics are performed. The results demonstrate that the processing method of surface texture a ect the performance of the CLPR pairs under the specific testing conditions. In addition the micro V?groove processed by CNCPM is more favorable for improving the wear performances at the low load,while the micro?con?cave processed by CE is more favorable for improving the wear performances at the high load. These findings are in helping to understand the e ect of surface texture on wear performance of CLPR.

Friction and Wear Characteristics of Brush Plating Ni/nano-Al2O3 Composite Coating under Sand-Containing Oil

Ni-matrix composite coating containing AI2O3 nano-particles is prepared by brush plating. The effects of the nano-particles on the microstructure, microhardness and tribological properties of the composite coating under the lubrication of a diesel oil containing sand are investigated. The results show that the microstructure of the composite coating is finer than that of the pure nickel coating due to the codeposition of the nano-particles. When the nano-particle concentration in the electroplating bath reaches 20 g/L, the microhardness, and wear resistance of the composite coating is as much as 1.6 times and 1.3-2.5 times of those of the pure nickel coating respectively. The main hardening mechanism of the composite coating is superfine crystal grain strengthening and dispersion strengthening. The composite coating is characterized by scuffing as it slides against Si3N4 under the present test conditions.

Friction Characteristics of Space Lubricating Oil No.4129 in Rolling and Sliding Contact

The friction coefficients between the surfaces of a ball and a disc lubricated by a space lubricating oil No.4129 were measured at various operating conditions on a ball-disc friction test rig. Friction characteristic curves were obtained under sliding and rolling movements at point contact. A new model for calculation of the friction coefficient was presented. The results show that the bigger the load is, the larger the friction coefficient becomes. The rolling speed ranging from 1 m/s to10 m/s has an important effect on the friction coefficient. The friction coefficient increases with the increase in sliding speed and the decrease in rolling speed. The linear variation region of the friction coefficient versus the sliding speed at high rolling speed is wider than that at low rolling speed. The model for calculation of the friction coefficient is accurate for engineering use.

Experimental Study on Friction Characteristics of Caragana korshinskii Kom

Caragana korshinskii Kom, which is a kind of excellent shrubs, has strong resistance to windstorms, and it is also a kind of forage that is of high nutritional value as well as a forming fuel conversion resource that is of high caloric. Caragana korshinskii Kom is of high lignifications after growing for a few years and the toughness of it is considerably high. Currently in China, equipments of harvesting and processing for ripe crops can hardly finish the mechanized production for Caragana korshinskii Kom. Friction characteristics of woody material for Caragana korshinskii Kom under different conditions should be given when the relevant operation machinery is designed, which can provide physical parameters for transportation of Caragana korshinskii Kom as well as the designing of relevant machinery. The paper bases on the research of friction characteristics between Caragana korshinskii Kom whose diameter of 7, 10, and 13 mm under sampling directions of 0°, 45°,and 90° and machinery materials that are commonly used such as steel plate, rubber sheet and so on, and meanwhile the test considers factors such as different conditions of Caragana korshinskii Kom, different materials of machines, different angles and so on. The data strongly suggests that the average static, dynamic friction coefficient between Caragana korshinskii Kom and steel plate is 0.399 711 and0.353 022, respectively; The average static and dynamic friction coefficient between Caragana korshinskii Kom and rubber sheet is 0.965 178 and 0.883 667, respectively. The maximum of static and dynamic friction coefficients is when the angle between the direction of sampling and the direction of movement is vertical. As the angle increased, the dynamic and static friction coefficient decreased. The friction coefficient between Caragana korshinskii Kom and steel plate were increased with the increase of the diameter of Caragana korshinskii Kom, but the diameter have no effect on the dynamic friction coefficient between Caragana korshinskii Kom and rubber plate. The conclusion of this paper can provide references for research on machines that are relevant to transportation and particle forming of Caragana korshinskii Kom.

Vibration transmissibility characteristics of smart spring vibration isolation system

The objective of this work was to study the vibration transmissibility characteristics of the undamped and damped smart spring systems. The frequency response characteristics of them were analyzed by using the equivalent linearization technique, and the possible types of the system motion were distinguished by using the starting and ending frequencies. The influences of system parameters on the vibration transmissibility characteristics were discussed. The following conclusions may be drawn from the analysis results. The undamped smart spring system may simultaneously have one starting frequency and one ending frequency or only have one starting frequency, and the damped system may simultaneously have two starting frequencies and one ending frequency. There is an optimal control parameter to make the peak value of the vibration transmissibility curve of the system be minimum. When the mass ratio is far away from the stiffness ratio, the vibration transmissibility is small. The effect of the damping ratio on the system vibration transmissibility is significant while the control parameter is less than its optimal value. But the influence of the relative damping ratio on the vibration transmissibility is small.

Gear walk instability caused by brake-disc friction characteristics

A multi-body dynamic rigid-flexible coupling model of landing gear is established to study the gear walk instability caused by the friction characteristics of the brake disc.After validating the model with the experimental results,the influence of the landing gear structure and braking system parameters on gear walk is further investigated.Among the above factors,the slope of the graph for the friction coefficient of the brake disc and the relative velocity of brake stators and rotors is the most influential factor on gear walk instability.Phase trajectory analysis verifies that gear walk occurs when the coupling of multiple factors causes the system to exhibit an equivalent negative damping trend.To consider a more realistic braking case,a back propagation neural network method is employed to describe the nonlinear behavior of the friction coefficient of the brake disc.With the realistic nonlinear model of the friction coefficient,the maximum error in predicting the braking torque is less than 10%and the effect of the brake disc temperature on gear walk is performed.The results reveal that a more negative friction slope may contribute to a more severe unstable gear walk,and reducing the braking pressure is an effective approach to avoid gear walk,which provides help for future braking system design.

INVESTIGATION INTO EFFECT OF SPRING PRESSURE ON PERFORMANCE OF BALANCED MECHANICAL SEALS

The loads acting on the sealing elements of balanced mechanical seals are analyzed. When the balance factor approaches the back pressure factor, the spring pressure will become main part of the face pressure. The leakage model of balanced mechanical seals is established on the base of M-B model for rough surface. Several GY-70 type balanced mechanical seals are tested. The influences of the spring pressure both on the leakage rate and on the friction characteristic of balanced mechanical seals are investigated. The research results indicate that as spring pressure increases, both the clear-ance between two end faces and the leakage rate will decrease, and the friction will be more serious because lubrication medium between the rotating ring and the stationary ring reduces, though the increase of the spring pressure may not be enough to change the face friction state of mechanical seals. There exists an optimum spring pressure for mechanical seal operation. Under this spring pres-sure, not only leakage rate is small, but also the seal end surfaces have a fine friction characteristic. Under different operating conditions, identical type mechanical seals may possess different spring pressure. Appropriate selection of spring pressure is valuable to realize long-period and small leakage rate operating of balanced mechanical seals.

Friction Behavior of Magnetorheological Fluids with Different Material Types and Magnetic Field Strength

Magnetorheological （MR） fluid is a type of a smart material that can control its mechanical properties under a magnetic field. Iron particles in MR fluid form chain structures in the direction of an applied magnetic field, which is known as MR effect, resulting in variation of stiffness, shear modulus, damping and tribological characteristics of MR fluid. As MR effect depends on the density of particles in the fluid or the strength of a magnetic field, the experiments are conducted to evaluate the friction property under reciprocating motion by changing the types of MR fluid and the strength of a magnetic field. The material of aluminum, brass, and steel are chosen for specimen as they are the most common material in mechanical applications. The surfaces of specimen are also observed by optical microscope before and after experiments to compare the surfaces with test conditions. The comparing results show that the friction coefficient increases as the strength of a magnetic field increases in regardless of types of MR fluid or the material. Also the density of particle in MR fluid affects the friction characteristic. The results from this research can be used to improve the performance of mechanical applications using MR fluid.

Effects of titanium addition on structural, mechanical, tribological, and corrosion properties of Al-25Zn-3Cu and Al-25Zn-3Cu-3Si alloys

To investigate the effect of grain refinement on the material properties of recently developed Al-25 Zn-3 Cu based alloys,Al-25 Zn-3 Cu,Al-25 Zn-3 Cu-0.01 Ti,Al-25 Zn-3 Cu-3 Si and Al-25 Zn-3 Cu-3 Si-0.01 Ti alloys were produced by permanent mold casting method.Microstructures of the alloys were examined by SEM.Hardness and mechanical properties of the alloys were determined by Brinell method and tensile tests,respectively.Tribological characteristics of the alloys were investigated by a ball-on-disc type test machine.Corrosion properties of the alloys were examined by an electrochemical corrosion experimental setup.It was observed that microstructure of the ternary A1-25 Zn-3 Cu alloy consisted ofα,α+ηandθ(Al2Cu)phases.It was also observed that the addition of 3 wt.%Si to A1-25Zn-3Cu alloy resulted in the formation of silicon particles in its microstructure.The addition of 0.01 wt.%Ti to the Al-25Zn-3Cu and Al-25 Zn-3 Cu-3 Si alloys caused a decrement in grain size by approximately 20%and 39%and an increment in hardness from HRB 130 to 137 and from HRB 141 to 156,respectively.Yield strengths of these alloys increased from 278 to 297 MPa and from 320 to 336 MPa while their tensile strengths increased from 317 to 340 MPa and from 334 to 352 MPa.Wear resistance of the alloys increased,but corrosion resistance decreased with titanium addition.

Experimental Study on Performance of Multidirectional Geogrid and Its Application in Engineering of High Slope

By analyzing the grille mechanical property, tensile strength and creep tests, and the fi eld tests, we investigated the characteristics and the reinforcement principle of multidirectional geogrid, and obtained the effect factors of grid characteristics, load and time curve and the shear stress of grille and sand interface. The reinforcement effect of geogrid in combination of typical project cases was illustrated and the following conclusions were presented. Firstly, multidirectional geogrid has ability to resist structural deformation, node distortion or soil slippage under stress, and can effectively disperse load. Secondly, with the increase of tensile rate, grille intensity increases and the creep value also increases with the increase of load. Thirdly, the frictional resistance balance between horizontal thrust of damaged zone and reinforced soil in stable region can avoid slope failure due to excessive lateral deformation. Fourthly, the multidirectional geogrid is able to withstand the vertical, horizontal and diagonal forces by combing them well with three-dimensional orientation, realizing the purpose of preventing soil erosion and slope reinforcement, which has a wide range of application and development in engineering fi eld.

Experimental Simulation and Verification of Position Servo Control of Mechanical Rodless Cylinder

In order to improve the position control accuracy of rodless cylinder,the valve control cylinder system based on pneumatic proportional servo is studied deeply.According to the working principle of the mechanical rodless cylinder control system,under the condition of uniform speed,the driving voltage of the proportional valve is changed to measure multiple sets of friction force and corresponding velocity data.Analyzed the physical structure of each component in pneumatic system,established the mathematical model of pneumatic system,and introduced MATLAB system identification toolbox to identify the parameters of the transfer function.and the experiment verifies its correctness.

Friction Characteristics in Green Drilling Titanium Alloy Ti6A14V

Titanium alloy Ti6A14V, as difficult-to-cut material, has poor machinability. Conventional cutting fluid serves as a coolant and lubricant. In green drilling, water vapor is recognized as an effective coolant; however, its lubrication properties are not well known in drilling. This paper investigates the friction characteristics between chip and tool in green drilling Ti6A14V, compared with that in sliding and turning process. A friction evaluation model is developed based on the equivalent model of drilling, then is used to calculate the effective friction coefficient. drilling by in drilling, chisel edge Results indicate that the friction coefficient on the tool-chip interface is considerably reduced in water vapor, so the drilling forces decrease, too. which is different from the law of sliding tests; increases. The friction coefficient decreases as velocity increases the friction coefficient increases when the distance to

Pullout characteristics and conceptual model of gabion reinforcement

The reinforced gabion wall on the west line of Xiangtan to Hengyang highway in Hunan province was studied with the large scale pullout model tests and numerical simulations to obtain the interface friction characteristics between the double twisted hexagonal gabion mesh(2.2 mm and 2.7 mm respectively) and red sandstone. The experimental results showed that the pullout displacement-shear stress curve could be roughly divided into 3 sections:the rapid growth,the steady progression and the yielding sections. The thinner gabion mesh led to the higher peak shear stress,larger cohesion and friction angle under the same normal stress. The pullout displacement-shear stress curve from the numerical simulation had two sections,namely,the rapid growth of shear stress and the yielding of gabion mesh. Under the same conditions,the 2.2 mm meshes resulted in the larger drawing coefficient and pseudo-friction coefficient and thus presented the better interface friction properties. The conceptual model suggested that the proportion of pullout force shared by the horizontal bars and longitudinal bars relied on the magnitude,the length,the coefficient of earth pressure and the friction factor,etc. The pullout bearing resistance on the transversal bars(T_1) comprises the largest proportion of the total resistance(about 62%–72%),on the other hand,the proportions of the annular pullout friction on the longitudinal bars(T_2) and the interface friction acting on the surfaces of all nodes(T_3) both grow against T_1 when the normal stress increases.

ERRATUM TO “CHARACTERISTICS OF PRESSURE DROP AND CORRELATION OF FRICTION FACTORS FOR SINGLE-PHASE FLOW IN ROLLING HORIZONTAL PIPE”

This is the erratum to the article [zhang Jin-hong, Yan Chang-qi, Gao Pu-zhen, Journal of Hydrodynamics, 2009, 21(5)]. The Fig.5 is corrected.

An Optimal Wet Friction Plate Inspired by Biological Surface Patterns

It is found that many biological organisms exhibit superior adhesion characteristics in wet environments. It has been observed that the foot pads of tree frogs and katydids are consist of a number of closely arranged polygons, most of them are hexagonal. In this paper, the common structure of two kinds of biological foot pad was extracted to model the bionic surface structure of friction plates. The friction plate prototypes were also prepared. Through the multivariate orthogonal regression design, the optimum parameter combination of the friction performances of the prototypes of the bionic plates has been obtained. The hexagonal circumcircle size is 10 mm, the groove width is 1 mm, and the hexagonal diagonal angle is 90~. Then the maximum static friction coefficient, dynamic friction coefficient and wear amount of the optimal friction plate were tested and compared with the control group friction plates. The comparative analysis of the experiment findings demonstrated that the bionic structure with hexagonal ring grooves can significantly improve the friction performance of the friction plates.

Wear Behavior of Cold Pressed and Sintered Al_2O_3/TiC/CaF_2-Al_2O_3/TiC Laminated Ceramic Composite

A novel laminated Al2O3/TiC/CaF2-Al2O3/TiC sandwich ceramic composite was fabricated through cold pressing and sintering to achieve better anti-wear performance, such as low friction coefficient and low wear rate. Al2O3/TiC/CaF2 and Al2O3/TiC composites were alternatively built layer-by-layer to obtain a sandwich structure. Solid lubricant CaF2 was added evenly into the Al2O3/TiC/CaF2 layer to reduce the friction and wear. Al2O3/TiC ceramic was also cold pressed and sintered for comparison. Friction analysis of the two ceramics was then conducted via a wear-and-tear machine. Worn surface and surface compositions were examined by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersion spectrum, respectively. Results showed that the laminated Al2O3/TiC/CaF2-Al2O3/TiC sandwich ceramic composite has lower friction coefficient and lower wear rate than those of Al2O3/TiC ceramic alone because of the addition of CaF2 into the laminated Al2O3/TiC/CaF2-Al2O3/TiC sandwich ceramic composite. Under the friction load, the tiny CaF2 particles were scraped from the Al2O3/TiC/CaF2 layer and spread on friction pairs before falling off into micropits. This process formed a smooth, self-lubricating film, which led to better anti-wear properties. Adhesive wear is the main wear mechanism of Al2O3/TiC/CaF2 layer and abrasive wear is the main wear mechanism of Al2O3/TiC layer.