Compacted graphite iron-A material solution for modern diesel engine cylinder blocks and heads

The demands for improved fuel economy,performance and emissions continue to pose challenges for engine designers and the materials they choose. This is particularly true for modern diesel engines,where the primary path to achieving improved engine performance and emissions is to increase the Peak Firing Pressure in the combustion chamber. The resulting increase in thermal and mechanical loading has required a change from conventional grey cast iron to Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI) in order to satisfy durability requirements without increasing the size or the weight of the engines. With at least 75% higher tensile strength,45% higher stiffness and approximately double the fatigue strength of conventional grey cast iron,CGI satisfies durability requirements and also provides the dimensional stability required to meet emissions legislation throughout the life of the engine. Currently,there are no CGI diesel engines running on the roads in North America. This is set to change considerably as new commercial vehicle and pick-up SUV diesel engines are launched with CGI cylinder blocks in 2008 and 2009. These initial programs will provide over 2 million CGI diesel engines when ramped to mature volume,potentially accounting for 10%-15% of the North American passenger vehicle fleet within the next four years.

Cavitation of a Submerged Jet at the Spherical Valve Plate/Cylinder Block Interface for Axial Piston Pump

The spherical valve plate/cylinder block pair has the advantages of strong overturning resistance and large bearing area.However,the configurations of the unloading and pre-boosting triangular grooves on the spherical valve plate are different from those in the planar valve plate,resulting in special cavitation phenomenon on the spherical port plate pair.In order to study cavitation characteristics of spherical port plate pair,a dynamic CFD model of the piston pump including turbulence model,cavitation model and fluid compressibility is established.A detailed UDF compilation scheme is provided for modelling of the micron-sized spherical oil film mesh,which makes up for the lack of research on the meshing of the spherical oil film.In this paper,using CFD simulation tools,from the perspectives of pressure field,velocity field and gas volume fraction change,a detailed analysis of the transient evolution of the submerged cavitation jet in a axial piston pump with spherical valve plate is carried out.The study indicates the movement direction of the cavitation cloud cluster through the cloud image and the velocity vector direction of the observation point.The sharp decrease of velocity and gas volume fraction indicates the collapse phenomenon of bubbles on the part wall surface.These discoveries verify the special erosion effect in case of the spherical valve plate/cylinder block pair.The submerged cavitation jet generated by the unloading triangular grooves distributed on the spherical valve plate not only cause denudation of the inner wall surface of the valve plate,but also cause strong impact and denudation on the lower surface of the cylinder body.Finally,the direction of the unloading triangular groove was modified to extend the distance between it and the wall surface which can effectively alleviate the erosion effect.

Quantitative models for microstructure and thermal conductivity of vermicular graphite cast iron cylinder block based on cooling rate

The relationships of cooling rate with microstructure and thermal conductivity of vermicular graphite cast iron(VGI) cylinder block were studied, which are important for design and optimization of the casting process of VGI cylinder blocks. Cooling rates at different positions in the cylinder block were calculated based on the cooling curves recorded with a solidification simulation software. The metallographic structure and thermal conductivity were observed and measured using optical microscopy(OM), scanning electrical microscopy(SEM) and laser flash diffusivity apparatus, respectively. The effects of the cooling rate on the vermicularity, total and average areas of all graphite particles, and the pearlite fraction in the VGI cylinder block were investigated. It is found that the vermicularity changes in parabola trend with the increase of cooling rate. The total area of graphite particles and the cooling rate at eutectoid stage can be used to predict pearlite fraction well. Moreover, it is found that the thermal conductivity at room temperature is determined by the average area of graphite particles and pearlite fraction when the range of vermicularity is from 80% to 93%. Finally, the quantitative models are established to calculate the vermicularity, pearlite fraction, and thermal conductivity of the VGI cylinder block.

Tribological Properties of Cylinder Block/Valve Plate Interface of Axial Piston Pump on the Tribometer

The tribological properties of cylinder block/valve plate is an important consideration in the design of axial piston pump.The effect of materials and heat treatment on friction and wear properties has been studied in depth.Engi-neering experiences show that the speed and load also affect the tribological properties,but these have not been systematically analyzed.The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the tribological properties of the commonly used materials(CuPb1 5Sn5 and 38CrMoAl/42CrMo)for cylinder block/valve plate with different heat treatment and con-tact pressure at different speed.During the test,tribometer is used to simulate the contact pattern between the valve plate/cylinder block in axial piston pump,the friction coefficient,wear rate and surface topography are analyzed to evaluate the tribological properties of different types of friction samples at different speed.Results indicate that:(1)contact surface of the samples at 1800 r/min is more prone to adhesive wear than those at 500 r/min;(2)in the terms of wear resistance,quench-tempered and nitrided 38CrMoAl(38CrMoAl QTN for short)is better than quench-tem-pered and nitrided 42CrMo,although they are all commonly used materials in the axial piston pump;(3)2.5 MPa is the critical contact pressure of the interface between valve plate made of 38CrMoAl QTN and cylinder block made of CuPb1 5Sn5 on the tribometer,which implies the pressure bearing area at the bottom of the cylinder block should be carefully designed;(4)the valve plate/cylinder block made of 38CrMoAl QTN/CuPb15Sn5 exhibits good tribological properties in a real axial piston pump.This research is useful for the failure analysis and structural optimization design of the valve plates/cylinder block.

Performance optimization for high speed axial piston pump considering cylinder block tilt

Increasing the rotating speed is considered as an efficient approach to upgrade the power-to-weight ratio in an axial piston pump,but penalized by more leakage and more severe wear resulting from the adverse cylinder block tilt.Previous studies mainly focused on the bearing characteristic of the valve plate/cylinder block pair,but the spline coupling also plays a key role in the undesired cylinder block tilt,which has been little studied.A theoretical model for the rotating assembly is presented to investigate the effect of the spline coupling length on the cylinder block tilt and the performance of the valve plate/cylinder block pair.A typical high-speed axial piston pump with the displacement of 5.2 mL/r at 10000 r/min was studied by simulation and experiment.It shows that the optimal spline coupling length is one value increased by 2 mm from the original,bringing a remarkable leakage reduction under the high-speed condition by decreasing the cylinder block tilting angle.The experiment result matches well with the simulation.The influences of the spline coupling on the cylinder block tilt and the leakage were demonstrated.

Analysis of the cylinder block tilting inertia moment and its effect on the performance of high-speed electro-hydrostatic actuator pumps of aircraft

Electro-hydrostatic actuator （EHA） pumps are usually characterized as high speed and small displacement. The tilting inertia moment on the cylinder block produced by the inertia forces of piston/slipper assemblies cannot be ignored when analyzing the cylinder block balance. A large tilting inertia moment will make the cylinder block tilt away from the valve plate, resulting in severe wear and significantly increased leakage. This paper presents an analytical expression for the tilting inertia moment on the cylinder block by means of vector analysis. In addition, a high-speed test rig was built up, and experiments on an EHA pump prototype were carried out at high speeds of up to 10,000 r/min. The predicted nature of the cylinder block tilt at high speeds corresponds closely to the witness marks on the dismantled EHA pump prototype, It is suggested that more attention should be given to the tilting inertia moment acting on the cylinder block of an EHA pump since both wear and leakage flow between the cylinder block and the valve plate are very much dependent on this tilting moment.

Review of cylinder block/valve plate interface in axial piston pumps: Theoretical models,experimental investigations, and optimal design

Axial piston pumps have been widely used in aircraft hydraulic systems to supply the system with pressurized fluid. The continuous improvement of the aircraft performance has put forward the demand on aviation piston pumps for high power density, safety, and reliability. The lubricating interfaces in axial piston machines are the key design issue that greatly determines the pump performance and service life. The cylinder block/valve plate interface is one of these critical lubricating interfaces and has received considerable attention from many researchers in the last half century. This study aims to review the state-of-the-art literature on the cylinder block/valve plate interface comprehensively and systematically. First, we introduce various theoretical models developed to investigate the lubrication behaviors of the interface and compare them in terms of their assumptions and limitations. Second, the experimental studies on the cylinder block/valve plate interface are presented comprehensively, where the involved test rigs are divided into three types according to their fidelity levels and measurement functionality. Third, we summarize some typical approaches of structure optimization, surface shaping, and surface strengthening, which help improve the load-carrying and anti-wear capacities of the interface under severe operating conditions. Finally, the challenges and future trends of the cylinder block/valve plate interface research are discussed briefly.

Thermal Stresses in a Cylinder Block Casting Due to Coupled Thermal and Mechanical Effects

Thermal stress in castings results from nonuniform cooling. The thermal stress and the deformation can change the casting and mold contact conditions which then alter the heat transfer between the casting and the mold. The contact element method was used to study the interaction between a sand mold and a casting. The contact status was then fed back to the heat transfer analysis between the sand mold and the casting to re-evaluate the heat transfer coefficient based on the gap size or pressure between surfaces. The thermal and mechanical phenomena are then coupled in two directions. The method was applied to analyze stress in a stress frame specimen casting and a cylinder block. The results are more accurate than without consideration of the contact effects on the heat transfer.