Abstract: Substrate protection by means of a hard coating is an efficient way of extending the service life of various mechanical, electrical, or biomedical elements. The assessment of stresses induced in a layered body under contact load may advance the understanding of the mechanisms underlying coating performance and improve the design of coated systems. The iterative derivation of contact area and contact tractions requires repeated displacement evaluation; therefore the robustness of a contact solver relies on the efficiency of the algorithm for displacement calculation. The fast Fourier transform coupled with the discrete convolution theorem has been widely used in the contact modelling of homogenous bodies, as an efficient computational tool for the rapid evaluation of convolution products that appear in displacements and stresses calculation. The extension of this technique to layered solids is tantalizing given that the closed-form analytical functions describing the response of layered solids to load are only available in the frequency domain. Whereas the false problem periodization can be treated as in the case of homogenous solids, the aliasing phenomenon and the handling of the frequency response function in origin require adapted techniques. The proposed algorithm for displacement calculation is coupled with a state-of-the-art contact solver based on the conjugate gradient method. The predictions of the newly advanced computer program are validated against existing results derived by a different method. Multiple contact cases are simulated aiming to assess the influence of coating thickness and of its elastic properties on the contact parameters and the strass state. The performed simulations prove that the advanced algorithm is an efficient tool for the contact analysis of coated bodies, which can be used to further understand the mechanical behavior of the coated system and to optimize its design. PubDate: Thu, 01 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +000
Abstract: The aim of the paper is to investigate the effect of size of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as additives for dispersion in gear oil to improve the tribological properties. Since long pristine MWCNTs tend to form clusters compromising dispersion stability, they are mildly processed in a ball mill to shorten the length and stabilized with a surfactant before dispersing in lubricant. Investigations are made to assess the effect of ball milling on the size and structure of MWCNTs using electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The long and shortened MWCNTs are dispersed in EP 140 gear oil in 0.5% weight. The stability of the dispersed multiwalled carbon nanotubes is evaluated using light scattering techniques. The antiwear, antifriction, and extreme pressure properties of test oils are evaluated on a four-ball wear tester. It is found that ball milling of MWCNTs has a strong effect on the stability and tribological properties of the lubricant. From Raman spectroscopy, it is found that ball milling time of up to 10 hours did not produce any defects on the surface of MWCNTs. The stability of the lubricant and the antiwear, antifriction, and extreme pressure properties have improved significantly with dispersion shortened MWCNTs. Ball milling for longer periods produces defects on the surface of MWCNTs reducing their advantage as oil additives. PubDate: Tue, 30 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +000
Abstract: The interaction effects, arising at partial contact of rigid multisinusoidal wavy surface with an elastic half-plane, are considered in the assumption of continuous contact configuration. The analytical exact and asymptotic solutions for periodic and nonperiodic contact problems for wavy indenters are derived. Continuous contact configuration, appearing at small ratios of amplitude to wavelength for cosine harmonics, leads to continuous oscillatory contact pressure distribution and oscillatory relations between mean pressure and a contact length. Comparison of periodic and nonperiodic solutions shows that long-range elastic interaction between asperities does not depend on a number of cosine wavelengths. PubDate: Thu, 18 Oct 2018 06:57:04 +000
Abstract: The article is devoted to the analysis of the state of the contact surfaces of the higher kinematic pair in the general case of relative motion, that is, in the presence of rolling, sliding, and twisting, which is characteristic of Novikov’s circular-screw gears. The purpose of the work is to assess the impact of friction forces, the state of contact surfaces after tool processing, and the localization of the instantaneous contact spot on the level of contact—fatigue durability of gears. Power contact in the presence of geometric slippage of the mating surfaces leads to a significant change in the initial geometry and the mechanical properties of surface layers. In the existing methods of calculations of contact strength, the effect of running-in is investigated insufficiently, which leads to an incorrect result, especially for gear with high hardness of the teeth. In this work, the conditions of contact interaction close to the real requirements are studied on the basis of experimental material, numerical solution of the contact problem, determination of the terms of the contact areas of slip, and adhesion within the instantaneous spot. The shape of the instant contact spot has asymmetry and can be approximated by an ellipse with the introduction of a correction factor. The running-in period is of a plastic nature with cold deformation and reduction of the roughness of surfaces. As a result of the run-in period, the area of actual contact (tooth height) is increased by 2 or more times. It is not desirable to spread the area of contact at the area of adhesion that initiates the formation of pitting. The presence of defective surface area on the level of contact strength does not have significant influence, because of the running-in period, but increases the risk of spalling and brittle fracture. PubDate: Thu, 13 Sep 2018 08:45:39 +000
Abstract: This article discusses the effect of longitudinal roughness on the performance of hydromagnetic squeeze film in circular step bearing. To characterize the random roughness of the bearing surfaces the stochastic model of Christensen and Tonder has been employed. The stochastically averaged Reynolds’ type equation is solved using suitable boundary conditions to obtain the pressure distribution and then the load bearing capacity is computed. The results are presented in graphical form. The graphical results presented here establish that the hydromagnetic lubrication offers significant help to the longitudinal roughness pattern to enhance the performance of the bearing system. Of course, conductivities of the plates, standard deviation, and the supply pressure contribute towards reducing the negative effect induced by variance (+ve) and skewness (+ve). PubDate: Sun, 02 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +000
Abstract: The study of railway dynamic strongly depends on the estimation of the tangential forces acting between wheel and rail. Simulation of the dynamical behaviour of railway vehicles is often performed using multibody codes, and the calculation of the contact forces must be efficient and accurate, even if the contact problem is strongly nonlinear. Therefore, the contact problem is still of great interest for researchers. This work proposes an analytical and efficient algorithm to calculate wheel-rail tangential forces. The proposed method is compared with the most commonly used algorithms under different conditions. In addition, experimental tests are performed on a scaled prototype on roller-rig to demonstrate that the method can be easily adjusted using experimental results. The benefit of the proposed method is to provide an analytical and fast solution, able to obtain accurate results and to allow corrections based on empirical evidence. PubDate: Thu, 09 Aug 2018 08:58:06 +000
Abstract: For the first time, biocarbon reinforced polylactide (PLA) filaments were available for the 3D printing. Biocarbon is the carbon obtained from trees, plants, and soils to naturally absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. One of the most important features is renewability. Because of this, it has been decided to reinforce PLA with biocarbon to obtain 100% recyclable material. Although PLA has been used in 3D printing for a long time, more applications like housings or structural interior of automobiles or other vehicles can be realised, if the mechanical and tribological properties are improved. Because the new PLA/biocarbon reinforced composites are degradable, they can be used as soil improvement after end of life as a structural material. The filaments were produced by compounding the biocarbon with polylactide granulate. Biocarbon was produced by pyrolysis of wheat stems at 800°C. The biomass were collected from different regions in Germany, Europe. As shown by Raman spectroscopy, the in-plane crystallite size of pyrolysed wheat stems from different regions is almost similar and amounts to 2.35 ±0.02 nm. Biocarbon particles were successfully integrated into the polylactide. Filaments of 1.75 mm diameter were produced for 3D (3-dimensional) printing. Filaments with 5 vol.-%, 15 vol.-%, and 30 vol.-% biocarbon were extruded. The fused deposition modelling (FDM) printing process was slightly hindered at higher biocarbon loading. Based on optical and scanning electron microscopy, a very homogeneous particle distribution can be observed. Single carbon particles stick out of the filament surface, which may be a reason for enhanced nozzle wear during 3D printing. Friction is more stable for 30 vol.-% reinforced PLA in comparison to unreinforced PLA and composites with lower particle fraction. This effect could be caused by some topographical effects due to void generation at the surface of PLA with 30 vol.-% biocarbon. In general, the tribological resistance increases with higher volume fraction of biocarbon. PubDate: Wed, 01 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +000
Abstract: Cryogenic treated multilayered carbon fabric/oxidized multiwall carbon nanotube/epoxy (CCF/O-MWCNT/E) composite and untreated carbon fabric/epoxy (CF/E) composite were prepared by hot compression molding technique. The density and mechanical properties such as tensile properties, flexural properties, interlaminar shear strength, and microhardness of the composites were investigated as per ASTM standards. The wear and coefficient of friction behavior were investigated using computer interfaced pin-on-disc test rig at room temperature for varied load and sliding speed. The morphology of worn surfaces of the wear test composite specimens were studied by scanning electron microscope. It is found that the synergetic effect of addition of O-MWCNT to epoxy matrix and cryogenic treatment of carbon fabric improved the wear resistance and mechanical properties. Also, a thin lubricating film developed by the oxidized multiwall carbon nanotube/epoxy wear debris reduces the coefficient of sliding friction and wear rate. PubDate: Thu, 05 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +000
Abstract: Current work was simulated for sliding wear interaction of materials of fuel bundle bearing pad (zircaloy-4) and magazine rotor tube (AISI 304 stainless steel) of Indian Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs). A plan of experiments, based on the techniques of Taguchi, was performed. The objective was to establish a correlation between load and sliding speed with the volume loss and coefficient of friction (COF). These correlations were obtained by multiple linear regressions. The treatment of the experimental results is based on the analysis average and the analysis of variance (ANOVA). Worn surface analyses carried out using SEM and wear mechanisms were identified. ANOVA analysis indicated that load factor has a great influence on the coefficient of friction (~73%). COF suddenly increases to high value after a particular contact pressure due to absence of lubricating film and increase in metal to metal contact. Volume loss of AISI 304 stainless steel and zircaloy-4 is highly affected due to load (~90%) and speed (~65%), respectively. Worn surfaces exhibited deformation, adherence, and compaction of material at all PV conditions. Contact pressures above 475 MPa indicated formation of ratcheting mechanisms and formation of fatigue striation marks. Due to low yield strength of AISI 304 SS, volume loss was on higher side than that of Zr-4. PubDate: Mon, 02 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +000
Abstract: Flow characteristics in the Rayleigh step slider bearing with infinite width have been studied using both analytical and numerical methods. The conservation equations of mass and momentum were solved utilizing a finite volume approach and the whole flow field was simulated. More detailed information about the flow patterns and pressure distributions neglected by the Reynolds lubrication equation has been obtained, such as jumping phenomenon around a Rayleigh step, vortex structure, and shear stress distribution. The pressure distribution of the Rayleigh step bearing with optimum geometry has been numerically simulated and the results obtained agreed with the analytical solution of the classical Reynolds lubrication equation. The simulation results show that the maximum pressure of the flow field is at the step tip not on the lower surface and the increment of the strain rate from Navier-Stokes equation is approximately 49 percent greater than that from Reynolds theory at the step tip. It is also shown that the position of the maximum pressure of the lower surface is a little less than the length of the first region. These results neglected by the Reynolds lubrication equation are important for designing a bearing. PubDate: Thu, 21 Jun 2018 07:23:43 +000
Abstract: Mixed lubrication between a given pair of surfaces is directly related to the parameter . Any change in microgeometry produces a shift in the transition between the boundary and lubricated regimes. Using an asperity based model including five families of asperities (2 for full fluid lubrication and 3 for local boundary lubrication), we simulate mixed lubricated behavior. Our theoretical results confirm the relation between the mixed regime and the parameter. All homothetic changes in microgeometry affecting the vertical and horizontal directions by the same scaling factor Sc induce a shift in the transition. The most interesting result is that this shift is exactly the same if speed u is scaled by 1/Sc with the initial microgeometry. This particular behavior, which is in good agreement with experimental results proposed in the literature, comes from the fact that behavior at each asperity can be written using dimensionless parameters. Most of these parameters are independent to any scaling of the microgeometry and only one, the speed parameter, needs to be artificially scaled in order to remain unchanged by the modification of the microgeometry. PubDate: Tue, 19 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +000
Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the abrasive wear loss as well as the wear mechanisms of hardfacing layers with and without tungsten carbides (WC) included in the matrix in different friction wheel test (FWT) configurations. The FWT setup is varied in regard to the materials of the rotating wheels, whereat steel and rubber materials are utilized to achieve varying wear mechanisms as representative conditions for stone milling as well as low density wood cutting processes. Coatings including fine particles of WC highlight the highest resistance against abrasive wear in rubber wheel testing condition, at which microcutting acts as the dominant effect. In comparison to the hardfacings without WC, the mean material loss majorly decreases by about 75%. On the contrary, the mean material loss of fine WC reinforced coatings increases up to 93% compared to the condition without WC if a steel wheel is utilized as rotating counterpart. Thereby, the coatings with comparably coarse WC reveal the minimum material loss with a decrease over 70% compared to the condition without WC. In conclusion, the inclusion of WC in hardfacing coatings significantly increases the wear resistance. The experimental wear test results highlight the fact that in order to achieve the optimal wear resistance the material characteristics of the hardfacings need to be properly defined considering the predominant wear mechanisms under in-service conditions. PubDate: Mon, 04 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +000
Abstract: Characterization of viscoelastic materials from a mechanical point of view is often performed via dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), consisting in the arousal of a steady-state undulated response in a uniaxial bar specimen, allowing for the experimental measurement of the so-called complex modulus, assessing both the elastic energy storage and the internal energy dissipation in the viscoelastic material. The existing theoretical investigations of the complex modulus’ influence on the contact behavior feature severe limitations due to the employed contact solution inferring a nondecreasing contact radius during the loading program. In case of a harmonic cyclic load, this assumption is verified only if the oscillation indentation depth is negligible compared to that due to the step load. This limitation is released in the present numerical model, which is capable of contact simulation under arbitrary loading profiles, irregular contact geometry, and complicated rheological models of linear viscoelastic materials, featuring more than one relaxation time. The classical method of deriving viscoelastic solutions for the problems of stress analysis, based on the elastic-viscoelastic correspondence principle, is applied here to derive the displacement response of the viscoelastic material under an arbitrary distribution of surface tractions. The latter solution is further used to construct a sequence of contact problems with boundary conditions that match the ones of the original viscoelastic contact problem at specific time intervals, assuring accurate reproduction of the contact process history. The developed computer code is validated against classical contact solutions for universal rheological models and then employed in the simulation of a harmonic cyclic indentation of a polymethyl methacrylate half-space by a rigid sphere. The contact process stabilization after the first cycles is demonstrated and the energy loss per cycle is calculated under an extended spectrum of harmonic load frequencies, highlighting the frequency for which the internal energy dissipation reaches its maximum. PubDate: Sun, 20 May 2018 00:00:00 +000
Abstract: Owing to the desirable properties of vegetable oils as cutting fluids, an attempt is made to explore the potentiality of plentifully available vegetable oils as a cutting fluid for turning AA 6061. Two nonedible vegetable oils, Jatropha and Pongamia, in their chemically modified (epoxidized) versions are used as straight cutting fluids. Cutting fluids are introduced to the machining zone with the aid of Minimal Quantity Lubrication (MQL) method. Taguchi’s technique of orthogonal arrays is used to develop an effective design of experiments. The results obtained under epoxidized versions of Jatropha and Pongamia oils are compared with the results of mineral oil in terms of cutting forces and surface roughness. Experimental observations and statistical analysis show that, compared to mineral oil, the modified versions of vegetable oil-based cutting fluids are more effective in reducing the cutting forces and increasing surface finish. It is also observed that the modified Pongamia oil showed lesser flank wear compared to the other two tested oils. PubDate: Tue, 15 May 2018 00:00:00 +000
Abstract: The design of the support system (shaft, bearings, and mechanical coupling devices) of the rotor plays a key role in the development of efficient micro-gas turbines (micro-GTs) for distributed power generation. Foil air bearings are the most widespread technical solution well suited to design a reliable support system, although they cannot withstand a large number of start-stop cycles of the units. In order to overcome such limitation, we have recently proposed an innovative support system that takes advantage of spline couplings and two bearing types (e.g., air and rolling-element bearings). The devised support system employs splines as both convenient coupling systems and actuators for the load partition between the two bearing types. In the present work, the helical spline coupling is studied by means of structural FEM analyses including contact simulation in order to design the support system. Numerical results confirm previous findings in that the load transfer through the spline coupling is mainly a function of the helix angle. In addition, friction factor and structural stiffness cannot be neglected in the accurate design of the spline coupling. Such design parameters are now included in the proposed design procedure, which formerly assumed frictionless contact and rigid bodies. PubDate: Thu, 15 Mar 2018 09:13:31 +000
Abstract: The microstructures of subsurface layers of 20CrMnTi steel pins against chroming and nonchroming T10 under dry sliding tests were studied by means of OM (optical microscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction), and SEM (scanning electron microscopy). Results showed that the chroming coating strengthened the disc surface and significantly affected microstructural evolution. Three layers—the matrix, deformation layer (DL), and surface layer (SL)—formed in 20CrMnTi for the chroming T10. The matrix and deformation layer (DL) formed in 20CrMnTi for the nonchroming T10. The formation of the microstructure was considered as a result of the shear deformation. PubDate: Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +000
Abstract: With rotating machineries working at high speeds, oil flow in bearings becomes superlaminar. Under superlaminar conditions, flow exhibits between laminar and fully developed turbulence. In this study, superlaminar oil flow in an oil-lubricated tilting-pad journal bearing is analyzed through computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A three-dimensional bearing model is established. CFD results from the laminar model and 14 turbulence models are compared with experimental findings. The laminar simulation results of pad-side pressure are inconsistent with the experimental data. Thus, the turbulence effects on superlaminar flow should be considered. The simulated temperature and pressure distributions from the classical fully developed turbulence models cannot correctly fit the experimental data. As such, turbulence models should be corrected for superlaminar flow. However, several corrections, such as transition correction, are unsuitable. Among all the flow models, the SST model with low-Re correction exhibits the best pressure distribution and turbulence viscosity ratio. Velocity profile analysis confirms that a buffer layer plays an important role in the superlaminar boundary layer. Classical fully developed turbulence models cannot accurately predict the buffer layer, but this problem can be resolved by initiating an appropriate low-Re correction. Therefore, the SST model with low-Re correction yields suitable results for superlaminar flows in bearings. PubDate: Wed, 03 Jan 2018 08:56:47 +000
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