Adhesive and molecular friction in tribological conjunctions
| dc.contributor.advisor | Teodorescu, Mircea S. | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Vaughan, N. D. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Chong, William Woei Fong | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2012-05-18T11:19:29Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2012-05-18T11:19:29Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2012-01 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This thesis investigates the underlying causes of friction and ine ciency within an internal combustion engine, focusing on the ring-liner conjunction in the vicinity of the power-stroke top dead centre reversal. In such lubricated contacts, friction is the result of the interplay between numerous kinetics, with those at micro- and nano-scale interactions being signi cantly di erent than the ones at larger scales. A modi ed Elrod's cavitation algorithm is developed to determine the microscopic tribological characteristics of the piston ring-liner contact. Predicting lubricant tran- sient behaviour is critical when the inlet reversal leads to thin lms and inherent metal-to-metal interaction. The model clearly shows that cavitation at the trailing edge of the ring-liner contact generated pre-reversal, persists after reversal and pro- motes starvation and depletion of the oil lm. Hence, this will lead to boundary friction. A fractal based boundary friction model is developed for lightly loaded asperity con- tacts, separated by diminishing small lms, usually wetted by a layer of molecules adsorbed to the tips of the asperities. In nano-scale conjunctions, a lubricant layering e ect often takes place due to the smoothness of surfaces, which is governed by the surface and lubricant properties. A molecularly thin layer of lubricant molecules can adhere to the asperities, being the last barrier against direct surface contact. As a result, boundary friction (prevailing in such diminishing gaps) is actually determined by a combination of shearing of a thin adsorbed lm, adhesion of approaching as- perities and their plastic deformation. A model for physio-chemical hydrodynamic mechanism is successfully established, describing the formation of thin adsorbed lms between asperities. This model is e ectively integrated with separately devel- oped models that predict the adhesive and plastic contact of asperities. | en_UK |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/7160 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_UK |
| dc.publisher | Cranfield University | en_UK |
| dc.rights | © Cranfield University 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright owner. | en_UK |
| dc.subject | cavitation | en_UK |
| dc.subject | adhesion | en_UK |
| dc.subject | elastoplastic | en_UK |
| dc.subject | solvation | en_UK |
| dc.subject | boundary friction | en_UK |
| dc.subject | adsorption | en_UK |
| dc.subject | hard spheres | en_UK |
| dc.subject | fractal analysis | en_UK |
| dc.title | Adhesive and molecular friction in tribological conjunctions | en_UK |
| dc.type | Thesis or dissertation | en_UK |
| dc.type.qualificationlevel | Doctoral | en_UK |
| dc.type.qualificationname | PhD | en_UK |