Demand for plastic gears are increasing in many industries due to their low production cost, light weight, applicability without lubricant, corrosion resistance and high resilience. Despite these benefits, utilizing plastic gears is limited due to their poor material properties. In this work, DLC coating was applied to improve the tribological properties of polyamide66 gear. 0 V, 40 V, and 70 V of negative bias voltages were selected as a deposition parameter in DC magnetron sputtering system. Pin-on-disk experiment was performed in order to investigate the wear characteristics of the gears. The results of the pin-on-disk experiment showed that DLC coated polyamide66 with 40 V of negative bias voltage had the lowest friction coefficient value (0.134) and DLC coated PA66 with 0 V of negative bias voltage showed the best wear resistance (<TEX>$9.83{\times}10^{-10}mm^3/N{\cdot}mm$</TEX>) among all the specimens. Based on these results, durability tests were conducted for DLC coated polyamide66 gears with 0 V of negative bias voltage. The tests showed that the temperature of the uncoated polyamide66 gear increased to about <TEX>$37^{\circ}C$</TEX> while the DLC coated gear saturated at about <TEX>$25^{\circ}C$</TEX>. Also, the power transmission efficiency of the DLC coated gear increased by about 6% compared to those without coating. Weight loss of the polyamide66 gears were reduced by about 73%.
Graphene is a fascinating material for fabricating flexible and transparent devices owing to its thickness and mechanical properties. To utilize graphene as a core material for devices, the transfer process of graphene is an inevitable step. The transfer process can be classified into wet and dry methods depending on the surrounding environment. The adhesion between graphene and a target substrate determines the success or failure of the transfer process. As the surface energy of graphene is an important parameter that provides adhesion, it is useful to estimate the surface energy to understand the mechanisms of the transfer process. However, the exact surface energy of graphene is still disputed because the wetting transparency of graphene depends on the polarity of the liquid and target substrate. Previously reported results use graphene transferred by the wet method. However, there are few reports on the surface energy of graphene transferred by the dry method. In this study, the surface energy of graphene transferred by the wet and dry methods is estimated. Wetting transparency occurs for certain combinations of liquids and substrates. For graphene on a polar substrate, the surface energy decreases by 25 and 35% for the wet and dry transfer methods, respectively. However, the surface energy of graphene on dispersive substrates decreases by ~10% regardless of the transfer method. In conclusion, the surface energy of graphene is <TEX>$36{\sim}38mJ/m^2$</TEX>, and differs depending on the transfer method and polarity of the substrate.
In this study, we aim to analyze the effects of both contact layer properties and surface roughness on contact resistance. The contact has a great influence on performance in terms of electrical conduction and heat transfer. The two biggest factors determining contact resistance are the presence of surface roughness and the surface layer. For this reason we calculated the contact resistance by considering both factors simultaneously. The model of this study to calculate contact resistance is as follows. First, the three representative surface parameters for the GW model are obtained by Nayak's random process. Then, the apparent contact area, real contact area, and contact number of asperities are calculated using the GW model with the surface parameters. The contact resistance of a single surface layer is calculated using Mikic's constriction equation. The total contact resistance is approximated by the parallel connection between the same asperity contact resistances. The results of this study are as follows. The appropriate thickness with reduction effect for contact resistance is determined according to the difference in conductivity between the base layer and surface layer. It was confirmed that the standard deviation of surface roughness has the greatest influence on surface roughness parameters. The results of this study will be useful for selecting the surface material and surface roughness when the design considering the contact resistance is needed.
In this work we investigated the friction and wear characteristics of a magnesium alloy, which has been receiving much attention as a light metal in industrial applications such as automobiles and aerospace. Magnesium is one of the lightest structural material that has high specific strength, lightweight, low density and good formability. However, current issue of using magnesium alloy is that magnesium has weakness against temperature. As the temperature increases, magnesium undergoes poor creep resistance and ease of softening, and therefore, its mechanical strength decreases sharply. To solve this issue, a new type of magnesium alloy that retains high strength at high temperature has been proposed. The tribological behavior of this alloy was investigated using a tribotester with reciprocating motion and heating plate. A stainless steel ball was used as a counter surface. Results showed that extrusion process has similar wear behavior to the commonly used casting process but retains good mechanical strength and durability. The presence of an alloying element enhanced the wear properties especially in high temperature. This study is expected to be utilized as fundamental data for the replacement of high density materials currently used in mechanical industries to a much lighter and durable heat-resistant materials.
The tribological properties of paper-based friction materials are crucial to the performance of a wet clutch system. In this work, the friction and wear characteristics of a paper-based friction material in boundary lubrication state was experimentally investigated using a pin-on-reciprocating tribotester under various normal forces and temperatures. It was found that the wear rate of the friction material increased from <TEX>$5.8{\times}10^{-6}mm^3/N/cycle$</TEX> to <TEX>$5.5{\times}10^{-5}mm^3/N/cycle$</TEX> after 1,700 cycles of testing at <TEX>$80^{\circ}C$</TEX> as normal force increased from 2 N to 7 N. The friction coefficient was also found to increase from 0.135 to 0.155 with increasing normal force from 2 N to 7 N. The increase in contact pressure with increasing normal force may be responsible for these results. In addition, as temperature increased from <TEX>$20^{\circ}C$</TEX> to <TEX>$80^{\circ}C$</TEX>, the wear rate of the friction materials increased from <TEX>$2.0{\times}10^{-5}mm^3/N/cycle$</TEX> to <TEX>$3.6{\times}10^{-5}mm^3/N/cycle$</TEX> while the friction coefficient decreased from 0.163 to 0.146. This result may be associated with the decrease in the hardness of friction materials with increasing temperature. Furthermore, plastic deformation on the friction materials was mainly observed after the test. The outcome of this work may be useful to gain a better understanding of the tribological properties of friction materials, and therefore can contribute to the development of friction materials with enhanced performance for wet clutch systems.
This paper presents an optimization method to determine the shoulder height of an angular contact ball bearing by 3D contact analysis using nondimensional-shaped variables. The load analysis of the ball bearing is performed to calculate the internal load distributions and contact angles of each rolling element. From the results of bearing load analysis and the contact geometry between the ball and inner/outer raceway, 3D contact analyses using influence function are conducted. The nondimensional shoulder height and nondimensional load are defined to give the generalized results. The relationship between the shoulder height and radius of curvature of the shoulder under various loading conditions is investigated in order to propose a design method for the two design parameters. Using nondimensional parameters, the critical shoulder heights are optimized with loads, contact angles, and conformity ratios. We also develop contour maps of the critical shoulder height as functions of internal loads and contact angles for the different contact angles using nondimensional parameters. The results show that the dimensionless shoulder height increased as the contact angle and dimensionless load increased. Conversely, when the conformity ratio increased, the critical shoulder height decreased. Therefore, if the contact angle is reduced and the conformity ratio is increased within the allowable range, it will be an efficient design to reduce the shoulder height of ball bearings.
The paper presents the rotordynamic performance measurements and model predictions of a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) air compressor supported on gas foil bearings (GFBs). The rotor has an impeller on one end and a thrust runner on the other end. The front (impeller side) and rear (thrust side) gas foil journal bearings (GFJBs) are located between the impeller and thrust runner to support the radial loads, and a pair of gas foil thrust bearings are located on both sides of the thrust runner to support the axial loads. The test GFJBs have a partial arc shim foil installed between the top foil and bump strip layers to enhance hydrodynamic pressure generation. During the rotordynamic performance tests, two sets of orthogonally installed eddy-current displacement sensors measure the rotor radial motions at the rotor impeller and thrust ends. A series of speed-up and coast-down tests to 100k rpm demonstrates the dominant synchronous (1X) rotor responses to imbalance masses without noticeable subsynchronous motions, which indicates a rotordynamically stable rotor-GFB system. Finite element analysis of the rotor determines the rotor free-free (bending) natural modes and frequencies well beyond the maximum rotating frequency. The predicted damped natural frequencies and damping ratios of the rotor-GFB system reveal rotordynamic stability over the speeds of interest. The imbalance response predictions show that the predicted critical speeds and rotor amplitudes strongly agree with the test measurements, thus validating the developed rotordynamic model.
In the case of high-voltage connectors applied to automobiles, waterproofing has become an important issue for the safety of automobiles. In this study, structural analysis is performed on silicone rubber-type waterproof seals used in the voltage connector. For the structural analysis, the tensile properties of the actual rubber seal are evaluated using a miniaturized tensile testing machine. The Mooney-Rivlin material constants of the rubber seal are determined as follows; <TEX>$D_10$</TEX>, <TEX>$C_{01}0.241$</TEX>, <TEX>$C_{10}0.0142$</TEX>. The analysis shows that the contact pressure at the top of the seal where the seal and male connector are in contact is approximately three times higher than that at the bottom of the seal where the seal and female connector are in contact. It is confirmed that the waterproofing performance of the rubber seal depends on the contact pressure of the seal bottom where the seal and female connector are in contact. The contact pressure for waterproofing is found to be 4.7 bar. The strain concentration of the curved part is attributed to excessive initial tension. Therefore, a redesign is recommended for uniform stress or strain distribution in the curved section of the seal in response to the stress relaxation problem due to permanent deformation.
When slipping occurs between two materials, the coefficients of friction must be considered because these values determine the overall efficiency of the machine or slip characteristics. Therefore, it is important to find the coefficient of friction between two materials. This paper focuses on obtaining the coefficient of friction between an aiming bolt and a retainer located in the headlamps of a vehicle. This bolt supports the headlamp, and if the bolt is loosened by external vibration, the angle of the light will change and block the vision of pedestrians or other drivers. In order to study these situations, the coefficient of friction between aiming bolts and retainers needs to be measured. In addition, the coefficient of friction of materials used in the headlamp should be obtained. To determine these two factors, a new device is designed for two cases: surface-surface contact and surface-line contact. To increase reliability of the results, the device is designed using an air-bearing stage which uses compressed air as lubricant to eliminate the friction of the stage itself. Experiments were carried out by applying various vertical forces, and the results show that the coefficient of friction can be measured consistently. The procedure for designing the device and the results are discussed.
Self-loosening of bolts owing to external forces occurs in several machines that are clamped by bolts and nuts. This study focuses on the self-loosening of the aiming bolt of the head lamp in a vehicle. It is important to prevent the aiming bolt from self-loosening as it has a decisive effect on the angle of the head lamp. A nut clamped with a bolt, known as a retainer, is made of plastic and has a partial screw thread. In addition, a transverse load has a considerable impact on the self-loosening of a bolt. We concentrate on the self-loosening of a bolt by a transverse load. The aim of this study is to define the limits of the external force that loosen the bolt. Based on the above conditions, we derive a theoretical equation and develop a numerical analysis program that can calculate the limiting forces for self-loosening. To verify the developed program, we design a test device that can measure the self-loosening by applying sliding forces to the aiming bolt. Using this method, we can draw the following conclusions. First, the developed testing device is suitable to prove the theory for calculating the self-loosening force. Second, the equation confirms the relationship of bolt self-loosening between resistance torque and shear force. Finally, the equation obtains the minimum value of the resistance torque required to decrease the change in the angle of the head lamp, thereby improving the possibility of increasing the stability of the head lamp.
The differential planetary gear reducer as a main component of the concrete mixer driving mechanism requires a strong torque to mix concrete compounds. As this component is currently dependent on imports, it is necessary to develop it by conducting a study on vibration analysis and the resonance problem. The noise and vibration of a concrete mixer reducer increase owing to the transmission error of planetary gears, and the damage of components occurs owing to the problems in design and production. In this study, the tooth-passing frequency is calculated to evaluate the noise and vibration of a mixer reducer, and a fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis is conducted through a vibration test using an acceleration sensor. The vibration of the reducer is measured at three points of input and output of the shaft and planetary gear housing with fixed and variable revolutions per minute. The operating conditions of gears and bearings are evaluated by performing the FFT analysis, and the resonance problem is verified. The results show that No. 1 pinion and ring gears revolve disproportionately. The amplitude values appear high, and the wear of tooth faces occur in tooth-passing frequencies and harmonic components of No. 1 and No. 2 pinion-ring gears. Therefore, we conclude that design changes in the reducer and a correction of tooth profiles are required.
The present study focuses on the effect of staggered integration factor (SIF) on Morton effect simulation results. The Morton effect is a synchronous rotordynamic instability problem caused by the temperature differential across the journal in fluid film bearings. Convection and conduction of heat in the thin film displaces the hot spot, which is the hottest circumferential position in the thin film, from -20 to 40 degrees ahead of the high spot, where the minimum film clearance is experienced. The temperature differential across the journal causes a bending moment and the corresponding thermal bow in the rotating frame acts like a distributed synchronous excitation in the fixed frame. This thermal bow may cause increased vibrations and continued growth of the synchronous orbit into a limit cycle. The SIF is developed assuming that the response of the rotor-lubricant-bearing dynamic system is much quicker than that of the bearing-journal thermal system, and it is defined as the ratio between the simulation time of the thermal system and the rotor-spinning period. The use of the SIF is unavoidable for efficient computing. The value of the SIF is chosen empirically by the software users as a value between 100 and 400. However, the effect of the SIF on Morton effect simulation results has not been investigated. This research produces simulation results with different values of SIF.