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Molecular Dynamics Investigation on Micro-Friction Behavior of Cylinder Liner-Piston Ring Assembly

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Abstract

In the vicinity of the top dead center of a diesel engine, the piston rings operate in a low-speed, high-load, and high-temperature environment, which is detrimental to the formation of an effective lubrication oil film. Consequently, it presents significant challenges for predicting the tribological characteristics of the piston ring-cylinder liner friction (PRCL) assembly. This study explores the micro-friction behavior of PRCL assemblies near the top dead center in engines using the molecular dynamics approach. The tribological characteristics of the PRCL, especially the microscopic wear mechanisms, were analyzed under various operating conditions such as ring sliding speed, ring back load, operating temperature, and lubricant supply amount. The liner surface morphology, liner wear, and lubricant film distribution were used to evaluate the tribological characteristics. It was determined that the lubricant supply amount has the most significant impact on the micro-friction behavior of the PRCL assembly.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (ZR2022QE183, ZR2020ZD29, ZR2021JQ20, ZR2021ME168), the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2022YFB3706204), and the Taishan Scholars Program of Shandong Province.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, People’s Republic of China

    Tongyang Li, Lujie Wang, Yuan Yu, Zhuhui Qiao & Huaguo Tang

  2. Shangdong Laboratory of Yantai Advanced Materials and Green Manufacture, Yantai, 264006, People’s Republic of China

    Tongyang Li, Jing Wu, Lujie Wang, Yuan Yu, Zhuhui Qiao & Huaguo Tang

  3. Yantai Zhongke Research Institute of Advanced Materials and Green Chemical Engineering, Yantai, 264006, People’s Republic of China

    Tongyang Li, Lujie Wang, Yuan Yu, Zhuhui Qiao & Huaguo Tang

  4. College Power and Energy Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, 150001, People’s Republic of China

    Chang Ge & Xuan Ma

  5. School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Ludong University, Yantai, 264025, People’s Republic of China

    Jing Wu

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  1. Tongyang Li
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  2. Jing Wu
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  3. Chang Ge
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  4. Lujie Wang
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  5. Yuan Yu
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  7. Zhuhui Qiao
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  8. Huaguo Tang
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Contributions

TL contributed to the conception of the study; TL and JW performed the research method; TL and CG built the model and carried out the calculations; XM and YY collated the calculation results and drew pictures; LW and HT carried out data analysis; TL and JW edited the first draft. ZQ and HT did proofreading and reviewing.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Zhuhui Qiao or Huaguo Tang.

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The authors declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence this work, and there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service, and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled “Molecular dynamics investigation on micro-friction behavior of cylinder liner-piston ring assembly”.

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Li, T., Wu, J., Ge, C. et al. Molecular Dynamics Investigation on Micro-Friction Behavior of Cylinder Liner-Piston Ring Assembly. Tribol Lett 71, 78 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-023-01749-w

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