Abstract
Durability and reliability have been studied for decades through intensive trial-error experimentation. However, there are numerous fields of application where the costs associated with this approach are not acceptable. In lubricated machines with severe dynamic loads, such as high-power-density engines, simulation tools offer clear advantages over intensive testing. Prototypes and multiple scenarios can be cost-effectively simulated to assess different lubricants and engine configurations. The work presented here details the study of wear based on a validated elastohydrodynamic (EHD) simulation model of the connecting rod journal bearing. This model accounts for elastic deformation through a connecting rod finite element model (FEM). In addition, multiple lubricant rheological and tribological dependences, determined by specific experimental tests, are applied in the model through their interaction with the simulation software. Correspondingly, a novel wear algorithm is proposed to predict wear depth over time evolution along a proposed wear cycle based on the typical working ranges of high-performance engines. A final assessment is presented to compare 4 different ultralow-viscosity lubricants in their protective performance under severe conditions. The results show the evolution of the wear load and wear depth over the wear cycle. This evaluation is key to describing a lubricant selection procedure for high-power-density engines.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Javier Echávarri, Enrique Chacón, and their team at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). Their assistance and contribution through the experimental work employed as data in this paper greatly enriched our research.
Furthermore, we would like to express our gratitude to our partners from Repsol SA, which finance this research and contribute to development of new lubricant formulations through simulation tools. And we also would like to express our gratitude to all the colleagues from CINTECX that contribute to the success of this research.
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Javier BLANCO-RODRÍGUEZ. He is a research engineer and Ph.D. candidate at Grupo de Technoloxía Enerxética (GTE) research group (CINTECX, University of Vigo). He has a master of science in industrial engineering and bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, both at University of Vigo. He has got professional experience in R&D companies such as Centro Tecnológico de Automoción de Galicia (CTAG) (Porriño, Spain) as student internship or AVL (Graz, Austria) doing his master thesis. Currently, he is team leader of a dedicated group to develop simulation models (Gamma Technologies (GT)–Suite, Matlab and Converge Computer Fluid Dynamics (CFD)), experimental procedures, and data analysis for Repsol Technology Lab in several research projects, focus on: lubricant and fuel formulations optimization for motorsport applications, lubricant enhancement for road vehicles on Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Cycle (WLTC) & Real Driving Emissions (RDE) performance assessment, and Hybrid-Internal Combustion Engine powertrain efficiency optimization on WLTC.
Jacobo PORTEIRO. Ph.D. industrial engineer and full professor at the University of Vigo in the field of thermal engines. Co-author of more than 120 journal papers and of more than 100 international conference papers. H index 31 and more than 3,400 citations in Scopus. In 2014 appointed delegate for Spain at the Combustion Committee of the International Energy Agency (IEA), and chair of this committee (2016–2017). Head of Department of Mechanical Engineer from 2012 to 2018. Currently deputy to the Rector of the University for Sustainability. Research focused on the modelling of combustion, heat and mass transfer in engineering applications, and with a recent work on the use of machine learning techniques to the acceleration of CFD models. Member of the GTE research group that belongs to CINTECX (research centre in Technologies, Energy, and Industrial Processes).
José A. LÓPEZ-CAMPOS. He received his degree in mechanical engineering and his Ph.D. in University of Vigo at 2012 and 2017. His career is closely related to development of mathematical models and numerical methods specially for both automotive and biomechanics. Since 2019 works as professor and researcher of University of Vigo.
Martí CORTADA-GARCÍA. He works at Repsol Technology Lab as a product design scientist. He is a chemical engineer and holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, in the field of computational fluid dynamics. He is also a lecturer of CFD at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He has publications in international journals in the fields of pyrolysis, process simulation, rheology, tribology, and lubrication.
Silvia FERNÁNDEZ-CASTEJÓN. She has a B.Sc. in chemical engineering (Complutense University of Madrid), with a bachelor’s thesis in biofuels, a M.Sc. in renewable energies (San Pablo CEU University of Madrid), with a master’s thesis in solar thermal energy and a postgraduate diploma in water treatment plants (Polytechnic University of Catalonia). She has been working in Instrumentation & Control, Chemical Process Engineering and R&D in the petrochemical industry. Currently working in the Repsol Technology Lab in the field of lubricants, developing additive packages and additives from renewable raw materials, for commercial applications and tailor-made engine lubricants for racing motorbikes.
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Blanco-Rodríguez, J., Porteiro, J., López-Campos, J.A. et al. Wear protection assessment of ultralow viscosity lubricants in high-power-density engines: A novel wear prediction algorithm. Friction (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-023-0854-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-023-0854-3