Search Results

Nowadays, Bismuth (Bi) is being applied as an overlay material for engine bearings instead of Lead (Pb) which is an environmentally harmful material. Bi overlay has already been a solid performer in some automotive engine sectors due to its superior load carrying capacity and good robustness characteristic which are necessary to maintain its longevity during the lifetime of engines. The replacement is also seen on relatively larger size engines, such as Trucks and Off-highway heavy duty applications. Basically, these applications require higher power output than passenger cars, and the expected component lifecycle becomes longer. Though Bi has similar material characteristic to traditional Pb, it becomes challenging for the material alone to satisfy these requirements. Polymer overlay is known for its superior anti-wear performance and longer lifetime due to less adhesion against a steel counterpart than metallic materials (included Bi).

In recent years, the removal of lead (Pb), which is an environmentally hazardous material often used in bearings for automotive engines, has been continuously promoted. Bismuth (Bi) is attracting attention as a substitute for lead, and it is currently being used mainly for passenger cars and trucks as a lead replacement. However, lead has not been replaced for motorcycles where the bearings are exposed to high temperatures at high rotation speeds, and trucks and generators where high loading capacity, long lifetime and good corrosion resistance are required. It has been difficult to achieve both high load and corrosion resistant for a bearing overlay material. The purpose of this development is to improve the corrosion resistance and fatigue resistance of bismuth overlay by developing a bismuth- antimony alloy overlay in which antimony (Sb) is added to the bismuth matrix.

The mechanical loss reduction of the bearing reduces the fuel consumption of the engine, which can help realize a sustainable society. Thus, a bearing friction reduction technique has been studied. There have been many studies related to friction-reduction techniques for mixing and boundary lubrication. However, there are few studies on hydrodynamic lubrication, and the main methods have been related to changing the low-viscosity oil and bearing size. In driving passenger cars in urban areas, the lubricant condition of the engine bearings is largely dependent on hydrodynamic lubrication. Therefore, the power loss under this operating condition cannot be ignored. In this study, the reduction of the friction loss under hydrodynamic lubrication was focused. A method for reducing the shear resistance of oil was examined and its effect was confirmed through experiments and calculations.

The number of vehicles with engines using idling stop systems and hybrid systems to improve fuel consumption has recently been increasing. However, with such systems the frequent starts and stops of the engine, where the oil film between the bearings and shaft is squeezed out and direct contact between the components is more likely, can result in increased wear of the engine bearings, particularly in the main bearing. Bearings with resin overlays have been shown to display superior resistance to wear from such start-stop cycles. Moreover, cast iron shafts without quenching treatment have also been used in engines for cost reduction. Because the cast shaft has low hardness and unstable surface graphite after abrasive finishing, increase in the wear amount cannot be suppressed by conventional resin overlay in comparison with steel shaft. Therefore, the resin overlay with improved wear resistance achieved by adding hard particles was developed.

In order to determine the seizure limit of the main bearings of passenger vehicles under actual operating conditions, evaluations were conducted in environments containing noise factors (Various factors which designer cannot adjust and which make function vary were defined as noise factors in this paper.) [1,2] It was shown that noise factors have an effect on seizure limit performance in relation to performance under ideal test conditions (test conditions in which no noise is present). In relation to oil properties, the results showed that a reduction in viscosity as a result of dilution affected seizure limit performance. In relation to the shape of the sliding sections of the test shaft, seizure limit performance declined in a shaft in which the central section was swollen (“convex shaft” below).

There has been a requirement for automotive bearings materials to be free of the toxic material lead, in accordance with ELV regulations and from the perspective of environmental problems. Currently, bismuth is used as a replacement for lead in copper alloy based main journal bearings and connecting rod bearings for automotive engines. In recent years, there has been changing to lead-free materials for truck engine bearings. Compared with automotive engines, lots of contaminations in the oil and local contact between the shaft and bearings can occur in truck engines. The ability to tolerate contamination and local contact is therefore required for truck engine bearings. In this development, we find that the addition of 8 mass% bismuth and 1.5 mass% molybdenum carbide particles into copper-tin alloy is effective for improving the ability which allow the contamination and local contacts. The development of above mentioned lead-free copper alloy bearing material is described here.

With increased awareness of environmental issues and regulations, developments for recent automotive engines are progressing towards engines with low fuel consumption. Due to these changes, automotive engine bearings are increasingly used in harsher environments, with higher loading and corresponding wear. From this background, resin overlays, where solid lubricant is dispersed in a resin binder, are being developed. Resin overlays show excellent sliding properties under boundary lubrication conditions, and are known to have superior wear and fatigue resistance compared with conventional aluminium based bearings. However, while conventional resin overlay bearings display excellent sliding properties, they tend to have inferior seizure resistance compared to Al-Sn-Si alloy bearings. In this study, by optimizing the strength of the resin overlay layer with addition of calcium carbonate particles, a resin overlay with equal wear resistance but improved seizure resistance was developed.

Composite bearings of PTFE as the base material have been widely used for automotive parts. However, in recent years, due to downsizing, faster sliding speeds, and tendency to increase the bearing load with high performance, particularly for boundary lubrication conditions, the PTFE-based composite bearing is often worn, making it difficult to apply to some applications. A high strength polymer was selected as an alternative to PTFE base material, and the mechanical properties and performance in a start-stop test, reciprocating sliding test and seizure test were evaluated. Focusing on the characteristics of high strength, by applying a PEEK resin, in each evaluation, it was confirmed that superior performance was achieved compared with a conventional PTFE based composite bearing. Presenter Yohei Takada, Daido Metal Co., Ltd.

Composite bearings of PTFE as the base material have been widely used for automotive parts. However, in recent years, due to downsizing, faster sliding speeds, and tendency to increase the bearing load with high performance, particularly for boundary lubrication conditions, the PTFE-based composite bearing is often worn, making it difficult to apply to some applications. A high strength polymer was selected as an alternative to PTFE base material, and the mechanical properties and performance in a start-stop test, reciprocating sliding test and seizure test were evaluated. Focusing on the characteristics of high strength, by applying a PEEK resin, in each evaluation, it was confirmed that superior performance was achieved compared with a conventional PTFE based composite bearing.

Recently, automotive engines have been operating under harsh conditions of high-power, low viscosity oil and increase of start-stop (e.g. idling stop). In plain bearing used within engine, as oil film thickness decreases, the frequency of direct contacts on the sliding surfaces between the shaft and the bearing are gradually increasing. In fact, the plain bearings for engines would tend to be used under mixed lubrication and the contacts of the surface roughness asperities sometimes occur between the shaft and the bearing. As a result, the bearing wear on the sliding surfaces is accelerated by the contacts of the roughness asperities. In order to predict the bearing performance exactly, it is very important to understand the change progress of the geometric shape of sliding surfaces caused by the wear.

A newly developed bearing is a lead-free aluminum alloy bearing with low frictional layer which consists of molybdenum disulfide in thicknesses of sub-micron levels on the bearing surface without required binders such as resin. The new bearing had a 50% lower static friction coefficient compared to the conventional aluminum alloy bearing, and exhibited comparable anti-seizure property and fatigue strength to the conventional bearing by evaluation of rig tests. These rig tests verified that the new bearing showed excellent frictional reduction properties. This paper describes details and performances of this newly developed bearing.

As the recent engines are designed for higher performance, piston pin bushing used for small end of connecting rod must endure higher dynamic load and oil temperature conditions. Therefore, the bushing is required higher wear resistance and anti-corrosion. And it is also expected to develop the bushing without lead due to environmental concerns. In this report, lead free copper based bushing alloy was studied. At first, in order to keep the anti-seizure property without lead, we studied the effects of hard particles added into copper based alloy. Second, we evaluated the effect of addition of hard particles on wear resistance and anti-corrosion.

Resin-based overlays as lead-free bearing materials for automobile engines are experimentally studied using tribology testing apparatus and an engine bench test rig. A resin overlay newly proposed is composed of Polybenzimidazole (PBI) as the base resin and solid lubricant Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) as an additive. PBI has high temperature performance and good adhesion and physical strength under higher temperatures. Consequently, a PBI-based overlay has good sliding properties in terms of wear resistance and fatigue resistance. The resin overlay shows applicability to automobile engine bearings which are used under high loads.

Emission control and other restrictions prescribed in the EU's recent EUROIV regulations require automobile manufacturers to decrease NOX and PM (Particulate Matter) in exhaust emissions. Diesel engines in recent years tend to have higher cylinder pressure in pursuit of higher performance and meeting emission regulations. At the same time, under the ELV (End-of-Life Vehicles) regulation, use of lead, which is an environmental pollutant, in automobile parts has become increasingly difficult in recent years. Accordingly, we have developed lead-free overlay for tri-metal copper bearings for applications of highly specific load. We chose a dual-layer structure, bismuth and silver overlay. This type of structure can create fatigue resistance without compromising the two advantages of lead overlay: conformability and anti-seizure property.

A new environmental friendly method to supply metalworking fluid called Oil on Water Drop is proposed. In this study, the obtained results using this new method are compared to the dry cutting one in the machining of oil grooves in engine bearings. Conventional machining of engine bearings is carried out in the dry cutting condition; however, it was found that using the new Oil on Water Drop method the machining performances were greatly improved. In terms of machining tool life, a twofold increase was obtained, while an improvement in the machining error led to a considerable reduction in the rejection of parts made in the production line.

As the recent engines are designed for higher performance and better efficiency, three layers bearings must endure under heavy dynamic load and higher speed conditions. And it is also expected to develop the bearing without lead due to environmental concerns. In this report, a lead free copper based bearing alloy was studied. At first, in order to keep the anti-seizure property without lead, we studied the effects of bismuth and molybdenum carbide particles addition into the copper based bearing alloy. Secondly, we studied the influence of axial bearing relief to keep a conformability under high load condition.

Recent engine bearings are operating under severe conditions to support such engine requirements as lower fuel consumption, longer life and protection of global environment. On Al-Sn-Si alloy bearings, it has some issue that fatigue may occur on the bearing alloy under severe condition such as in automotive diesel engines. Higher strength of alloy, which allows the fatigue resistance, can be obtained by solid solution treatment at higher temperature in general. But at the same time it makes intermetallic compounds with less bonding strength between intermediate layer and steel backing. A new bearing without lead has been developed by applying the heat treatment of bimetal and adequate intermediate layer for the process, consequently concluded to have the higher fatigue strength, with usual property on Al-Sn-Si alloy bearings.

As the downsizing and lightening of the engine are designed, the compact and lightweight of the housing should be required. Therefore, both the engine bearing and the housing are greatly deformed under the severe condition, and a heat generation due to the friction loss increases in the bearings. In this study, on the connecting rod bearing for the automotive engine, the bearing design factors as the oil inlet temperature, the rotational speed, the bearing clearance and the bearing length, are changed as a parameter. The influences of the design factors for the performance of the connecting rod bearing are investigated by using TEHL analysis (Thermo ElastoHydrodynamic Lubrication theory analysis).

Recently, the bearing performances have been analyzed by elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory (EHL). However, the oil film temperature is constant within a bearing clearance on this theory. As modern automotive engines are running at high rotational speed, the change of the oil film temperature is remarkable within a bearing clearance. The bearing performances are influenced by the distribution of the oil film temperature. Therefore it is also necessary for the analysis of the bearing performances to consider the effect of the oil film temperature distribution by thermo elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory (TEHL). In this study, the effects of the bearing performances are investigated on connecting rod bearing in general gasoline engine by TEHL. Furthermore, oil film thickness, oil film pressure and oil film temperature of TEHL results are compared with those of EHL.

Recently, as for the rod guide bush bearing materials for shock absorbers, lower friction and the improvement of durability are required along with ride quality and longer life of automobile. Usually, lead is contained in bearing materials. However, the addition of the lead in bearing material is being restricted from the earth environmental problem. Bearing materials for shock absorbers are composite material consists of steel backing and covered with polymer surface layer. This basic material structure hasn't been changed till now, though it has been improved by changing its components and compositions based on the customer's requirement. Bearing material with both lower friction and excellent wear resistance has been developed in this study.