Tribological and Metallurgical Properties of Nitrided AISI 4340

Steel
Nitridng usually improves wear resistance and can be accomplished using a gas or plasma method; it's necessary
to find if there is any difference in surface roughness, wear and/or wear mechanism when choosing between
methods for nitriding. In this study, Ball-on-disk wear test was compared on coupons nitrided with five different
nitriding cycles that processed at temperatures of 500-570C, with a processing time of 8 - 80 hrs. Different
compound layer thicknesses were formed, (5-8m), and a minimum of 0.38 mm case depth was produced. Nitrided
samples were also compared to nitrocarburized and the nitrided coupons with a 0 compound layer in a ball-ondisk test. Few selected coupons were post-polished and wear test on ball-on-disk test was compared with the
coupons without post polishing. Optical surface roughness using White Light Interferometry (WLIM) and
metallurgical testing was performed.
It was found that plasma nitrided coupons with post polishing had the highest wear resistance in comparison to the
untreated coupons. Porous compound layer and oxide layer on a nitrocarburized coupon may have contributed to
its wear resistance by retaining lubricant longer.

Outside-Engine Wear Study of Ceramic Coated Cylinder Wall

Tribo-System
This research focuses on study of feasibility of using ceramic oxide coatings on the cylinder wall of hypoeutectic
aluminum silicon alloy engine blocks. Coatings are achieved in an aqueous electrolytic bath and composed of both
alpha and gamma phases of Al2O3 and have shown promising wear resistance. Composition and acidity level of the
electrolyte creates a variation of surface roughness, coating hardness and thickness which has direct influence on
the wear behavior of the sliding surfaces. The effect of load bearing and coating morphology on coefficient of
friction was studied. SEM images of the substrate showed no predominant wear behavior or delamination.
Coefficient of friction and wear rate were also measured. This study shows the importance of surface structure on
oil retention and wear rate. Coarser coatings can be desirable under starved oil condition since they show lower
coefficient of friction. This can be explained due to the oil retention structure of coarse coatings with more
topographical variance.

Effect of Surface Roughness and Sliding Velocity on Tribological

Properties of an Oxide-Coated Aluminum Alloy
Aluminum engines have been successfully used to replace heavy gray cast engines to lighten the car's weight and
reduce the fuel consumption. To overcome the aluminum alloys' poor wear resistance, cast iron liners and thermal
spraying coatings were used as cylinder bore materials for wear protection. A plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO)
technique had also been proposed to produce an oxide coating on aluminum cylinder bore. The oxide coating can
have a low coefficient of friction (COF) and minimum wear shown in the lab tests. To conserve more fuel, the
stopping and restarting system was introduced when the vehicle was forced to stop immediately for a short time.
When the engine was forced to stop and restart, the reciprocating speed of the piston was very slow, and the
friction between the piston and the cylinder was high. In this research, a pin-on-disc tribometer was used to
investigate tribological behavior of the oxide coating on an aluminum alloy. The rotational velocity of the tribometer
was increased stepwise in a low speed range during the tests. The COF and wear of counterface pins were
measured and evaluated corresponding to different combinations of sliding velocities. The results showed that the
COF could be affected by many factors such as coating composition, surface roughness, amount of lubricating oil

and sliding velocity. With the increase of velocity in the low speed range, the COF decreased. The smoother of the
coating surface, the less wear of counterface pin. A proper combination of coating surface roughness and sliding
velocity could provide a significant lower COF and less wear.

Comparative Tribological Investigation of Mahua Oil and its

Chemically Modified Derivatives
For the last decade, the lubricant industry has been trying to formulate biodegradable lubricants with technical
characteristics superior to those based on petroleum. A renewable resource, mahua oil, is good alternative to
mineral oil because of its environmentally friendly, non toxic and readily biodegradable nature. The triacylglycerol
structure of mahua oil is amphiphilic in character that makes it an excellent candidate as lubricant and functional
fluid. It is also very attractive for industrial applications that have potential for environmental contact through
accidental leakage, dripping or generates large quantities of after-use waste materials requiring costly disposal.
Vegetable oil in its natural form has limited use as industrial fluids due to poor thermo-oxidation stability, low
temperature behavior and other tribochemical degrading processes. Therefore, in the present paper epoxidation
and trans-esterification were employed to overcome the mentioned drawbacks of vegetable oil and explore the
possibility of modified mahua oil as lubricant because double bonds present in triacylglycerol structure offer sites
for additional functionalization This paper compares the lubricating property and mechanical stability of four
samples of epoxidized mahua oil, trans-esterified mahua oil, refined mahua oil and a mineral oil based lubricant.
The epoxidation of mahua oil followed by oxirane ring opening, by acidic catalyzed reaction with glacial acetic acid
and hydrogen peroxide, provides interesting polyfunctional compounds useful as biolubricant with improved low
temperature pour properties. The double bonds were epoxidized to improve low temperature and oxidative stability
properties of mahua oil. Moreover, another sample of fatty acid methyl ester mahua oil was prepared by two step
transesterification process. The four samples-mahua oil, transesterified mahua oil, epoxidized mahua oil and
mineral oil based lubricant were tested for their viscosity index, density variation, coefficient of friction and wear
tests using four-ball tester. Comparative tests concluded that epoxidized mahua oil and transesterified mahua oil
have superior lubricant characteristics with respect to oil and conventional lubricant.

Prediction of Wear Behavior of Aluminum Alloy Reinforced with

Carbon Nanotubes Using Nonlinear Identification
Aluminum metal matrix composites reinforced with particulates have attracted much attention in the automotive
industry, due to their improved wear resistance in comparison to aluminum alloys, in recent years.
The wear behavior is the critical factor influencing the product life and performance in engineering components.
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are one of the most promising candidates of reinforcements used to improve mechanical
strength such as wear in metal matrix composites (MMCs). However, in industrial applications, wear tests are
relatively expensive and prolonged. As a result, for several years, research has been increasingly concentrated on
development of wear prediction models. In this study, prediction of wear behavior of aluminum (Al) matrix (MMCs)
reinforced with different amounts (0, 0.5, 1 and 2 wt%) of CNTs was investigated.
A nonlinear autoregressive exogenous (NARX) model structure was chosen for the modeling. The wear load was
considered as the input parameter, whereas the wear rate and friction coefficient as the output parameters.
Simulations using the identified models were compared with experimental results and it was found that the
modeling of wear process was satisfactory.

Agro-Waste Based Friction Material for Automotive Application

The development of a non-asbestos automotive brake pad using palm kernel shell (PKS) as friction filler material is
presented. This was with a view to exploiting the characteristics of PKS, which are otherwise largely deposited as
waste from palm oil production, to make substitution for asbestos which has been found to be carcinogenic. Two
sets of brake pads with identical ingredients but using either PKS or asbestos as base material were produced,
following standard procedures employed by a commercial brake pad manufacturer. The physical, thermal,
mechanical and the wear characteristics of the PKS-based brake pads were evaluated, compared with the values
for the asbestos-based brake pads, and weighted against established recommendations for friction materials for
road vehicle brake pads. The PKS based brake pad was characterized by 32.34 Brinell hardness number; 0.62%,
swell and growth; 3375 N/s, bonding to back plate, and phase change at 689.5C. The coefficient of friction of the
experimental brake pad on cast iron was 0.43; whilst, wear rate was 9.17 E-5 g/min and exhibiting a third order
polynomial with run-in time. The properties of the PKS-based brake pad wholly satisfied the NIS 323 standard. The
PKS is therefore suitable for use as friction material in automotive brake-pads. Current investigation is on field
testing and reformulation of the composite for enhanced performance.

Friction and Sliding Wear Characterization of Ion Chrome Coating

The functions of a piston ring are to seal off the combustion pressure, to distribute and control the oil, to transfer
heat and to stabilize the piston. Most piston rings and metallic sealing rings for modern application where running
conditions are severe, require some form of coating to minimise abrasion and corrosion. The piston ring coating
improves the life of engine as well as fuel efficiency. In this study, physical vapour deposition (ion chrome plating)
was investigated; plates with similar composition as the piston ring material were prepared by the casting process
using induction arc furnace and sand mould. Wear test of the coating was conducted on pin on disc machine under
dry conditions. The wear rate was calculated using mass loss methods on an electronic balance having least count
4

of 1 10
g. The wear rate of the coating was found to be increased with increase in load as well as sliding speed
for the ion plating with the counter body of tungsten carbide but in the case of ion plating with the HCS & MS it is
found to be decreased. The microstructure of the worn surfaces of the coating was also examined with optical
telescope and no change in microstructure of the coating due to frictional heat was found.

A Comparison and Identification Study of Dry Sliding Wear

Behaviour of Al/B4CP and Mg/B4CP Composites for Automobile Disk
Brakes
The brake friction materials in an automotive brake system play an important role in the overall braking
performance of a vehicle. Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) have been widely investigated and applied due to their
advantages of improved strength, stiffness and increased wear resistance over the monolithic alloys in automobile
industries.
In this paper, Al/B4CP and Mg/B4CP composites were compared to find a suitable candidate material for automotive
disk brake application, in terms of wear behavior results of the materials. In addition, the experimental data was
also used to model this behavior by identification. The measured tangential force was considered as the input

parameter, whereas the weight loss as the output parameter. Preliminary results of this work showed that
B4CPaddition improved wear resistance of both aluminum and magnesium matrix composites. Additionally, the
study pointed out that identified models provide a reliable and cost effective tool for wear prediction.

Expanding the Development of More Durable Friction Modifiers

with Sustained Friction-Reduction: Extended Tribological Studies
and Oil-Aging
To gain some insight into friction modifier (FM) performance retention in engine oils, we have developed a series of
tribology measurements to measure and understand

friction reduction performance retention by

extended tribology measurements of the changes in the coefficient of friction (COF) with time. In some cases, after
several days of data collection, these tests give us insight into how friction modifiers might perform in real engine
operating conditions with typical long oil drain intervals. Results are presented from both a series of sequential
tribology oil studies with and without FMs, as well as longer isothermal hold studies, developed using a Cameron
Plint TE-77 cylinder-on-plate, and PCS-Instruments Mini-Traction-Machine ball-on-disk friction instruments.
Specifically studied, were Glycerolmonooleate (GMO), Molybdenum dialkyldithiocarbamate (MoDTC), and an
experimental organic friction modifier (Exp-OFM1) of a completely ashless (containing no inorganic metals) C, H, O,
N surface active molecular structure. The results show the friction reduction retention can vary significantly with
friction modifier type. Nitro-oxidation of the oils was also studied by tribological methods and Fourier Transform
Infrared (FT-IR), to track induced changes in COF, viscosity, oxidation, and nitration, simulating oil aging.

Comparison of Tribological Performance of WS2 Nanoparticles,

Microparticles and Mixtures Thereof
Tribological performance of tungsten sulfide (WS2) nanoparticles, microparticles and mixtures of the two were
investigated. Previous research showed that friction and wear reduction can be achieved with nanoparticles. Often
these improvements were mutually exclusive, or achieved under special conditions (high temperature, high
vacuum) or with hard-to-synthesize inorganic-fullerene WS 2nanoparticles. This study aimed at investigating the
friction and wear reduction of WS2 of nanoparticles and microparticles that can be synthesized in bulk and/or
purchased off the shelf. Mixtures of WS2 nanoparticles and microparticles were also tested to see if a combination
of reduced friction and wear would be achieved. The effect of the mixing process on the morphology of the particles
was also reported. The microparticles showed the largest reduction in coefficient of friction while the nanoparticles
showed the largest wear scar area reduction. Mixtures of nanoparticles and microparticles did not provide the
desired combination of significant friction and wear reductions.