Tribology International 44 (2011) 11341143

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Tribology International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/triboint

Low viscosity shear heating in piston skirts EHL in the low initial
engine start up speeds
Syed Adnan Qasim a,n, M. Afzaal Malik a, Mumtaz Ali Khan a, Riaz A. Mufti b
a
b

National University of Sciences and Technology, College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Peshawar Road, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan
National University of Sciences and Technology, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, H-12, Islamabad, Pakistan

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 1 August 2010
Received in revised form
14 April 2011
Accepted 20 April 2011
Available online 13 May 2011

Absence of elastohydrodynamic lubricating (EHL) lm causes piston wear in low speed cold initial
engine start up, while shearing of low viscosity lubricant in few cycles affects its load carrying capacity.
Shear heating effects are incorporated in 2-D hydrodynamic and EHL model by solving 2-D heat
equation. EHL pressures are calculated using inverse solution technique. Comparative analysis is based
on viscous dissipation coupled with piston motion, changes in pressure, lm thickness and viscosity.
This study suggests that the increase in temperature varies with speed to affect piston eccentricities,
viscosity and lm thickness. This optimizes low start up speed for a few engine cycles.
& 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Elastohydrodynamic lubrication
Piston skirt
Shear heating
Initial engine start up

1. Introduction
An ineffective lubrication of piston skirts causes adhesive wear
of the skirts and liner surfaces in the cold initial engine start up.
Adhesive wear is caused by partially ooded conditions, absence
of EHL lm and low hydrodynamic pressures. These factors also
affect the engine performance, reliability and operational life. In
the normal engine operation, combustion generates a tremendous
amount of heat. The engine heat removal mechanisms remove
some of the heat but a part of it manages to ow down from the
piston crown up to the bottom surface of the skirts. The lubricant
owing over the surface of the skirts absorbs the heat continuously during the entire duration of the normal engine operation.
The continuous heat absorption increases the engine lubricant
temperature substantially. Heat generated due to viscous shearing also adds up to enhance the lubricant temperature during the
normal engine running. The lubricant ows through the engine oil
passages and absorbs extra heat. During the normal engine
operation, the lubricant fails to shed away all the accumulated
heat. The lubricant temperature remains very high as compared
to that at the ambient conditions. High temperature reduces
viscosity, lm thickness and load carrying capacity of the lubricant and causes its degradation. Such frequent temperature-prone
viscosity reductions and lubricant degradations may ultimately
n

Corresponding author. Tel.: 92 334 4034974.

E-mail addresses: adnan_qasim@yahoo.com (S.A. Qasim),
drafzaalmalik@yahoo.com (M. Afzaal Malik), mumtaz-alikhan@hotmail.com
(M. Ali Khan), dr.mufti@hotmail.com (R.A. Mufti).
0301-679X/$ - see front matter & 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.triboint.2011.04.018

lead to engine failure [1]. At the time of initial cold engine start
up, the lubricant viscosity and surface of its ow passages are at
the ambient temperature. The lubricant viscosity at ambient
conditions is always more than that at the elevated temperatures.
When an engine starts up, the heat ow paths from the combustion chamber to the cylinder-head are available for maximum
heat removal. An effective engine cooling system functions at
maximum efciency. The cold piston crown and the cylinder liner
walls are in place. Such arrangements in a few cold engine start
up cycles do not let most of the combustion heat to travel
down to the surface of the piston skirts and alter the lubricant
temperature signicantly. In a few initial cold engine start up cycles,
shear heating is anticipated to be the major contributor towards
increasing the lubricant temperature. Hence, it may be logical to
ignore the minor variations in lubricant temperature due to combustion in the initial engine start up. This assumption facilitates in
modeling the viscous heating effects in the initial engine start up. A
piston skirts EHL model in the initial engine start up incorporates the
effects of shear heating on lubricant viscosity, hydrodynamic pressures and the contact geometry of the interacting skirts and liner
surfaces [2]. This is due to the fact that the thermal effects have a
more dominating inuence on the lubricant lm thickness than its
non-Newtonian behavior [3]. Viscous heating transforms the hydrodynamic and EHL regimes to become thermohydrodynamic (THD)
and thermoelastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) regimes. Most of
the early researchers ignored temperature-based viscosity changes
and instead primarily focused their attention on the normal engine
operating conditions. They approximated such effects by taking the
pressure eld as Hertzian with no consideration of changes in the

S.A. Qasim et al. / Tribology International 44 (2011) 11341143

Nomenclature
C
Cf
Cg
Cp
E1, E2
F
Ff
Ffh
FG
Fh

R
T
To
T nij 1

Piston radial clearance

Specic heat of oil
Distance from piston center of mass to piston pin
Distance of piston pin from axis of piston
Youngs modulus of piston and liner
Normal force acting on piston skirts
Friction force acting on skirts surface
Friction force due to hydrodynamic lubricant lm
Combustion gas force acting on the top of piston
Normal force due to hydrodynamic pressure in
the lm
Transverse inertia force due to piston mass
Reciprocating inertia force due to piston mass
Transverse inertia force due to piston pin mass
Reciprocating inertia force due to piston pin mass
Piston rotary inertia about its center of mass
Lubricant thermal conductivity
Piston skirt length
Moment about piston pin due to normal forces
Moment about piston pin due to friction force
Moment about piston pin due to hydrodynamic
friction
Moment about piston pin due to hydrodynamic
pressure
Radius of piston
Lubricant lm temperature
Initial temperature
Temperature at new time level n1.

T nij

Temperature at present time level n.

FIC
F~IC
FIP
F~IP
Ipis
K
L
M
Mf
Mfh
Mh

lubricant lm [4]. Of late, some researchers have used the cylinder

liner wall temperature to incorporate viscosity variations during
normal engine operation. A few others used local temperatures in
their modeling studies [5,6]. In some cases, temperatures were
averaged to model viscous shearing effects [7]. Some studies on
the piston ring pack incorporated the effects of shear rate and
temperature on lubricant viscosity and lm thickness during the
normal engine operation. However, they did not incorporate such
effects in the initial engine start up conditions [8]. A worth
mentioning work on the engine start up conditions is the TEHL
model of steadily loaded journal bearings [9]. In that study, viscosity
variations due to temperature changes are shown at low and high
engine start up speeds.
A review of previous research efforts shows the scarcity of
credible piston skirts lubrication models in the initial engine start
up. Existing models do not cater for the effects of thermoviscosity on piston secondary eccentricities, oil lm thickness
and hydrodynamic pressure in the engine start up conditions.
This study considers three low initial engine start up speeds as
may be the case during the actual start up. The 2-D hydrodynamic
and the EHL regimes are mathematically modeled such that the
calculated time steps are coupled as functions of 7201 crank
rotation cycle. Hydrodynamic pressures are calculated at each
secondary piston displacement and the corresponding hydrodynamic lm thickness by solving the 2-D Reynolds equation. The
model incorporates the elastic displacement effects to determine
the EHL lm thickness proles. The 2-D thermal energy equation
having adiabatic conduction and convective heat transfer with no
source term effects, is incorporated in the model. Viscous shear
heating is coupled with piston motion, hydrodynamic and EHD

U
a
b
eb
et
e_ b
e_ t
e b
e t
h
hehl
l
mpis
mpin
p
r
u, v

o
t 1, u 2
u

Z
j
k

rCp
Dt

1135

Piston velocity
Vertical distance from piston skirt top to piston pin
Vertical distance from piston skirt top to center of
gravity
Piston skirts bottom eccentric displacement
Piston skirts top eccentric displacement
Velocity term of piston skirts bottom eccentricities
Velocity term of piston skirts top eccentricities
Acceleration term of piston skirts bottom
eccentricities
Acceleration term of piston skirts top eccentricities
Mean oil lm thickness
Film thickness in the EHL regime
Connecting rod length
Mass of piston
Mass of piston pin
Hydrodynamic pressure
Crank radius
Velocity components along x and y directions
Crank angle
k/rCp, called the thermal diffusivity.
Connecting rod angle
Crank rotation speed
Poissons ratio
Elastic deformation of piston skirts
Piston skirts angle in degree
Dynamic viscosity of lubricant
Viscous dissipation
Thermal conductivity of lubricant.
Product of lubricant density and specic heat.
Time step

pressure elds, and lm thickness proles. The inuence of shear

heating on the lm thickness and viscosity in the low initial
engine start up speeds is investigated. To develop the numerical
model, the following assumptions are made:
1. Lubricant is Newtonian and incompressible.
2. Roughness and waviness effects are neglected.
3. Boundary conditions for pressure at inlet are zero and surfaces
are oil-ooded.
4. Side leakage and squeeze effects are neglected.
5. Thermal effects due to combustion are neglected.
These assumptions are justied due to several reasons. The
assumption of Newtonian lubricant behavior highlights the direct
proportion between the shear stress and strain rate of the
lubricant. The assumption no. 2 supposes the piston skirts and
the liner surfaces to be ideal surfaces. Real skirts and liner
surfaces are rough due to the different surface asperity heights.
They have relatively long waves due to the unwanted vibrations
of machine tool systems during manufacturing. The surfaces have
different inter-asperity distances and non-uniform asperity distribution. Ideal surfaces have asperities of equal height, negligible
inter-asperity distances and uniform surface asperity distribution.
Such surfaces do not have long waves due to the unwanted
vibrations. Hence, the roughness and waviness effects may be
neglected. At the time of engine start up the mechanical engine
oil pump takes some time to deliver the oil and causes it to ow
between the piston skirts and the liner surfaces. Hence, starvation
and gaseous cavitation may prevail. To prevent starvation and
ensure the continuity of lubricant ow at the time of engine start

1136

S.A. Qasim et al. / Tribology International 44 (2011) 11341143

up it is assumed that an electric oil pump is in place. With the

turn-on of the ignition switch, the electric oil pump starts
delivering the lubricant well before the engine cranking and
subsequent start up. Lubricant may also be delivered from some
external source to ensure oil ooding and ow between the skirts
and the liner surfaces prior to the engine start up.

2. Governing equations

conditions are
@p
@p

0;
@x y 0 @x y p
p0, when x1 rx r x2 ; px,0 px,L 0
The normal force due to the hydrodynamic pressure and
its moment about the piston pin are found by integrating the
already determined hydrodynamic pressure, as shown by the
relationship [11]
ZZ
Fh
px,ycos x dxdy
8
A

2.1. Piston axial position and velocity

The position and the velocity of the piston along the axis of the
cylinder are the functions of the crank angle c. For constant
crankshaft speed o, piston position is given by [11]
2

Y l r2 C p 2 0:5 l B2 0:5 r cos C

B C p r sin C

For constant crankshaft speed o, the piston speed is given

by [10,11]

Mh

ZZ

The hydrodynamic friction force and its moment about the

piston pin are calculated by integrating the shear stress generated
due to the piston sliding over the total skirts surface area A,
as [11]
ZZ
Ffh
tx,ydxdy
10
A

Mfh

U Y_ r o sin C r oB cos Cl B2 0:5

px,yaycos x dxdy
A

ZZ

tx,ycos xC p dxdy

11

2.2. Piston transverse motion equations

2.3. Lubricant lm thickness equation

The piston motion is dened by incorporating the piston

inertia, hydrodynamic force, hydrodynamic friction force and
moments. The input parameters are given in Table 1. The following equations are solved to dene the piston motion generally
similar to those dened by Zhu et al. [11]
2
3" # "
#




mpis aL mpis bL
mpis 1 aL mpis 1 bL
F h F s F f tan |
e t

Without considering bulk elastic deformation of the piston

skirts, the lubricant lm thickness is given by [11]

Ipis
L



mpis ab 1 bL

mpis ab bL 

Ipis
L

e b

y
h C et tcos x eb tet t cos x
L

12

By considering the bulk elastic deformation, the lubricant lm

thickness equation is given by [11]
hehl h f x,y u

M Ms M f
4

Fs tan FG F~IP F~IC

Ms FG Cp F~ IC Cg

13

where f x,y denes the skirts surface prole due to the manufacturing imperfections and are neglected.
2.4. Oil lm temperature rise and heat equation

Hydrodynamic pressures generated over the total skirts surface area A in the x and y-direction, are calculated using the 2-D
Reynolds equation [11]:




@
@p
@
@p
@h
h3

h3
6ZU
7
@x
@x
@y
@y
@y
The range of x in dimensionless form is between 01 and 751
angle for the combined length of both skirts of piston. The range
of y in dimensionless form is from 0.5 to 0.5 if the mid-line
of piston skirts surface is selected as datum. The boundary

The temperature rise in oil lm is determined by using two

dimensional transient thermal energy equation with heat generated from shear heating [9].
!


@T
@T
@T
@2 T @2 T
j
u
v
K 2 2
rf Cf
14
@t
@x
@y
@ x @ y
where the viscous dissipation term related to the viscous shear
and normal stresses is [9]
(
" 

 2 #)
@u @v 2
@u 2
@v

Zj Z
2

15
@y @x
@x
@y

Table 1
Input parameters including piston geometry.
Sl. no.

Parameter

Value

Sl. no.

Parameter

Value

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

mpis
R
L
mpin
Cp
C

0.295 kg
0.0415 m
0.0338 m
0.09 kg
0.001 m
0.00001 m
0.03187 Pa s
0.133 m

9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

a
b
Cg
u1, u2
E1, E2
r
Y y1 y2
To

0.0125 m
0.0015 m
0.0002 m
0.3
200 GPa
0.0418 m
751
40 1C/313 K

Z
l

S.A. Qasim et al. / Tribology International 44 (2011) 11341143

If the viscous dissipation term is related to the shear stress

only, then [9]:


@u @v 2

Zj Z
16
@y @x
At constant viscosity, the dissipation term is given by [9]


@u @v 2

j
17
@y @x
Considering heat convection along x-direction and heat
conduction along y-direction, the above energy equation can be
written as [10]
!


@T
@T
@2 T
u
K 2
j
rf Cf
18
@t
@x
@ y

1137

form is given by [12]:


  2




@
R
@
@h
3 @p
3 @p
h
h


@x
L @y
@x
@y
@y

22

where
h

h
x
y
pc2
; x ; y ; p
c
R
L
6ZUR

Here, we introduce Vogelpohl parameter Mv, developed to

improve the accuracy of numerical solutions of the Reynolds
equation. The parameter is dened as [12]
Mv p h1:5

23

Substituting it into Eq. (20) gives Vogelpohl equation [12]

 2 2
@ Mv
R @ Mv

FMv G
24
L
@x2
@y2
2

Thermal boundary conditions are as under

where parameters F and G are given by [12]

TTo at inow on inlet side x 0

@T=@x 0 at x 751
TTo at y0
@T=@y 0 at y L
2.5. Viscositytemperature relation
Vogel equation denes the viscositytemperature relationship
as [8]


T1
Z ao exp
19
T2 Tm

0:75@h =@x 2 R=L2 @h =@y 2  1:5@2 h =@x2 R=L2 @2 h =@y2 

;
h
h2

@h =@y
h1:5

25

The terms F and G can be included with the nite difference

operator to form a complete equivalent of the Reynolds equation.
The equation is then rearranged to provide an expression for
Mv,i,j [12]
Mv,i,j

C1 Mv,i 1,j Mv,i1,j R=L2 C2 Mv,i,j 1 Mv,i,j1 Gi,j

2C1 2C2 Fi,j

where ao and T1 =T2 are correlation parameters and Tm is given

by [8]
Z hZ B
1
Tx,ydxdy
20
Tm
hB o o

where C1 1=dx ; C2 1=dy .

2.6. Viscositypressuretemperature relationship

The forward time central space (FTCS) explicit nite differencing

scheme is applied to get the numerical solution. Forward differencing for time dependent temperature term is given by [13]

In 1966, Roelands dened the relationship between viscosity,

pressure and temperature [12]. He noted that at constant pressure the lubricant viscosity increases more or less exponentially
with the reciprocal of absolute temperature. Similarly, at constant
temperature the viscosity increases more or less exponentially
with pressure. Such a relationship is suitable for computational
applications involving moderate-temperature ranges like lubricant shear heating at low engine start up speeds. It is more so
when the extreme sensitivity of viscosity does not allow an
analytical description of pressure and temperature dependent
changes. Roelands dened this relationship by the Eq. [12]
(
"
#)


 To 2138 So
Z Zo exp ln Zo 9:67
1 5:1  109 pZ 1
Tm 138
21
where Z and So are constants, characteristic for a specic oil.

26
2

2

3.2. Finite difference form of energy equation

T ni,j 1 T ni,j =Dt

Forward differencing for convective term along x-direction is
given by [13]
T ni 1,j T ni,j =Dx
Central differencing for conduction term along y-direction is
given by [13]
T ni,j 1 2T ni,j T ni,j =Dy2 :
The nite difference form of the 2-D transient energy equation
is given by [13]
T ni,j 1 T ni,j =Dt aT ni,j 1 2T nij T nij1 =Dy2 
u=rC p T ni 1,j T nij =Dx j=rC p

27

T nij 1 T nij uDt=rC p T ni 1,j T nij =Dx

aDtT ni,j 1 2T nij T nij1 =Dy2  Dtj=rC p

28

3. Non-dimensionalization and discretization

3.1. Non-dimensional Reynolds equation

4. Numerical solution

All the real variables in the Reynolds equation are substituted by

dimensionless fractions of two or more real parameters. The
advantage is the reduction in the number of controlling parameters
to have a relatively limited data set. The data set provides the
required information. Reynolds equation in its non-dimensional

4.1. Numerical solution for hydrodynamic regime

The relations given by Eq. (4) constitute an initial value problem
for a pair of non-linear second order differential equations in the
piston secondary eccentricities et(t) and eb(t). In the numerical

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S.A. Qasim et al. / Tribology International 44 (2011) 11341143

procedure, the mean oil lm thickness is calculated with Eq. (12).

It is done by assuming the values of et, eb, e_ t and e_ b at the previous
time step and using them as the initial values for the current time
step. Based on the present mean lm thickness and the lubricant
viscosity, hydrodynamic pressures are obtained by solving the
average Reynolds equation with nite difference scheme. To determine the viscosity at the present time step, the temperature at the
present time step is calculated with the known temperature values
at the previous time step. It is done by solving the 2-D energy
equation by adopting nite difference approach. All the forces and
moments on the right hand side of Eq. (4) are determined by using
Eqs. (5), (6), (8)(11). Then the accelerations e t and e b are computed
by numerical differentiation from the solution of e_ t and e_ b at
previous time step and the present values for the current time step
and checked if Eq. (4) is satised or not. To satisfy Eq. (4) with a
reasonable tolerance, necessary adjustments are made in the present solution of e_ t and e_ b for the current time step. The procedure is
repeated by using RungeKutta iterative scheme to get satisfactory
velocities, e_ t and e_ b. The satisfactory values lead us to determine the
piston position at the end of the current time step. The simulation of
second order non-linear differential equations show transient rigid
hydrodynamic lubrication of piston skirts at respective time steps or
crank angles [10]. The Reynolds equation, oil lm thickness equation
and thermal energy equation are solved simultaneously by using
Gauss Seidel iterative numerical scheme and forward time central
space differencing technique to maintain numerical stability.
4.2. Numerical solution for EHL of piston skirts
The EHL solution comprises integration of the Reynolds equation for already known geometry of piston skirts [11]. The inverse
solution of the Reynolds equation yields the geometry to get
specied pressure distribution [14]. The elastic deformations/
displacements in the temperature and pressure dependent
piezo-viscous regime are calculated and then incorporated in
Eq. (13) to get the mean lm thickness in the EHL regime [15].

5. Analysis of results and discussion

5.1. Piston skirts top and bottom eccentricities
Fig. 1 shows two dimensionless eccentric displacement curves
of piston skirts top and bottom i.e., Et curve and Eb curve, in the
hydrodynamic and EHL regimes. The displacement curves are
functions of 7201 crank rotation cycle at the low initial engine
start up speeds of 500, 600 and 700 rpm, respectively. A comparison of the same in the EHL regime is shown in Fig. 1(g). The subFig. 1(a)(f) shows three horizontal lines. The lower line at  1.0 is
the touching line on the thrust side of the cylinder liner. The midline at zero shows the concentric position of the piston with
respect to the liner. The upper line at 1.0 is the touching line on
the non-thrust side of the liner. In case an Et or Eb curve touches
either the upper line at 1.0 or the lower line at 1.0, then solidto-solid contact between the skirts and liner surfaces gets
established and adhesive wear takes place. In the hydrodynamic
lubrication regime, shear heating causes a sharp reduction in the
lubricant viscosity. Such a reduction in the viscosity increases the
chances of a possible contact and wear of the interacting surfaces.
From the minimum value in the hydrodynamic regime, the
pressure dependent viscosity in the EHL regime increases exponentially. The net viscosity rise is substantially higher than the
viscosity at ambient conditions. The thermo and piezo-viscous
effects inuence the magnitudes of eccentric piston displacement
curves in the hydrodynamic and EHL regimes. The piston motion
in all the four strokes is cyclic in nature. Piston travels from one

dead center to the other in each 1801 stroke. It accelerates to

attain maximum speed at the mid-stroke and then decelerates to
a minimum value at the end of the stroke. The sliding direction of
the piston changes after each stroke. Inside the engine combustion chamber, the magnitude of the gas pressure force varies
continuously in the four piston strokes. The cyclic piston motion,
the changes in the direction of sliding and a varying magnitude of
gas pressure force have a cumulative effect on the magnitude of
piston eccentricities at each engine start up speed. In the hydrodynamic lubrication regime, the Et curve at 500 rpm speed shows
the likely possibility of a physical contact between the skirts and
the liner surfaces in the expansion and exhaust strokes. At
600 rpm, a slightly reduced magnitude of the Et curve lowers
the chances of a possible physical contact in the expansion and
exhaust strokes. An increase in the start up speed to 700 rpm
delays such a possibility by around 1001 of crank rotation, as
shown in Fig. 1(c). In the EHL regime, there is a visible reduction
in the piston eccentric displacements due to the piezo-viscous
effect. An increase in the engine speed reduces the piston
eccentric displacements towards the thrust side but enhances
them slightly towards the non-thrust side of the liner. It happens
as a result of viscous shearing of a low viscosity lubricant at
relatively high engine speed in the low speed range. A comparison
of the piston eccentricities at different piston positions shows the
primary contribution of combustion gas force in shifting the bias
of the secondary piston displacements towards the thrust side.
The combustion gas force causes a maximum eccentric displacement of the skirts top surface at the peak cyclic speed of piston in
the mid of the expansion stroke. The minimum gas force effect
results in the corresponding minimum eccentric displacement of
the piston in the mid-induction stroke.
5.2. Hydrodynamic lm thickness at very low engine speeds
The maximum and minimum lm thickness proles at three
different engine speeds are shown in Fig. 2. Compared to the
maximum lm thickness, the minimum thickness is more important as it actually carries the hydrodynamic load. In the rst half
of the induction stroke, the lm thickness at 500 rpm is slightly
more than that at the other two speeds. It is due to the reduced
viscous heating and a corresponding small viscosity drop at low
speed. An eccentric displacement of the piston at the midinduction stroke brings a gradual increase in the lm thickness.
The hydrodynamic lm thickness rises sharply due to the second
eccentric piston displacement at the end of the induction stroke.
The lm thickness attains the maximum value at around 3401
crank angle in the second half of the compression stroke. The
directional shift in the eccentric displacements of the piston skirts
due to combustion at 3721 crank angle reduces the lm thickness
considerably. The cyclic piston speed, shear heating and the gas
pressure force bring the lm thickness to a minimum value in the
second half of the expansion stroke. At 500 rpm, a very small lm
thickness in the second half of the expansion stroke improves as
the start up speed increases to 700 rpm. The continuity of ow
and conservation of mass require additional ow of the lubricant
with an increase in the engine speed. Hence, the maximum lm
thickness increases with the engine speed. A slightly enhanced
lm thickness at 700 rpm damps the excessive combustion gas
load in the rst half of the expansion stroke.
5.3. Dimensionless hydrodynamic pressure elds at very low engine
speeds
Hydrodynamic pressure elds at some of the piston positions
are shown in Fig. 2. At the mid-induction stroke of piston the
pressure elds show a gradual positive shift to the right at

S.A. Qasim et al. / Tribology International 44 (2011) 11341143

1139

Fig. 1. Piston skirts eccentricities: (a) At 500 rpm in hydrodynamic regime. (b) At 600 rpm in hydrodynamic regime. (c) At 700 rpm in hydrodynamic regime. (d) At
500 rpm in EHL regime. (e) At 600 rpm in EHL regime. (f) At 700 rpm in EHL regime. (g) Comparison of skirts top and bottom eccentricities in EHL regime.

600 rpm. A speed increase to 700 rpm shifts the peak pressure to
the left of the center of the skirts top surface. Such changes are
attributed to the lm thickness, lubricant ow and inertia effects,
which are the functions of the engine start up speed. In the midcompression stroke, the pressure elds show a tremendous
increase in the hydrodynamic pressure. An increase in the speed
from 500 to 600 rpm increases the pressure over the right side of
the top surface. From 600 to 700 rpm, the changes in the
gradients and pressure intensities shift the peak pressure to the
left side. A relatively large eccentric displacement of the skirts top
surface increases the lm thickness and intensies the hydrodynamic pressure. A speed increase from 500 to 700 rpm changes
the pressure gradients in the rst half of the expansion stroke.
Shear heating, lubricant ow rate, lm thickness and transverse
piston eccentricities change the pressure gradients. In the expansion stroke, combustion force brings fundamental changes to

affect the piston dynamics and lubrication. A shift in the eccentric

displacement of the piston towards the thrust side affects the lm
thickness drastically. As a result, the bias of the pressure elds
shifts from the skirts top to the bottom surface. At 500 and
700 rpm speeds, the bias of the elds shifts to the skirts bottom
surface before the mid-point of expansion stroke. At 600 rpm, the
bias of hydrodynamic pressure elds shifts towards the skirts top
surface after the mid-expansion stroke. It is attributed to the
different magnitude of piston eccentricities at this speed.
5.4. Viscosity in hydrodynamic lubrication regime
The viscosity proles at the three stated speeds are shown in
Fig. 3. In the initial engine start up, the magnitude of hydrodynamic pressure is not large enough to compensate for the
viscosity reduction of a low viscosity lubricant due to shear

1140

S.A. Qasim et al. / Tribology International 44 (2011) 11341143

Fig. 2. (a), (b) and (c): Film thickness proles at 500, 600 and 700 rpm. (d), (e) and (f): Hydrodynamic pressure elds at 901 crank angle for 500, 600 and 700 rpm.
(g), (h) and (i): Hydrodynamic pressure elds at 4501 crank angle for 500, 600 and 700 rpm.

heating. In the induction stroke at 500 rpm, viscosity initially

drops and then rises. It causes the lm thickness to increase. The
transverse eccentric displacements of the skirts and shear heating
of the lubricant result in an abrupt viscosity drop in the compression stroke. Near the end of the compression stroke, the viscosity
rises again. It is due to an improved concentric displacement of
the decelerating piston and reduced viscous shearing. The effects
of combustion force dominate in the power and exhaust strokes.
An increase in the start up speed from 500 to 700 rpm delays the
initiation of signicant viscosity drop. At 500 rpm, the viscosity
drops in the induction stroke and attains a minimum value in the
rst half of the power stroke. At 700 rpm, the viscosity drops in
the second half of the compression stroke. The engine speed
affects the viscosity in the hydrodynamic regime due to which
there are viscosity variations in the expansion and exhaust
strokes. At 500 and 600 rpm, the minor viscosity uctuations
are in the induction stroke. At 700 rpm, the viscosity prole varies
due to viscous shearing and different piston eccentricities. A
comparison of the viscosities at different piston positions is
shown in Fig. 3. Increasing the engine speed in the induction
stroke does not affect the viscosity signicantly. However, at the

mid-compression stroke a pronounced effect of shear heating on

viscosity is seen at 600 rpm speed. At 700 rpm viscosity increases
slightly from its initial value in the intake and compression
strokes. It drops in the expansion stroke, signicantly. A comparison of minimum viscosities shows a very low viscosity at the
mid-expansion stroke of piston at 600 rpm. Such a low viscosity
corresponds to the minimum load carrying capability of the lm
at a critical piston position in the expansion stroke.
5.5. EHL viscosity at very low engine speeds
In the EHL regime, a complex relationship between viscosity,
temperature and pressure governs the changes in the lubricant
viscosity. The effect of EHD pressures on viscosity are more
pronounced as compared to the temperature effects. A reduction
in the viscosity due to shear heating is compensated by its
exponential increase with the very high pressures in the EHL
regime. The resultant viscosity in the EHL regime is high by an
order of magnitude or two than that at the ambient conditions.
The viscosity proles at the three start up speeds in the EHL
regime are generally similar. However, engine speed is a major

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1141

Fig. 3. (a), (b) and (c): Viscosity proles in hydrodynamic regime at 500, 600 and 700 rpm. (d), (e) and (f): Viscosity proles in EHL regime at 500, 600 and 700 rpm.
(g) Comparison of viscosity changes in the hydrodynamic regime.

contributor towards increasing the viscosity of the lubricant in

the EHL regime. A maximum value of viscosity in the induction
stroke is followed by a sinusoidal form of viscosity prole. Such a
viscosity prole corresponds to the cyclic piston motion and
eccentric displacements in the EHL regime. At 500 and 600 rpm
speeds, the pattern of viscosity proles is generally similar but the
magnitudes are different. At 700 rpm, the moving piston inertia,
the eccentric displacements of the skirts and viscous shearing
generate a slightly different viscosity prole than the proles at
the other two speeds.
5.6. Temperature in hydrodynamic lubrication regime
Fig. 4 shows the lm temperature proles at different engine
speeds. Shear heating raises the temperature of the lubricant in
all the three speeds. In the compression stroke, the temperature
increases to a maximum value at 600 rpm. It adversely affects the

viscosity and load carrying capacity of the lubricant in the

hydrodynamic lubrication regime. At 500 rpm, the lubricant
temperature rises in the beginning of the induction stroke. An
early temperature rise causes a corresponding reduction in the
lubricant viscosity. It adversely affects the load carrying capacity
of the lubricant. In the compression and expansion strokes, the
lubricant temperature does not vary signicantly except for some
minor uctuations. It happens due to a visible drop in the
viscosity of the low viscosity lubricant being considered. The
viscosity drop reduces viscous shearing and heat generation at
the stated engine speeds. The reduced heat generation does not
cause any signicant temperature increase except the minor
cyclic variations. The cyclic temperature uctuations are a function of cyclic piston motion inside the combustion chamber.
During the 7201 crank rotation cycle, the cyclic temperature
changes do not let the lubricant to regain its initial viscosity at
ambient temperature conditions.

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S.A. Qasim et al. / Tribology International 44 (2011) 11341143

Fig. 4. (a), (b) and (c): Temperature proles in the hydrodynamic regime at 500, 600 and 700 rpm. (d), (e) and (f): Temperature proles in the EHL regime at 500, 600 and
700 rpm.

5.7. Temperature rise in EHL regime

5.8. Temperature elds in the EHL regime

The temperature proles are shown in Fig. 4. Viscous heating

increases the temperature of the lubricant and reduces the lm
thickness. It happens prior to the tremendous increase in the
hydrodynamic pressures that elastically deform the interacting
skirts and liner surfaces. There is a corresponding manifold
increase in the pressure dependent viscosity. It results in the
glass-like transition and EHL lm formation. Shearing of a
lubricant with substantially high viscosity in the EHL regime
generates additional heat. It raises the lubricant temperature,
which is higher than the temperature in the hydrodynamic
regime. A comparison of the temperature proles at the three
speeds facilitates in establishing a clear link between speed and
lubricant temperature. A relatively high speed of 700 rpm causes
the lubricant temperature to be higher than that at 500 and
600 rpm speeds. However, the pattern of temperature changes at
each speed is in sharp contrast to the temperature proles in the
hydrodynamic lubrication regime. There is a slight increase in the
temperature with an increase in speed from 500 to 600 rpm.
Compared to this the temperature rise is visibly high when the
start up speed increases from 600 to 700 rpm. An increase in the
heat generation rate and accumulation of heat cause such a high
temperature at 700 rpm speed.

Fig. 5(a), (c) and (e) show the temperature elds over the skirts
surface at the stated start up speeds. Generally, the temperature rise
is more over the right side of the skirts surface than the left side due
to viscous shearing. This trend exposes the vulnerability of the right
side to the reduced lubricant viscosity and the load carrying capacity.
In case of partially starved piston surface, the thermal distortion
of the right side due to excessive temperature variations may be
possible. In case of high temperatures the chances of lm break down
may not be ruled. The lm break down will invite solid-to-solid
contact and adhesive wear. At 600 rpm, the mean temperature rises
slightly more than that at 500 rpm speed. However, at 700 rpm the
temperature rise is quite high. It implies that the rate of temperature
increase is higher than the engine displacement rate. Hence, a further
increase in the speed will raise the temperatures to very high values.
In the initial engine start up phase, very high lubricant temperatures
contribute towards minimizing the lubricant lm thickness, a possible lm break down and eventually, adhesive wear.
5.9. EHD pressure at low engine speeds
Dimensionless pressure rise over the skirts surface at the three
engine speeds is shown in Fig. 5. At 500 rpm, low intensity EHD

S.A. Qasim et al. / Tribology International 44 (2011) 11341143

1143

chances of a physical contact between the skirts and the liner

surfaces. Hydrodynamic lm thickness is optimum at 600 rpm,
whereas EHL lm thickness has a maximum value at 500 rpm
speed. The maximum lubricant viscosity at 700 rpm means more
load carrying capacity of the lubricant lm as compared to its
capacity at the other speeds. In the EHL regime, the maximum
temperature increases with an increase in the engine start up
speed and is quite high at 700 rpm. Viscosity variations in the
EHD regime increase with an increase in the engine start up
speed. EHD pressures rise very high at 600 rpm as compared to
the pressures at 500 rpm. In the very low initial engine start up
speeds, a slight variation in the speed may generate some adverse
effects. In optimizing the low initial start up speed, 700 rpm may
qualify as a recommended engine speed when using a low
viscosity lubricant under the stated conditions. It is justied since
the primary objective is the prevention of adhesive wear between
the skirts and the liner surfaces in a few initial engine start up
cycles. However, a more efcient heat removal mechanism is
suggested to keep the lubricant temperature as low as possible. A
study on the non-Newtonian lubricant rheology is recommended
to analyze the effects of shear heating in the low and high engine
start up speed ranges.

Acknowledgments
The authors are indebted to the College of Electrical and
Mechanical Engineering, National University of Sciences and
Technology for supporting this project. We are also thankful to
the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan for providing
nancial resources for this research.
References
Fig. 5. EHD temperature elds and pressure rise over the surface at 500, 600 and
700 rpm engine speeds. (a) EHD temperature eld at 500 rpm. (b) EHD pressure
rise at 500 rpm. (c) EHD temperature eld at 600 rpm. (d) EHD pressure rise at
600 rpm. (e) EHD temperature eld at 700 rpm. (f) EHD pressure rise at 700 rpm.

pressures build up and rise over the skirts surface. The pressures
increase to maximum values as the engine speed increases to
700 rpm. The high EHD pressures build up close to the midsurface region causes a reduction in the minimum lm thickness
from 4 m to a fraction of a micron in the EHL regime. At 500 rpm, a
reasonably intense EHD pressures build up leads to a peak value
of 300%. The cumulative effect of the peak pressure and temperature causes a net substantial increase in the viscosity. A high EHD
pressure at 600 rpm causes the elastic deformation of the interacting surfaces. Under the starved conditions, the transformation
of pressure into Hertzian may cause adhesive wear of the
interacting surfaces. At 500 rpm, the low EHD pressure intensities
near the bottom surface are insignicant. Such low pressure
intensities grow with an increase in the speed and are visibly
high at 700 rpm.

6. Conclusions
The analysis of shear heating at low initial engine start up
speeds brings some useful conclusions. At 600 rpm the hydrodynamic pressures are relatively more consistent as compared to
those at 500 and 700 rpm speeds. An increase in the engine speed
reduces the piston eccentric displacements and minimizes the

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