• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.47-54
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• 2020

In this study, the effects of ultrasonic nanocrystal surface modification (UNSM) treatment at room and high temperatures (RT and HT of 400℃) on friction and wear behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloy prepared by selective laser melting (SLM) were investigated. The objective of this study is to improve the mechanical properties and frictional behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloy by UNSM treatment. Dry friction and wear tests were conducted using a ball-on-disk method at RT with a bearing steel as the counter ball. Due to the high HT and UNSM treatment, the surface hardness tended to increase and surface roughness tended to reduce. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that nanocrystallization structure and compressive residual stress were formed at the surface layer after UNSM treatment at both RT and HT. After UNSM treatment, it was observed that the wear rate was reduced by about 6% for the specimen treated at RT and a 28% reduction for the specimen treated at HT in comparison with the untreated one. Based on scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed that the damage caused by fatigue wear occurred in the wear track of the heat-treated specimen, and it is believed to be the cause of the highest wear rate. Mechanical properties and wear resistance of Ti-6Al-4V alloy were improved and prospect of industrial application was confirmed. Further research is still required to improve the characteristics of SLM Ti-6Al-4V alloy to the level of wrought Ti-6Al-4V alloy.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.139-146
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• 2020

Global warming has led to an increase in demand of eco-friendly vehicles, such as electric cars, for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and especially, regulating carbon dioxide generation. In addition, electric vehicles are equipped with an electric drive-type hermetic scroll compressor and a refrigerant, which exhibit current and future trends of using environmentally friendly refrigerants, including R-1234yf. In this study, polyol ester-based refrigeration oils are prepared via condensation esterification of polyol and fatty acids. The oils can be combined with R-1234yf refrigerant for applications in air conditioning and cooling systems of electric vehicles. The structure of synthetic polyol esters is confirmed via ¹H-NMR and FT-IR spectrum analysis, and the composition of the polyol ester is analyzed via gas chromatogram analysis. Furthermore, kinematic viscosity, viscosity index, total acid value, pour point, and color are analyzed as fundamental physical properties of the synthetic polyol esters. The compatibility and chemical stability of the synthetic polyol ester combined with the R-1234yf refrigerant are obtained via high temperature and high pressure oil-resistant refrigerant tests. The changes in the oil color and catalyst activity are observed before and after the experiment to determine whether it is suitable as a refrigerator oil.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.153-160
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• 2020

In this paper, we present a hydrostatic bearing design and rotordynamic analysis of a pump-and-drive turbine module for a 250-kW supercritical CO₂ cycle application. The pump-and-drive turbine module consists of the pump and turbine wheel, assembled to a shaft supported by two hydrostatic radial and thrust bearings. The rated speed is 21,000 rpm and the rated power is 143 kW. For the bearing operation, we use high-pressure CO₂ as the lubricant, which is supplied to the bearing through the orifice restrictor. We calculate the bearing stiffness and flow rate for various orifice diameters, and then select the diameter that provides the maximum bearing stiffness. We also conduct a rotordynamic analysis based on the design parameters of the pump-and-drive turbine module. The predicted Campbell diagram shows that there is no critical speed below the rated speed, owing to the high stiffness of the bearings. Furthermore, the predicted damping ratio indicates that there is no unstable mode. We conduct the operating tests for the pump and drive turbine modules within the supercritical CO₂ cycle test loop. The pressurized CO₂, at a temperature of 136℃, is supplied to the turbine and we monitor the shaft vibration during the test. The test results show that there is no critical speed below the rated speed, and the shaft vibration is controlled to below 3 ㎛.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.244-252
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• 2020

Materials manufactured by powder metallurgy (PM) are widely used in various applications such as water pump, shock absorber, and airplane components due to the reduction in the cost and weight. In this study, tribological properties of carbon steel subjected by surface treatment were investigated. The main purpose is to increase the strength and improve the tribological properties by reducing pores that formed by PM. Moreover, the surface treatment was carried out at room and high temperatures (RT and HT). The surface roughness of the untreated (NON) and treated (AFTER) samples was measured. It was found that the surface roughness was reduced after both the RT AFTER and HT AFTER compared to RT NON sample. The tribological properties of the samples were performed against bearing steel ball under dry conditions. The friction coefficient of the RT NON samples was reduced by 22% and 56% RT AFTER and HT AFTER, respectively. The wear volume of the RT NON sample was also reduced by 43% and 87% RT AFTER and HT AFTER, respectively. Tribocorrosion tests were also performed and it was found that the surface of the RT AFTER, HT AFTER samples was less corroded compared to RT NON sample. The HT AFTER sample demonstrated a relatively higher corrosion potential in comparison with the RT AFTER samples. Hence, it was confirmed that after surface modification the surface roughness and hardness of the samples were significantly improved resulting in improvement in tribological and tribocorrosion behaviors of PM carbon steel.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.207-214
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• 2020

In this study, we investigated the effects of copper and copper-alloy on the frictional and wear properties of low-steel friction material. The proportions of copper and copper-alloy in the brake friction materials used in passenger cars are very high (approximately 5-20% weight), and these materials have significant effects on friction and wear characteristics. In this study, the effects of cupric ingredients, such as the copper fiber and brass fiber, are investigated using the friction materials based on commercial formulations. After the copper and brass fibers from the same formulation were removed, the frictional and wear characteristics were evaluated to determine the influence of the copper and copper-alloy. We evaluated the frictional and wear characteristics by simulating various braking conditions using a 1/5 scale dynamometer. The results show that the friction material containing copper and brass fibers have excellent frictional stability and a low wear rate compared to the friction material that does not contain copper and brass fibers. These results are attributed to the excellent ductility, moderate melting point, high strength, and excellent thermal conductivity of copper and copper-alloy. We analyzed the surfaces of the friction materials before and after the performing the friction tests using a scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope, confocal microscope, and roughness tester to verify the frictional behavior of copper and copper-alloy. In future studies, it will be applied to the development of copper-free friction materials based on the results of this study.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 2010

This experimental study presents tribological characteristics under boundary lubrication contacts associated with electrorheolocal (ER) fluid. ER fluid is prepared by using phosphorated starch particles and silicone oil. Experimental apparatus of tribological tester is designed and constructed to evaluate tribological characteristics of pin specimens. Wear tests under boundary lubrication of ER fluid are experimentally performed under consideration of several operational factors such as normal load, sliding distance, sliding speed and specimen materials: steel, copper and aluminum. After wear test, microscopic surface changes of the worn pin specimens are analyzed in order to investigate measured wear characteristics by using the scanning electron microscope (SEM) as well as surface profilometer. In addition, the chemical wear characteristics are investigated by using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Moreover, friction coefficient measurements under different materials of pin specimens are conducted for the tribological investigations. In order to verify the effect of starch phosphate particles in ER fluid, the wear test results with ER fluid are compared with test results with only silicone oil. The results clearly present that the phosphorated starch based ER fluid shows the stabilized wear as well as friction characteristics after run-in operations, but the wear rate under ER fluid is increased.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.14-20
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• 2010

Tribological properties of nanoporous structured alumina film was investigated. Alumina film (AAO: anodic aluminum oxide) of $60{\mu}m$ thickness having nanopores of 45 nm diameter with 105 nm interpore-diatance was fabricated by mild anodization process. Reciprocating ball-on-flat sliding friction tests using 1 mm diameter steel ball as a counterpart were carried out with wide range of normal load from 1 mN to 1 N in an ambient environment. The morphology of worn surfaces were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy. The friction coefficient was strongly influenced by the applied normal load. Smooth layer patches were formed on the worn surface of both AAO and steel ball at relatively high load (100 mN and 1 N) due to tribochemical reaction and compaction of wear debris. These tribolayers contributed to the lower friction at high loads. Extremely thin layer patches, due to mild plastic deformation of surface layer, were sparsely distributed on the worn surface of AAO at low loads (1 mN and 10 mN) without the evidence of tribochemical reaction. Delaminated wear particles were generated at high loads by fatigue due to repeated loading and sliding.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.356-361
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• 2019

The friction and wear between machine components directly influence the energy loss and failure in various machines. Therefore, there is always a demand for finding methods to reduce friction and wear. Of the possible methods, lubrication is a widely used method for reducing friction and wear. In the case of lubrication, it is important to analyze the tribological behavior in the boundary lubrication because most of friction and wear occurs in the boundary lubrication regime. Cast iron has been regarded as a good material for industrial applications due to the excellent mechanical properties and high productivity. Especially, nodular cast iron is a material that shows better mechanical properties and wear-resistance compared with cast iron due to inclusion of spheroidal graphite. In this work, we investigated the tribological characteristics of nodular cast iron with respect to different counter parts in boundary lubrication regime. Sliding tests were conducted with SUJ2, ZrO₂, Si₃N₄ balls as counter parts using a pin-on-disk type tribotester. The results showed different friction and wear behaviors with different counter parts. The case of ZrO₂ showed the lowest wear rate in specimen and no significant ball wear. In case of SUJ2, it showed similar wear rate with ZrO₂ case in specimen and the highest friction coefficient. The case of Si₃N₄ showed the lowest friction coefficient, 33% lower than the case of SUJ2. It showed 16.9 times larger wear rate in specimen and 43% larger wear rate in ball compared to that of the SUJ2 case.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.389-395
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• 2019

In various industries, thin film coatings are used to improve friction and wear characteristics. Various types of tribotesters are used to evaluate the friction and wear characteristics of such thin film coatings. In this study, we fabricated a micro-tribotester and Tribo-scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to compare the friction and wear characteristics of copper (Cu) coatings under an atmospheric pressure and a vacuum condition, respectively. The reliability of the different types of tribotesters was evaluated by performing calibrations for the sensor to measure the friction forces and normal loads. Using the two different types of devices, the friction and wear tests are conducted at the same experimental conditions excluding environment conditions such as the atmospheric pressure and vacuum condition. The friction coefficient at the vacuum condition is lower than at the atmospheric pressure. This difference in friction characteristics is due to the fact that wear phenomena occur differently according to the atmospheric pressure and vacuum condition. At the atmospheric pressure, the abrasive wear is the main wear mechanism. At the vacuum condition, the adhesive wear is the main wear mechanism. The reason for the difference in the wear mechanism of the Cu coating at the atmospheric pressure and the vacuum condition is that the oxidation phenomenon, which does not appear at the vacuum condition, occurs at the atmospheric pressure; therefore, the characteristics of the Cu coating change accordingly.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.195-204
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• 2015

Several researches are focused on improving the value of fine chemicals based on biomass resources due to environmental and other concerns associated with the use of petroleum-based products. Therefore, the synthesis and application of estolides derived from plant-based waste oil materials and their application as lubricants and as processing oil for butyl rubber products have been studied. Four kinds of estolide were prepared with conversions of 71~92% over 24h using various vegetable oils, as determined by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. FT-IR spectroscopy determines the esterification of estolides using 2-ethylhexyl alcohol. The estolides have iodine values of 35~90, α-ester/α-acid ratios of 0.45~0.55, and total acid number of 114~134 mg KOH g^–1. Four ball wear tests show that the wear scar diameters (WSDs) of estolides as base oil significantly decreased to 0.328~0.494 mm, compared to WSDs of 0.735 and 0.810 mm of WSD for 150N and Yubase 6, respectively, as general base oil. Thus, the estolides have better wear resistance and satisfying design objectives for the engineering of a variety of lubricant base oils.