Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 18 (12): 1786-1791, 2013

ISSN 1990-9233
IDOSI Publications, 2013
DOI: 10.5829/idosi.mejsr.2013.18.12.11363

Simulation of Wear and Frictional Behaviour of Cylinder Liner-Piston Ring

Combination with Diesel and Bio-Diesel Contaminated Lubricant

Ashwin Vishwanathan and S. Thirumavalavan

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Bharath University, Chennai, 600 073, India

Abstract: This paper addresses the issue of friction and wear characteristics of diesel engine cylinder
liner-piston ring combination under different lubricating conditions through a pin-on- disc wear tribometer.
The discs were made out of actual engine cylinder liner material using casting process. Pins were made out of
top compression ring material. The tests were conducted on pin-on-disc tribometer for wear and friction
characteristics of cylinder liner and piston ring combination with diesel contaminated commercial synthetic
lubrication oil (SAE20W40), bio-diesel contaminated commercial synthetic lubrication oil (SAE20W40).
Experimental results demonstrated that the rapeseed oil based bio-diesel contaminated synthetic lubricant
exhibited better performance in terms of wear, friction and frictional force under similar operating conditions.
Thus usage of bio-diesel in long run may have a positive impact on engine life.

Key words: Pin-on-disc wear tribometer Bio-diesel Piston ring Cylinder liner

INTRODUCTION component in an internal combustion engine. Power, fuel

The depletion of the worlds crude oil reserve,
increasing crude oil prices and other issues related to
conservation have brought about renewed interest in the
use of bio-based materials. Emphases on the development
of renewable, biodegradable and environmentally friendly
industrial fluids, such as bio-lubricant and bio-diesel have
resulted in the widespread use of vegetable oils for non
edible purposes. The desirability of developing alternative
fuels and bio-lubricant & decreasing the dependency on
petroleum based fuels has been discussed by many over
the last few decades. The reduction of wear and friction
losses in an internal combustion engine is largely a
function of lubrication. Better quality lubricants are now
being formulated to reduce the wear and friction of the
tribological components of the engine. The development
of modern lubricants and their proper use are of great
importance for the national economy, individual and
environment. Lubricants, optimally adjusted to a given
task, can save billions of dollars in the case of an
industrialized nation, reduce wear; reduce maintenance
requirements and the problem of air pollution [1].
The piston ring is the most complex tribological
consumption, hydrocarbon emission, oil consumption,
wear, noise and cooling are affected by the design of the
ring-liner interface. Studies of the mechanism of piston
ring lubrication and related friction phenomena have
found that piston rings contribute significantly to the
total engine mechanical friction losses [2]. The formation
of a hydrodynamic lubrication film at the interface
between the piston rings and cylinder liner is expected
while the engine is in operation. However, the lubrication
regime of the mating surface affects the efficiency,
durability and emission output of the engine. In general,
most friction occurs at, or near, top dead centre where low
piston velocity means that hydrodynamic film thickness
is low and where the temperature is higher, due to the
proximity of the combustion chamber. The tribological
behaviour of advanced material pairs of piston-
ring/cylinder liner has been studied using a reciprocating
tribo tester. [3] have investigated that the wear rate,
including scuffing resistance, was strongly dependent on
material properties and the combination of the ring/liner
pair. [4, 5] has conducted lubricated wear experiments
using blended diesel l ubricating oil with sunflower
oil fuel. A review study of [6] showed that use of all

Corresponding Author: S. Thirumavalavan, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bharath University, Chennai - 600 073, India.
E-mail: thiru_thiru@hotmail.com.
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bio-based fats, oils and their derivatives had better

lubricities than diesel fuel. [7] has performed experiments
using palm oil methyl ester (POME) blended lubricant in
a two-stroke engine and found that POME acts as a
lubricating oil additive. Choi, et al. [8] has explained the
effect of antiwear additives in vegetable oils and their
tribological performance. Furthermore systematic efforts
were undertaken by many researchers to determine the
suitability of vegetable oil and its derivatives as fuel or
blended into diesel [9-14].
Hidayet Oguz, et al. [15] investigated the physical,
chemical properties and lubrication performances of
various bio-diesels using pin-on-disc test device under
constant load with different sliding velocities. A study Fig. 1: Disc specification
has been made on the wear and friction of hardened AISI
1045 steel using a tri-pin-on-disc type of friction and wear
apparatus. It was shown that the wear rates, type of wear
and friction coefficient were influenced by contaminating
the lubricant with 4% of bio-fuel [16]. Performance
analysis of a piston ring pack was presented and the Fig. 2: Pin specification
behaviour and interrelationship of key engine parameters
such as wear load, power loss, oil consumption and blow-
by/blow-back for typical operating conditions was
studied [17]. Tribological aspects of the cylinder liner-
piston ring combinations with bio fuels and bio-lubricants
have not been sufficiently investigated. Tribological
aspects of the cylinder liner-piston ring combinations with
bio-fuels have not been sufficiently investigated.
The objective of the present work is to study the
wear and frictional behaviour of cylinder liner-piston ring
combination under lubricated conditions with diesel
contaminated synthetic lubrication oil (SAE20W40) and
bio-diesel contaminated synthetic lubrication oil
(SAE20W40). Fig. 3: Photographic view of pin & disc

Experimental Procedure Synthesis of Bio-Diesel & Characterization: Crude

Preparation of Liner Disc and Piston Ring Pin Samples:
Since the experiments were designed for simulating the
wear and frictional behaviour of cylinder liner-piston ring
tribological system of real engines, the discs were made
out of real cylinder liner material i.e., alloyed white cast
iron. Precise discs were made from the sand casting
process and were prepared as per standard dimensions as
shown in Fig. 1. Similarly pins were made out of alloyed
white cast iron and were machined as per the standard
dimensions as shown in Fig. 2. Further, the pins were heat
treated to bring to the required hardness. Cylinder liner
and piston ring material was procured and samples were
prepared from Thaslim casting tools, Chennai. A
photographic view of the pin & disc is shown in Fig. 3.
rapeseed oil; methanol & sodium hydroxide, which are
required for transesterification process; anhydrous
sodium sulphate; and concentrated hydrochloric acid
which was used in bubble washing process, were
procured from M/S Ganapathy trading company,
Chennai. Table 1 shows the fatty acid composition of
rapeseed oil. Transesterification process was carried out
for the preparation of rapeseed oil methyl ester (RME).
The bubble wash was taken by mixing methyl ester with
distilled water to remove excess of alcohol, catalyst and
glycerol. Then to remove the moisture content in the
methyl ester, it was treated with anhydrous sodium
sulphate, which is commonly used as moisture absorbing
agent [10, 11] Furthermore B20R bio-diesel was prepared

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Table 1: Fatty Acid Composition of Rapeseed Oil
Properties
Ash content,% (ASTM D874)
Kinematic viscosity @ 100C, cSt (ASTM D445)
Viscosity index (ASTM D2270)
Noack volatility,% wt (ASTM D5800)
Flash point,C (ASTM D92)
Pour point,C (ASTM D97)
Copper strip corrosion test (ASTM D130)
Four ball wear scar diameter, mm (ASTM D4172)
Table 2: Properties of Bio Diesel and Diesel Fuel
Properties B20R
Density, kg/m3
(ASTM D1298) 905
Viscosity @40C, cSt (ASTM D445) 21.77
Flash point, C (ASTM D93) 60
Fire point, C (ASTM D93) 68.5
Pour point, C (ASTM D97) 10
Calorific value, kJ/kg (ASTM D2500) 34,928
Table 3: Properties of Synthetic Lubricant (SAE 20W40)
Properties
Ash content,% (ASTM D874)
Kinematic viscosity @ 100C, cSt (ASTM D445)
Viscosity index (ASTM D2270)
Noack volatility,% wt (ASTM D5800)
Flash point,C (ASTM D92)
Pour point,C (ASTM D97)
Copper strip corrosion test (ASTM D130)
Four ball wear scar diameter, mm (ASTM D4172)
by mixing 20% (by volume) of rapeseed oil methyl ester
and 80% (by volume) of diesel. Table 2 indicates the
properties of bio-diesel and commercial diesel fuel.
Characterization of diesel and bio-diesel are as per ASTM
standards.
Two different lubrication oil samples have been
prepared for this analysis. The details are as follows. 1.
10% by volume of B20R was premixed with commercial
synthetic lubricant (SAE20W40) to investigate the
tribological behaviour of rapeseed oil methyl ester. 2. 10%
by volume of diesel was premixed with commercial
synthetic lubricant to investigate the tribological
behaviour of diesel. Mixing was effected using a stirrer.
The 10% by volume contamination is based on the fact
that the permissible maximum value of diesel fuel
contamination in the lube oil is of the order of 7% due to
the possibility of crankcase explosion [18]. Since the
bio-diesel has much higher flash point than diesel, 10%
contamination has been considered for the present
study [19]. Table 3 shows properties of rapeseed oil based
bio-lubricant and commercial synthetic lubricant
(SAE20W40).
Values
0.45
15.2
133
6.5
250
-21
Slight tarnish
0.68
Fig. 4: Pin on disc tribometer
Diesel
840 Pin-on-disc Wear and Friction Tribometer Test
2.67 Description: To establish wear and friction characteristics
47.5 of cylinder liner-piston ring combination of Compression
51.0 Ignition engine under different lubricated conditions, a
-9
wear and friction tribometer test rig was used. The wear
44,500
and friction tribometer is a pin-on-disc type machine;
model TR -201C with facilities to monitor wear and friction
Values in sliding contacts under dry and lubricated conditions.
0.45 The elements of the tribometer are a pin sliding on the
15.2 flat face of a disc rotating in a vertical plane, with
133 provisions for controlling load, speed and oil temperature
6.5 and for measuring friction. The test oil is contained in a
250
cup in which the disk rotates. Oil is swept up into the
-21
Slight tarnish
contact area by the rotating disk. The oil is heated by flat
0.68 Chromolox heaters contacting the bottom of the aluminum
oil cup. The oil temperature is measured and controlled by
a double shielded thermocouple. A known load is applied
along the axis of the pin and friction force is measured by
the force transducer restraining pin motion. Load of the
pin against the disk is applied by weights on a pan
hanging on a thin steel cable over a pulley and hooked to
the arm. Thus the weights pull the pin towards the disk.
Tangential frictional force and wear were monitored with
electronic sensors and are recorded. These parameters are
available as function of load, speed or lubrication
condition for continuous monitoring. The average value
of friction coefficient between the stationary pin and
rotating disc with running time (sec) and sliding distance
(m) was obtained using wear and friction tribometer test
rig described earlier. All the experiments were carried out
as per ASTM G-99. Sliding occurs between a stationary
pin and a rotating disc. The principle of sliding was a
cantilever loaded pin in the form of piston ring segment
against a horizontal rotating cylinder liner disc,
superimposed and bolted in oil bath. Normal load,
rotational speed and wear track diameter can be varied to
suit the test conditions. Fig. 4 shows the schematic
diagram of the experimental setup and Fig. 5 shows
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 Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 18 (12): 1786-1791, 2013
Fig. 5: Photographic view of experimental setup
Table 4: Experimental Test Conditions
Parameters
normal load, N
temperature, C
speed, rpm
track length, mm
lubricating medium flow rate, gm/min
test duration for each run, hr
disc (cylinder liner) hardness on B scale, HRB
pin (piston ring) hardness on C scale, HRC
pin diameter, mm
sliding velocity, m/s
the photographic view of the experimental setup.
The operating conditions for wear and friction tribometer
test were set as indicated in Table 4. Separate disc and pin
were used for diesel contaminated lube oil, bio-diesel
contaminated lube oil. For all the tests, the lubricating
medium flow rate was same for the given load, speed and
other operating conditions.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Wear Characteristics: The wear characteristics of the
different cylinder liner-piston ring combination using
different lubrication samples are presented in Fig. 6.
Fig. 6: Wear characteristics
Variation of wear (m) of the disc is only taken into
account as the hardness of piston ring is much higher
(54 HRC) than that of the cylinder liner (87 HRB). In order
to be very precise, the repeatability of the readings was
recorded three times. From the graph, it is observed that
the wear is approximately 78.2% lower for bio-diesel
contaminated lubricant as compared to that of diesel
contaminated lubrication oil under similar operating
conditions. The esters have high affinity towards a metal
surface, owing to their polar functional groups and thus
form a protective layer on the surface. Also the presence
of long chain fatty acid in rapeseed oil methyl ester
produces hydrocarbon layer that protects wearing
Values surfaces, thereby increasing wear resistance of biodiesel
50
[7]. Similarly, the presence of oxygenated moieties and
120
300 double bonds in bio-diesel leads to an additional
20 improvement in the overall lubricity of bio-diesel
18 contaminated lubrication oil. The same may not be
01
available in case of low sulphur diesel due to hydro
87
54
treating process which is used to reduced the sulphur
08 content which in turn simultaneously removes the polar
0.314 compounds of oxygen and nitrogen that impart lubricity.
A similar trend was observed in the case of friction.
Frictional Characteristics: Though the machine is wear
tester, it does not completely match the characteristic of
cylinder liner-piston ring combination; good results for
the lubricity in terms of friction coefficient, friction force
and wear for surfaces for the different lubricants were
achieved. Variations of friction coefficient () with respect
to time (sec) for experiments with different lubricating oils
are shown in Fig. 7(a) & 7(b). The friction coefficient for
bio-diesel contaminated lubricant was considerably lower
than for diesel. The coefficient of friction for bio-diesel
contaminated lube oil is 53% lower than that of diesel
contaminated one. Similarly, the frictional force was 2.7N
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Fig. 7(a): Frictional force characteristics
Fig. 7(b): Co-efficient of friction characteristics
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for bio-diesel contaminated lubricant The value was
relatively higher at about 5.8 N for diesel contaminated
lubricant. It clearly indicates that bio-diesel reduces
friction more effectively than diesel when contaminated
with lube oil for these loading and temperature conditions.
Because the rotating liner disc hardness is much less than
that of the stationary top ring pin, the material has been
eroded between the wearing surfaces which loosens the
contact between them after a certain time interval. It is
earlier in case of diesel due to higher wear and much later
in case of bio-diesel. In the initial stage, the friction
coefficient for both the cases observed to be high as the
new surfaces are in the run-in period. It remains constant
for a considerable span of time until the disc wears out
marginally enough to loosen the contact between disc
and pin. The sudden fall in value of the friction coefficient
indicates this behaviour.
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CONCLUSIONS
Assessments of the wear and friction characteristics
of cylinder liner-piston ring combinations under diesel
and bio-diesel contaminated lubricants were carried out
using a pin- on-disc tribometer.
The following conclusions are drawn from the
present study:
The bio-lubricant reduces the coefficient of
friction and wear as compared to biodiesel
and diesel contaminated lube oil and 150 hours
used commercial synthetic lubrication oil
(SAE20W40).
The reduction in friction coefficient, frictional force
and wear of biodiesel over diesel indicates that
biodiesel has excellent lubricity.
 Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 18 (12): 1786-1791, 2013
From the physical observation on the wear surfaces
of specimens, the biodiesel contaminated lube oil
appears to make smoother surfaces than that of diesel
contaminated lube oil.
On the whole it can be suggested that the rapeseed
oil methyl ester acts as an anti-wear lubricant additive and
friction modifier. However the exact amount of additive
needs to be optimized. Thus the usage of vegetable oil
based biodiesel in compression ignition engine in long
run may have a positive impact on engine life in the view
of wear and friction.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Authors are very grateful to the officials of SCSVMV
University, Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu for providing
financial grant to our research. The authors would like to
thank Ducom Instruments Pvt Ltd, Bangalore, for
providing their testing facility & SGS lab, Chennai,
Thaslim casting tools, Chennai, India for its technical
support and great contribution to our work.
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