Transport

Whether you travel by road, rail, air or sea, you can be sure that tribology has played a part in getting you to your destination safely and efficiently.

plane and train

Regardless of your mode of transport, tribology will be playing a part in it. Tribology is the study of interacting surfaces in relative motion, which means even the relationship between the sole of a shoe and a path is tribology. For vehicles such as cars and buses, the tribological systems are even more obvious. From the tyre contact with the road, to the brake pads and brake discs, through to bearings, gears and other engine components, tribological research has been conducted on a host of areas. Trains operate with similar tribological issues; they also have engines, brakes, and wheels, but here we are looking at a different scale of load and materials, requiring yet more in-depth research and evaluation. The same is true for boats, planes and bikes.

PCS’ range of instruments have been used by researchers at companies and universities around the world to study the full range of the tribological systems found in transport applications. With PCS’ equipment, researchers can achieve realistic and representative testing of lubricants, coatings and materials at a variety of different conditions, with test parameters and profiles tailored to match what is seen in the field. It is not just one piece of equipment that is used to develop understanding of a tribological system either, often a host of PCS’ instruments are used together to give a better picture of how lubricants, coatings or materials will stand up in the field.

Transport industry research areas include:

  • Boat powertrains
  • Train rail interfaces
  • Electric car powertrain systems
  • Extreme pressure additives for engines
  • Lubricants that can operate in vacuums for space flight

Transport Industry includes the following:

Automotive

Automotive

Many aspects of automotives are tribologically interesting. Extensive research into a host of components such as gearboxes, engines, bearings and brakes is ongoing around the world.

Aviation

Aviation

In aviation safety and reliability are key. Tribological investigation is key to making sure parts in planes and helicopters are appropriately protected by lubricants.

Heavy Duty Vehicles

Heavy Duty Vehicles

Like with cars, tribology research into heavy duty vehicles is ongoing and for this area higher loads are often focused on, for more representative test conditions.

Marine

Marine

Boats and ships operate in wet, often salty, conditions. Tribologists are working hard developing even more environmentally friendly and better performing lubricants for these unique conditions.

Space

Space

Even in space, tribology is still an important consideration. Every moving part on a satellite or space station will have been looked at to make sure they are reliable and appropriately lubricated.

Trains

Trains

Not only are the engines and gearboxes of trains subjects of tribological study, but also the contact between the rails and wheels. Even here tribological research is ongoing to optimise every aspect of train travel.

Instruments for the Transport Industry

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Transport Industry Articles & Papers

Article

Easy-Greasy: The New MPR GI

Testing grease in conditions that mimic real-world mechanical stresses has always been a significant challenge for researchers. Starvation during these …

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Paper

Towards a Standard Approach for the Twin Disc Testing of Top-Of Rail Friction Management Products

A wheel/rail friction coefficient that is too low can result in damage to the wheel and rail due to slips …

A wheel/rail friction coefficient that is too low can result in damage to the wheel and rail due to slips and slides, delays and safety concerns. A friction coefficient that is too high can result in excessive wear, noise and rolling contact fatigue. Changing contact and environmental conditions cause variations in wheel/rail friction, so friction management products, applied via wayside or onboard applicators, are used to either increase or decrease the friction coefficient so that an improved level is reached. They can be split into three classes; traction enhancers, lubricants and top-of-rail products (including water-based, oil/grease-based and hybrid products). This paper focuses on top-of-rail products and describes the different apparatus, contact conditions, product application methods and result interpretation that have been used to test these products and highlights the requirement for a more standardised test method. A proposed test method is outlined, which uses a twin disc test rig to collect “effective level of friction” and “retentivity” data to assess product effectiveness. More comparable and standardised data will ensure that maximum benefit is obtained from each set of results and help both product development and the approvals process.

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Paper

Eni Roadmap Towards Co2 Reduction: Development and Evaluation of New Proprietary Organic Friction Reducer Additives

Climate change demands urgent actions towards CO2 emission reduction. Through their effect on friction losses, new engine lubricants play a …

Climate change demands urgent actions towards CO2 emission reduction. Through their effect on friction losses, new engine lubricants play a key role in reducing fuel consumption and, consequently, CO2 emissions. Besides oil viscosity optimization, friction contributions are primarily dependent on friction reducer (FR) chemistry, although secondary impacts exist for detergent, dispersant, and antiwear additives. Eni has been working for several years in the development of innovative friction reducer additives as well as in the definition of testing methods for evaluating the performances of a large number of molecules and selecting the most promising ones for engine or vehicle tests. According to this approach, a tribological method has been firstly set up by using the Mini Traction Machine (MTM); this equipment allows to measure friction coefficient under various operating conditions and can also reproduce the Stribeck curve, which embraces all the lubrication regimes, thus qualitatively predicting friction behaviour of a lubricant. The performances of a large quantity of candidate additives were evaluated, both as fresh and after appropriate aging. Among these, a very promising metal –free additive, derived from renewable sources, was selected and then put in low viscosity engine oils for the engine and vehicle tests evaluation; standard engine tests, like Sequence VIE and JASO M366 Fuel Economy, as well as chassis-dyno tests were carried out, obtaining results that meet API SP/ILSAC GF-6 and JASO GLV-1 limits. The same additive was also evaluated as fuel-borne FR in chassis-dyno tests based on an in-house procedure composed by a 48h running at low oil and coolant temperature, aiming at transferring the friction reducer additive into the oil, followed by different WLTCs for CO2 measurement and fuel consumption calculation. The additive in 95 RON gasoline was compared with the same fuel without additives. The promising behavior of friction reducer additives at the different scales is the subject of this paper aimed to give a valid support in the roadmap towards CO2 reduction.

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