Professional Documents
Culture Documents
(SMME)
FRICTION
SI &CI ENGINES
LECTURE 6
Engr Mohammad Ikhlaq Khattak
ikhlaq@smme.nust.edu.pk1
FRICTION
SI &CI ENGINES
• Engine Friction
• Forces on Piston
• Lubricating Oil
• Oil Filters
Mechanical Friction and
Lubrication
When two solid surfaces are in contact in an engine, they will touch each other at the roughness
high spots of the surfaces
The smoother the surfaces are machined (on a macroscopic level), the lower will be the surface
high points (microscopic) and the less will be the average distance separating them.
If one surface is moved relative to the other, the high points will come into contact and will resist
motion (friction)
Points of contact will become hot, sometimes to the point of trying to weld together.
An engine with a pressurized oil distribution system uses an oil pump to supply
lubrication to the moving parts through passages built into the components .
In addition, oil is sprayed under pressure onto the cylinder walls and onto the back of
the piston crowns.
Most automobiles actually use dual distribution systems, relying on splash within the
crankcase in addition to the pressurized flow from the oil pump.
A time of excess wear is at engine startup before the oil pump can distribute proper
lubrication. It takes a few engine cycles before the flow of oil is fully established, and
during this time, many parts are not properly lubricated.
Cold oil has much higher viscosity, which further delays proper circulation.
A few engines have oil preheaters which electrically heat the oil before startup.
Some engines have pre-oilers that heat and circulate the oil before engine startup. An
electric pump lubricates all components by distributing oil throughout the engine.
Many small engines and some experimental two-stroke cycle automobile engines use
the crankcase as a compressor for the inlet air.
In these engines, oil is carried into the engine with the inlet air in much the same way
as the fuel. When the fuel is added to the inlet air, usually with a carburetor, oil
particles as well as fuel particles are distributed into the flow. The air flow then enters
the crankcase, where it is compressed.
Oil particles carried with the air lubricate the surfaces they come in contact with, first
in the crankcase and then in the intake runner and cylinder.
Fuel-to-oil ratio ranges from 30:1 to 400:1, depending on the engine. Some modern
high-performance engines have controls which regulate the fuel-oil ratio, depending on
engine speed and load.
.
Lubricating Oil
The oil used in an engine must serve as a lubricant, a coolant, and a vehicle for removing
impurities. It must be able to withstand high temperatures without breaking down and must
have a long working life.
Just a couple of decades back, the tolerances between pistons and cylinder walls was such that
engines burned some oil that seeped past the pistons from the crankcase. This required a
periodic need to add oil and a frequent oil change due to blow-by contamination of the
remaining oil. HC levels in the exhaust were high because of the oil in the combustion chamber.
A rule in the 1950s and 1960s was to have an oil change in an automobile every 1000 miles.
Modern engines run hotter, have closer tolerances which keep oil consumption down, and have
smaller oil sumps due to space limitations. They generate more power with smaller engines by
running faster and with higher compression ratios. This means higher forces and a greater need
for good lubrication.
At the same time, many manufacturers now suggest changing the oil every 6000 miles.
Lubricating Oil
Lubricating oils are generally rated using a viscosity scale established by the Society of
Automotive Engineering (SAE). Dynamic viscosity is defined from the equation:
(11-13)
where: Ts = shear force per unit area
= dynamic viscosity
(dUjdy) = velocity gradient
The higher the viscosity value, the greater is the force needed to move adjacent surfaces or to
pump oil through a passage. Viscosity is highly dependent on temperature, increasing with
decreasing temperature . In the temperature range of engine operation, the dynamic viscosity of
the oil can change by more than an order of magnitude.
Oil viscosity also changes with shear, duj dy, decreasing with increasing shear.
Shear rates within an engine range from very low values to extremely high values in the bearings
and between piston and cylinder walls. The change of viscosity over these extremes can be
several orders of magnitude. Common viscosity grades used in engines are:
• SAE 5
• SAE 10
• SAE 20
• SAE 30
Lubricating Oil
The oils with lower numbers are less viscous and are
used in cold-weather operation.
A number of synthetically made oils are available that give better performance than those made
from crude oil.
They are better at reducing friction and engine wear, have good detergency properties which
keep the engine cleaner, offer less resistance for moving parts, and require less pumping power
for distribution.
With good thermal properties, they provide better engine cooling and less variation in viscosity.
Because of this, they contribute to better cold-weather starting and can reduce fuel
consumption by as much as 15%.
These oils cost several times as much as those made from crude oil. However, they can be used
longer in an engine, with 24,000 km (15,000 miles) being the oil change period suggested by
most manufacturers.
Oil Filters
One of the duties of engine oil is to clean the engine by carrying contaminant
impurities in suspension as it circulates.
As the oil passes through filters that are part of the flow passage system these
impurities are removed, cleaning the oil and allowing it to be used for a greater length
of time.
Dust and other impurities are carried by the incoming air. Some, but not all, of these
are removed by an air filter.
Fuels have trace amounts of impurities like sulfur, which create contaminants during
the combustion process. Even pure fuel components form some contaminants, like
solid carbon in some engines under some conditions.
Ideally, most of the contaminants are trapped in the oil, which then contains dust,
Flow passages in a filter are not all the same size but usually exist in a
normal bell-shaped size distribution.
This means that most larger particles will be filtered out as the oil
passes through the filter, but a few as large as the largest passages will
get through.
The choice of filter pore size is a compromise.
Better filtration will be obtained with smaller filter pores, but this
requires a much greater flow pressure to push the oil through the filter.
This also results in the filter becoming clogged quicker and requiring
earlier filter cartridge change.
• https://youtu.be/mmmcj53TNic
https://youtu.be/mmmcj53TNic
Page 26
Internal Combustion Engines – SI & CI
Forced Induction
Exhaust Emissions and their control
Alternative Engine Design Concepts
• Thanks
Page 27