Examination of Tribological Processes 

One of the main areas of expertise of the Engineering Division of Bay Zoltán Research Institute is the examination of tribological processes occurring on the contact surfaces of machine components and drive chains, including wear and surface fatigue processes, lubrication properties, friction conditions, and the examination of the service life of contact surfaces. The staff of the division have in-depth knowledge, which enables the complex research and development of an entire tribo-system.

 

Bay Zoltán Research Institute offers the following complex vehicle industry examinations and testings: 

  • Investigation of tribo-systems resulting from drive chains
  • Examination of lubricant properties and determination of its characteristics 
  • Wear testing of contact surfaces, in the case of alternating, rotating, optional movement paths 
  • Testing the performance of the lubricating film, in addition to measuring contact electrical resistance 
  • Wear testing of metal, ceramic and plastic contact surfaces, in accordance with real kinematics, in the case of alternating, rotating and optional movement paths 
  • Testing of sliding wear resistance with block-on ring assembly
  • Inspection of the performance of lubricants, inspection of the protection against wear of lubricating grease, lubricating oil EP 
  • Lubricating film test, in addition to measuring contact electrical resistance
  • Examination of friction conditions, recording the Stribeck curve, with temperature measurement 
  • Examination of the Rolling-contact fatigue (RCF) process of contacting surfaces; of the sticking process, of life span  
  • Tribological examination of sliding, ball and roller bearings. 
  • Examination of the stick-slip phenomenon with a ball-on-disc assembly
  • Examination of the fatigue process of contact surfaces, lifetime examination 
  • Numerical simulation of tribological processes, during which we can extract essential additional information for the tribo-development of the contact that cannot be obtained by measuring. 
  • Creation of a complex validated modelling procedure to determine the life span and failure resulting from the entire tribological system, speeding up the physical simulation process. 
  • Inspection of the drive chain on a brake bench suitable for trucks and agricultural vehicles. 

 

The most important pieces of equipment are: 

Multifunctional linear and rotary tribometer (OptimolSRV5) 

The equipment is capable of 14 standard tribological measurements, including wear, rolling contact fatigue of bearing, and lubricant performance tests. Measurement of force components, displacement components, temperature, humidity, contact electrical resistance, total wear with high accuracy. Applicable load up to 1N-2500 N, frequency up to 500 Hz or rotation speed up to 3000 rpm. The tests can be performed dry, in a lubricant bath, in a gas atmosphere, in a wide range of humidity and temperature, or in a tiltable test chamber. 

    

Surface morphology, wear trace determination (OlympusDSX1000) 

Optical microscope for 2D and 3D imaging for accurate examination of surface morphology with 20-7000X magnification. Software post-processing is possible on the generated image to measure morphological changes on non-plane geometries. 

Lubricant rheological test (AntonPaar MCR 501) 

The device is suitable for testing the rheological properties of Newtonian (ideal) fluids, emulsions, suspensions, and viscoelastic materials in rotational and oscillating modes, and the materials are elastic or to measure its viscous nature. 

Scanning Electro-microscopy (JSM-IT700HR) 

1nm resolution, provided with image processing software. In addition to the surface image, the equipment can also determine atomic material composition, equipped with an EDS detector. 

Two-roller system for testing damage occurring during sliding-rolling surface contact 

The sliding-rolling ratio between two contact rollers can be altered between -100% and 100%. High-precision measurement of load force, displacements, temperature, humidity, contact electrical resistance, total wear, noise emission, with a surface compressive stress of up to 4.2 GPa, with a measurement capacity of one thousand hours. Examination of Scuffing, Rolling-Sliding Contact Fatigue. 

                                                         

Multi-motor drive chain testing equipment 

The equipment is capable of performance and functional testing, warm-up and differential gear testing. Carrying out tests in reverse (engine brake) and differential mode with electric drive. 250 kW input, 2×150 kW output power. Up to 1000 hours of 24/7 operation

Contact

Dr. Szabolcs SZÁVAI, acting division director, Engineering Division, Department of Structural Integrity and Production Technologies
Address: H-3519 Miskolc, Iglói út 2.,
Phone: + 36-70/205-6455
E-mail: szabolcs.szavai@bayzoltan.hu