On the Wear Behavior of Bush Drive Chains: Part I—Characterization of Engine Damage Processes and Development of a Model Test Setup for Pin Wear

Abstract

The present work deals with the tribological characterization of the bush-pin contact in timing chains, with a particular focus on the pin wear processes and the development of a model testing technique suitable for this purpose. With the presented test methodology, both the friction and other parameters, such as contact temperatures and the electrical contact resistance between the CrN-coated pin and a steel bush equivalent could be precisely measured during the test procedure, and the input parameters, such as test load, temperature, and test frequency, could be specifically adjusted. In addition, motor components were analyzed in the present study, in order to study the damage processes of application and compare them with those of the model tests. The measured friction and wear processes on the test rig were verified using well-acknowledged design parameters, such as apparent friction energy and linear wear intensity according to Fleischer. The results demonstrated the wear process between the CrN coated spherical steel surface and the plane steel counterpart (mild smoothing wear at moderate loads, and for an advanced wear state with an exposed steel substrate, there was exposed break-outs and deformation, as well as abrasive grooving) and showed that the methodology replicated the wear processes of application and is therefore suitable for characterizing the pin wear of bush drive timing chains.