Some Aspects of Engine Wear: Examples of Wear Caused by Abrasion, Seizure and Corrosion as Opposed to the Effects of Impact

Abstract

OF all modern engineering constructions, it is difficult to imagine a unit the components of which are more liable to general wear than the present‐day internal combustion and compression ignition engines. The performances demanded of aero‐engines in particular, have instigated the enormous amount of research and investigation that has been made on the problem of reducing metallic wear under various conditions of temperature, load, atmosphere, etc. The importance of this problem is manifest when one reflects that the great majority of the components of the aero‐engine (with the exception of details, nuts, bolts, pins, etc.) are subject to continual wear in one form or another. In other words, the serviceable life of any engine is largely a function of the degree to which particular forms of wear have been minimized. While the question of adequate lubrication is undoubtedly of vital importance in reducing friction, the primary causes of wear are dependent upon the properties and surface conditions of the materials at their respective working temperatures. For the majority of components, the selection of material must necessarily be mainly decided by such considerations as yield point, compression strength, fatigue range, specific tenacity, maximum stress, resistance to scaling, thermal expansion, etc., and the question of wear is reckoned rather as a problem for which the metallurgist will find a treatment which can be suitably applied to the material. Thus we have seen evolved the many processes for surface‐hardening, and numerous anti‐friction materials, etc. It is interesting to review the present position of the practical applications of the science of reducing metallic friction, and to note tendencies of future developments.

Citation

Jackson, H.H. (1939), "Some Aspects of Engine Wear: Examples of Wear Caused by Abrasion, Seizure and Corrosion as Opposed to the Effects of Impact", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 11 No. 5, pp. 190-202. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb030481