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Because of the specific structure and working mechanism, piston speed is only half of its shaft, which causes severally friction between piston and cylinder. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to investigate the friction and wear characteristics of the incomplete spherical piston in spherical pump comprehensively. Finally, to search the low-friction and wear-resistance structural pattern of the piston, and enhance the durability of spherical pump.

The non-linear frictional moment model for incomplete spherical piston in spherical pump was derivated quantificationally. Parameter sensitivity analyses were conducted to find the low-friction structural pattern of the piston. The theoretical wear model of piston–cylinder pair is proposed as well.

To reduce the frictional moment between incomplete piston and cylinder, the optimised diameter ratio between piston pin and piston should be 0.12 based on the parameter sensitivity analyses. The maximum frictional moment is approximately 2.5 times of the minimum. The total efficiency should be considered synthetically based on the thickness of specific working medium.

The proposed non-linear frictional moment model offers the quantitative estimations. Parameter sensitivity analyses were conducted to find the low-friction structural pattern of the piston. The wear behaviours of the piston and cylinder were analysed to investigate the wear characteristics of the piston.

Rotary disc is a key component in the compact spherical pump, connecting shaft and piston, bearing hydraulic force conformally and constituting dynamic working chambers alternatively. Motion of rotary disc comprises two components. One is rotating around its own axis and the other is sliding on a cone surface. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the friction and wear mechanism between rotary disc and cylinder under a complicated operation condition.

Structural properties of rotary disc are analyzed first. Frictional moment of rotary disc is modeled based on its structural characteristics and working mechanism, and the constraints of the structural parameters are considered. Besides, the concept of dimensionless contact area is proposed. Comparison is performed between the proposed concept and the frictional moment to determine an optimized beginning angle for spherical pump with a given displacement. The wear model of rotary disc is also established based on its kinematic property, a velocity coefficient is proposed and its common values are presented.

Effects of structural parameters, i.e. beginning angle and ending angle on the frictional moment, are obtained quantitatively. The frictional moment increases with beginning and ending angle with different rates. While the dimensionless contact area decreases with beginning angle. The larger the piston angle, the larger the velocity coefficient will be. The rotary disc wears severely with a larger beginning angle and smaller ending angle, while it has the smallest wear rate under a smaller beginning angle and a larger ending angle.

The originality lies in modeling the complex contact force of rotary disc based on its specific structure. These conclusions can be used to optimize the structural parameters of rotary disc.

This paper aims to investigate the lubrication regime in spherical pump, especially under different structural parameters and operational conditions.

A ball-on-plane configuration is adopted to represent the contact model between spherical piston and cylinder cover. The governing equations, which include the Reynolds and elasticity equations, are solved and validated by Jin–Dowson model. Both minimum film thickness and lambda ratio (ratio of minimum fluid film thickness to combined surface roughness of the piston and cylinder cover) of the equivalent model are obtained using an established model.

The results indicate that piston diameter and radial clearance are the two main factors affecting the pump lubrication regime. Other related parameters such as rotation speed of the piston, load, viscosity of working medium, material matching and surface roughness of piston and cylinder cover also have different impacts on the lubrication regime of the spherical pump.

These results emphasize the importance of the design and manufacturing parameters on the tribological performance of spherical pumps and these are also helpful in improving the spherical pump lubrication regime and enlarging its life cycle. This is to certify that to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the content of this manuscript is their own work. This manuscript has only been submitted to this journal and never been published elsewhere. The authors certify that the intellectual content of this manuscript is the product of their own work and that all the assistance received in preparing this manuscript and sources has been acknowledged.

This study aims to numerically simulate the flow induced by a radially expanding/contracting and rotating sphere with suction. In the absence of rotation, one-dimensional flow motion occurs as expected. Otherwise, centrifugal force slows down the induced flow motion, in addition to the radial movement of the surface.

The present work is devoted to the analysis of a rotating permeable sphere. The sphere, because it is elastic, is allowed to expand or contract uniformly in the radial direction while rotating.

Numerical simulations of the governing equation in spherical coordinates are supported by a perturbation approach. It is found that the equatorial region is effectively smoothen out by the wall suction in non-expanding, expanding and contracting wall deformation cases. The radial inward flow in the vicinity of the equator is no longer valid in the case of sphere expansion, and strong suction causes nearly constant radial suction velocities. More fluid is sucked radially inward near the pole region when wall contraction is active.

The problem is set up for the first time in the literature. It is determined physically, the wall expansion mechanism requires more torque with less drag.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a static friction coefficient prediction model of rough contact surfaces based on the contact mechanics analysis of elastic-plastic fractal surfaces.

In this paper, the continuous deformation stage of the multi-scale asperity is considered, i.e. asperities on joint surfaces go through three deformation stages in succession, the elastic deformation, the elastic-plastic deformation (the first elastic-plastic region and the second elastic-plastic region) and the plastic deformation, rather than the direct transition from the elastic deformation to the plastic deformation. In addition, the contact between rough metal surfaces should be the contact of three-dimensional topography, which corresponds to the fractal dimension D (2 < D < 3), not two-dimensional curves. So, in consideration of the elastic-plastic deformation mechanism of asperities and the three-dimensional topography, the contact mechanics of the elastic-plastic fractal surface is analyzed, and the static friction coefficient nonlinear prediction model of the surface is further established.

There is a boundary value between the normal load and the fractal dimension. In the range smaller than the boundary value, the normal load decreases with fractal dimension; in the range larger than the boundary value, the normal load increases with fractal dimension. Considering the elastic-plastic deformation of the asperity on the contact surface, the total normal contact load is larger than that of ignoring the elastic-plastic deformation of the asperity. There is a proper fractal dimension, which can make the static friction of the contact surface maximum; there is a negative correlation between the static friction coefficient and the fractal scale coefficient.

In the mechanical structure, the research and prediction of the static friction coefficient characteristics of the interface will lay a foundation for the understanding of the mechanism of friction and wear and the interaction relationship between contact surfaces from the micro asperity-scale level, which has an important engineering application value.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the micro-motion of the cylinder block.

Based on the elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication, a numerical model for the cylinder block/valve plate interface is proposed, with consideration of the elastic deformations, the pressure-viscosity effect and asperity contacts. The influence-function method is applied to calculating the actual deformations of the cylinder block and the valve plate. The asperity contact model simplified from Greenwood assumption is introduced into the numerical model. Furthermore, the relationship between the micro-motion and the operating condition, the sealing belt width is discussed, respectively.

The results show an increase in the discharge pressure causes the tilt state and the vibrating motion getting worse, which can be eased by improving the rotational speed, the sealing belt width and the ratio of external and internal sealing belt width.

The proposed research can provide a theoretical reference for the optimizing design of cylinder block/valve plate pair.

The purpose of this study is to develop a normal contact stiffness (NCS) model among three disks of the assembled rotor system, which systematically considers the friction coefficient, the asperities interaction and the elastoplastic contact regime.

Based on the revised fractal theory, considering the friction effect, the elastoplastic contact regime and the asperities interaction in a simple way, the total NCS among three disks of the rod-fastening rotor bearing system is established. Effects of fractal dimension and roughness, friction coefficient, asperities interaction and material properties on the normal stiffness are investigated by simulations and the relevant comparisons are given for examining the reasonability of the proposed model.

NCS will decrease when asperities interaction and friction are included. As the load increases, the influences of asperities interaction and friction on stiffness become serious. NCS will be enhanced when the elastoplastic regime is considered.

A comprehensive NCS model is developed. It provides a theoretical basis for the modeling of the NCS for multi-interfaces.

The face-centered cubic structured single-phase FeCoNiCrMn high-entropy alloys (HEAs) were prepared to study the friction and wear behavior of HEAs under MoS₂-oil lubrication.

FeCoNiCrMn alloys were subjected to ball-on-disc reciprocating sliding against the GCr15 ball. L₂₅(5⁶) orthogonal wear tests were designed for velocity V_rel (4.167-20.833 mm/s), load F_N (10-50 N), temperature T (RT-140 °C) and time t (5-20 min). Based on orthogonal test results, multivariate repeated measures ANOVA was performed, and further comparative experiments were conducted for V_rel, F_N and T. Energy dispersive spectrometer and scanning electron microscope were applied to characterize the surface morphology of wear scar and its element distribution.

V_rel, F_N and t exerted the most significant influence (p < 0.01) on the average friction coefficient f. V_rel and F_N were identified as the momentous effect (p < 0.01) on wear volume ΔV. T (≥50 °C) had positive correlation with f and ΔV, and both V_rel and F_N correlated negatively with f. The dominant abrasive wear was attributed to the large hardness difference of the friction pair. Fatigue wear and delamination wear were experienced at higher speeds (V_rel  ≥ 12.5 mm/s) and loading levels (F_N ≥ 40 N). Elevated temperature weakens the lubrication effect of MoS₂-oil and the mechanical properties of FeCoNiCrMn matrix, intensifying abrasive wear.

This study is expected to provide references for exploration on the wear behavior of single-phase HEAs under complex working conditions with lubrication and hence will help develop the application of HEAs in practical engineering.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-08-2019-0303

The purpose of the paper is to predict the erosion rate of the components of centrifugal pump under certain operating condition to identify the maximum erosion area and to discuss the factors affecting them. This helps to optimize design and estimate service life.

In the paper, the Eulerian–Lagrangian approach method coupled with the erosion model to investigate the mixed sand characteristics on erosion characteristics of centrifugal pump flow-through wall. The hydraulic performance and wear characteristics experiment of the pump is used to verify the accuracy of the numerical simulation.

The blade erosion area mainly occurs near the blade inlet and the trailing edge of the pressure surface, the main erosion area of the impeller back shroud is near the outlet of the flow passage and the main erosion area of the volute is near the tongue and the I section. With the change of the average diameter and density of sand particles, the average erosion rate on different flow-through walls is positively correlated with the average mass concentration to a certain extent. However, for different sand shape factors, there is little correlation between the average erosion rate and the average mass concentration. In addition, compared with other erosion areas, the increase of average sand particle diameter and density has the greatest impact on the total erosion rate of blade pressure surface, while the shape of sand particles has a greater impact on the total erosion rate of each flow-through wall of centrifugal pump.

In this work, according to the characteristics of the mixed distribution of different sand diameters in the Yellow River Basin, the erosion characteristics of centrifugal pumps used in the Yellow River Basin are studied. The numerical calculation method for predicting the wall erosion of centrifugal pump is established and compared with the experimental results. The results can provide reference for optimizing design and increasing service life.

This paper aims to present experimental work examining the effect of opening size on the collection efficiency of cavity-type receiver geometries, e.g. modified cavity and spherical cavity with single- as well as dual-stage water heating. The correlations, obtained using the experimentally obtained data, are helpful in designing of cavity receivers (modified and spherical geometry type) to be used in solar-power harnessing assignments/projects, for yielding better system performance.

The parameters of study encompass receiver opening or aperture ratios (d/D, ratio of diameter of opening to the maximum diameter of spherical cavity) of 0.4, 0.47, 0.533 and 0.6; flow Reynolds numbers of 938, 1,175, 1,525 and 1,880 with water as a coolant; and receiver inclination angles of 90, 60, 45 and 30° (with 90° as receiver-opening facing downward and 30° as receiver-aperture facing closer to sideway). A modified cavity receiver was examined for opening ratios of 0.46, 0.6, 0.7 and 0.93. The glass covers, with thickness 2, 4 and 6 mm, were positioned at the opening of cavity to mitigate the energy losses.

The experiments have been conducted at a lesser incoming radiative heat flux, for receiver cavity wall surface temperatures ranging from 90°C to 180°C. The collection efficiency values of both the receivers, modified cavity and spherical cavity types, are seen increasing with coolant flow rate and receiver tilt (inclination) angles, i.e. 30° → 90°. The collection efficiency exhibits maxima at an opening ratio of 0.533 in case of both single- and double-stage spherical cavity receiver. This value was observed as 0.6 for modified cavity receiver. The mathematical correlations developed for obtaining the collection efficiency values of modified cavity-type receiver, spherical cavity receiver with single stage and spherical cavity receiver with dual-stage water heating are given as ɳ=0.4667 Re0.0798dD0.1651 δ0.0281θ̇−0.011, ɳ=0.2317 Re0.124 dD1.265δ0.0192θ̇0.2914 and ɳ=0.1137 Re0.1715dD0.8702θ̇0.2757, respectively.

The findings of the paper may be helpful in erecting concentrating solar collector systems for household water heating, concentrating solar-based power generation as well as for various agricultural applications.

The experimental investigations are fewer in the literature examining the combined geometrical influence on the efficiency of cavity receivers with single- and double-stage water heating provisions.