Almost zero wear quantification using optical interferometry and in-house developed algorithms of image analysis

• Grant number: 14/22341-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2015
• End date: December 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Mechanical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Tiago Cousseau
• Grantee: Lucas Carvalho Daher
• Host Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This text presents a proposal for a scientific initiation scholarship to the student Lucas Daher. The main objective of this project is to contribute on the development of a methodology to quantify and qualify the so called "almost zero wear" of cylinder liners of flex-fuel engines. This work also intends to connect the surface topography changes due to wear with the engine performance within the consortium "Tribological Challenges in Flex-Fuel Engines", supported by FAPESP through the project number 2009/54891-8, in the Surface Phenomena Laboratory of the Escola Politécnica da USP (LFS-EPUSP).Surface characterization of cylinder liners as new and worn out will be carried out using an optical interferometer (CCI - Coherence Correlation Interferometry), supported by algorithms of image recognition to be developed by the candidate of the scholarship. From these measurements, it is intended to establish the most relevant roughness parameters to analyze almost zero wear according to the ISO 25178-2 standard, and to propose non-standard surface parameters if needed.In parallel, the real area of contact will be quantified through the comparison between the worn and fresh cylinder liner surfaces.Once the methodology to quantify almost zero wear is well established, it is foreseen that its application will provide a better understanding of the tribological response of the piston ring - cylinder liner tribosystem in terms of friction and wear, and therefore, it will allow high performance surface characteristics to be defined.