Forsch Ingenieurwes (2019) 83:53–63

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10010-019-00297-x

ORIGINALARBEITEN/ORIGINALS

Friction and wear investigations on single chain joints

A. Becker1 · D. Meffert1 · B. Sauer1

Received: 17 December 2018 / Accepted: 21 January 2019 / Published online: 1 February 2019
© Springer-Verlag GmbH Deutschland, ein Teil von Springer Nature 2019

Abstract
The tribological behavior of machine elements is mostly influenced by the contact surfaces and the lubricant, especially for
transient conditions and mixed or boundary friction. Both can be found in chain joint contacts. Chains of different types
and structural designs are commonly used in drive and convey applications as well as timing drives of combustion engines,
e. g. bush, roller and silent chains. The critical operating time is fundamentally limited by the wear inside the chain joints.
Especially for timing chains, only a small elongation of 0.5% is admissible. Optimization of component surfaces, which
includes reduction of friction and wear, is the primary goal of the German Research Foundation (DFG) Collaborative
Research Centers 926 “Microscale Morphology of Component Surfaces (MICOS)”. Potential of timing chain components
with modified surfaces are the focus of present research. Chain wear test rigs for investigation of entire chain drives require
a considerable number of modified parts, which is not suitable for systematic tests. Therefore, a chain joint tribometer was
developed and commissioned to close the gap between model tests on standard tribometers and investigations on whole
chain drives by focusing on a single chain joint. Realistic load conditions were applied to the tested chain segment using
a highly-dynamic engine (rotation) and linear actor (tension force) to investigate wear and friction on a single chain joint.
The measurement system allows for online wear and friction detection.

Reibungs- und Verschleißuntersuchungen an einzelnen Kettengelenken

Zusammenfassung
Die Bauteiloberfläche hat zusammen mit dem Schmierstoff den größten Einfluss auf das tribologische Verhalten von Ma-
schinenelementen. Dies ist vor allem dann relevant, wenn instationäre Belastungen und Mischreibung bzw. Grenzreibung
vorliegen. Beides ist in Kettengelenken, speziell bei Ketten, die im Steuertrieb von Verbrennungsmotoren eingesetzt wer-
den und dort hohen Belastungen ausgesetzt sind, der Fall. Zur Optimierung der Bauteiloberfläche hinsichtlich Reibungs-
und Verschleißreduzierung werden im Rahmen des Sonderforschungsbereich 926 „Bauteiloberflächen: Morphologie auf
der Mikroskala“ Versuche an Steuerketten mit modifizierter Oberfläche durchgeführt. Kettenverschleißprüfstände, die den
Betrieb ganzer Ketten erlauben, eigenen sich für systematische Untersuchungen von Kettenkomponenten mit modifizierten
Oberflächen aufgrund der Vielzahl an benötigten Bauteilproben nur bedingt. Um die Lücke zwischen Bauteilversuchen
auf Standard-Tribometern und Versuchen mit ganzen Ketten auf Verschleißprüfständen zu füllen, wurde ein Einzelgelenk-
prüfstand, das sogenannte Kettengelenktribometer, entwickelt und in Betrieb genommen. Mit diesem Prüfstandskonzept
können Reibungs- und Verschleißuntersuchungen an einzelnen Serienkettengelenken unter definierten Betriebsbedingungen
durchgeführt werden. Ein Serien-Kettengelenk wird dabei über spezielle Adapter aufgenommen und über einen Linearak-
tor dynamisch mit einer Normalkraft beaufschlagt. Die Schwenkbewegung wird durch Rotation des Bolzens mit Hilfe
eines hochdynamischen Motors nachgebildet. Über entsprechende Messtechnik kann während des Prüflaufes neben dem
Verschleißfortschritt auch die Reibung im Kettengelenk erfasst werden.

B. Sauer
sauer@mv.uni-kl.de
 A. Becker
andre.becker@mv.uni-kl.de 1
Institute of Machine Elements, Gears &
D. Meffert Transmissions (MEGT), TUK, Gottlieb-Daimler-Str.
dominik.meffert@mv.uni-kl.de Building 42, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany

K
54 Forsch Ingenieurwes (2019) 83:53–63

1 Introduction

Improving energy efficiency is a significant and consistently

growing concern within all technical systems, as well as
in the entire society. The overall aim is to minimize the
energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission [1, 2].
Especially the automotive industry deals with a significant
conflict of combining government regulations and frequent
technological changes in a robust international competition
[3]. Stricter legal requirements demand reduced fuel con-
sumption and less emission. Optimizations of all tribologi-
Fig. 1 Areas of wear in bush chain joints
cal systems inside an entire vehicle get more critical about
conservation of natural resources.
WILCOCK and PINKUS determined potentials for energy of the entire combustion engine. By using various materi-
saving in 1977. The general losses and energy consumption als for bush and pin and also different surface treatments
of industry and transport are identified at 25% due to tribo- of both components the tribological system was continu-
logical losses [4, 5]. Further investigations by HOLMBERG ously improved. Surface texturing of the chain components
et al. demonstrated, that the friction losses in utility ve- of the joint contact is another possible approach to im-
hicles, passenger cars and the mining industry take up to prove the efficiency, which is the focus of various research
33% of the total energy consumption [6–9]. The main in- projects of technical systems for years. Different research
fluencing factor of the energy footprint of a vehicle is the projects on several machine elements, e. g. plain bearings
combustion engine. The timing drive of an engine is one show that friction, wear, load-carrying capacity and lubri-
of the essential systems inside of the machine, which is cant film thickness are positively influenced by surface tex-
commonly designed as a toothed belt or timing chain drive. turing of the components [16–18]. According to the field
LACH found that 30% of the entire engine frictional losses of this research, the Collaborative Research Centre 926,
can be traced back to the valve and timing chain drive. The friction and wear investigations of timing chain drives are
friction in the chain joints causes a significant part of the conducted [19, 20]. The goal is to improve the lubrication
power losses [10]. In Europe, timing drives have a market condition by micro structuring of the chain pin in order to
share of nearly 50% [11]. The main advantages of timing reduce the contact friction and wear of the components.
chains are small space requirements, reduced maintenance Some works have been published dealing with tribolog-
effort and a high specific power [12, 13]. EL-MAHMOUD ical processes in driving and timing chains. In early works,
and ISHIKIM confirmed that a low efficiency compared to SCHÖNFELD and ZECH carried out experimental inves-
belt drives is a vital disadvantage caused by the friction of tigations on the influence of speed and load on the wear
the chain rail contact and losses inside a single chain joint of chains [21, 22]. AßMANN et al. and COENEN could
[14]. demonstrate the high influence of lubricant and the type of
In timing chain drives, the chain joint, consisting of bush lubrication on chain wear by using a back to back chain
and pin, is the most critical component regarding wear and test rig [23, 24]. A positive effect on the wear behavior by
energy efficiency. The wear of the chain joint and the cor- using chain pins and bushes with surface treatment could be
responding chain elongation limit the service lifetime. The shown by PAWLIK [25]. Bomhauer-Beins developed a cal-
drive torque of the crankshaft impinges the operation load culation approach for the wear intensity depending on the
of a timing chain drive. High contact loads occur result operating conditions and the chain drive layout [26]. By
between bush and pin. Regarding the drive design layout using sintered metal bushings, KRAUS developed a low-
there are relative motions inside the chain joints caused maintenance roller chain [27]. Without relubrication this
by swivel movement (see Fig. 4). These processes can be chain achieved a wear rate comparable to a continuously
found at the in- and outlet of the chain joint on the sprock- lubricated standard chain. SCHWARZE et al. carried out
ets, but also induced by vibrations of the slack strand. The experimental investigations using a fired engine test rig to
contact loads and the relative motions cause wear of bush study the influence of oil degradation and fuel dilution on
and pin in a defined area (see Fig. 1), so the joint clearance the wear of timing chains [28, 29]. The wear measurement
and the chain length increase. The generated contact loads was conducted by measuring the chain length and by us-
and relative motions lead to friction losses that influence ing radionuclide technology. Since a length measurement
the energy efficiency of the entire chain [15]. is not sufficient to evaluate the chain wear, METIL’KOV
Therefore, an optimization of the wear characteristics et al. developed a method to get more detailed informa-
is necessary to realize an improvement of the efficiency tion about the wear within the chain joint [30]. The chain

K
Forsch Ingenieurwes (2019) 83:53–63 55

joints were embedded in epoxy resin and micrographs were

created on eight planes along the joint axis. POLAT et al.
compared the chain elongation with different lubricants on
fired engine tests [31]. MÜLLER et al. demonstrated the
influence of viscosity and oil aging by using a fired engine
and a towed cylinder head test rig [32]. Neugärtner et al.
carried out friction tests on chain drive by using ultrasonic
measurement [33].
At the Institute of Machine Elements, Gears & Trans-
missions (MEGT) experimental and simulative investiga-
tions of dynamic chain drives are done to systematically
investigate the different influencing parameters of wear and
friction behavior of chain drives. Modularly designed chain
rigs with different operating ranges were used to deter-
mine the wear and friction behavior with various measure-
ment devices and measurement ranges [20, 34, 35]. Simula-
tions complement all experiments. Exemplarily the propri- Fig. 2 Chain wear test rig: schematic representation
etary, analytical wear simulation model by GUMMER and
SAPPOK, which calculates the wear progress inside a chain
joint (Archard law of wear [36]), can be mentioned [20, shapes, such as a roller, bush and silent chains. One test as-
34]. An EHL-simulation model for radial shaft seals by sembly consists of two, parallel installed test chain drives,
MAGYAR and THIELEN was adapted to the contact situa- which are tensed up on the test rig to simulate the tensional
tions in a chain joint [37–39]. Similar to KILIAN et al. mod- forces in a chain drive. The schematic representation of the
eling methods for plain bearings form the base of these sim- chain wear test rig is shown in Fig. 2.
ulations [40]. Simulations of micro-structured chain pins Both tested chains on the chain wear rig are tensed up
are done using this simulation tool. by a proprietary tension clutch, that applies a defined load
Both chain wear test rigs at MEGT are not suitable for to the chain drives. By using a single drive motor for in-
systematic investigations of chain components with modi- vestigations of two chain drives simultaneously, the test rig
fied surfaces because of a considerable amount of modified setup is efficient, especially for endurance tests. The rear
parts needed. To overcome this drawback, a rig for investi- bearing support is fixed on the base plate of the rig. The
gations on a single chain joint, called chain joint tribome- applied torque is measured using resistance strain gauges,
ter, was built. Realistic inner loads, which result during real that are installed on the bearing support shaft. A telemetry
operation, can be applied to a single chain joint. The de- system transmits the data. A linear guided translation stage
veloped tribometer enables tribological investigations with enables to variation of the center distance of both rotational
serial state components, so interactions of lubricant and axes in a wide range, which eases the chain installation and
component surface can be induced without using a substi- allows for investigation of different chain lengths. A read-
tute setup like a twin-disc machine [41]. Changes on sur- justment device helps to configure the distance between
face topography inside the contact zone influence the stress both bearing blocks while testing in a range of ±0.2 mm,
and fluid pressure behavior [42]. Reproducible investiga- which means a tension torque adjustment of ±15%. This
tions on single chain joints are necessary. The following device is necessary to compensate for high wear rates and
chapters present the chain joint tribometer and demonstrate thermal elongations by readjusting the tension load during
initial results regarding friction and wear. test. Flat-jet nozzles supply the lubricant and can be freely
adapted in position and quantity. A separate oil unit heats
the lubricant up to 120 °C and allows the addition of indus-
2 Methods of friction and wear investigation trial carbon black. Detailed information about both chain
wear test rigs can be found in [20, 34, 43].
2.1 Chain wear test rig
2.2 Wear measurement methods
At MEGT two proprietary chain wear test rigs are used to
investigate the wear of entire chains. All test parameters of The wear of test chains or chain components that occurs
the rigs are adaptable to represent real drive conditions of during operation is determined using an assortment of mea-
a timing chain drive. The modular rig setup allows investi- surement devices, which differ in the examined area and
gation of a wide range of chain sizes, length and structural measurement range for specific operations (Fig. 3). The

K
56 Forsch Ingenieurwes (2019) 83:53–63

Fig. 3 Wear measurement

methods for chains and chain
joints. From left to right: dis-
placement-, elongation, contour-
and surface measurement

online wear measurement, which is installed in the chain results are summarized in load collectives for a proprietary
joint tribometer allows the detection of chain elongation wear calculation tool and also as input data for single chain
during the test run. Therefore an external measurement is joint test on the chain joint tribometer. The MBS model
not necessary. In chain wear test rigs, which realize in- was validated by optical chain track measurement, which
vestigations of entire chains, the number of tested chain were recorded during a pre-tensioned test run on the chain
joints is high. The chain length measurement device an- wear test rig [20, 48]. All motion sequences and process
alyzes a defined preloaded chain segment with a defined loads are calculated using an evaluation routine, which can
number of chain joints corresponding to the processes de- exemplarily export MBS-simulations of a motorcycle-chain
scribed in [44]. The overall elongation of the entire chain is drive to apply to the chain wear test rigs. The results of such
scaled from these results. The effort of investigating wear a simulation are shown in Fig. 4, where all movements in-
progress is very high, due to the disassembly of the chain cluding the negative swivel angle of the slack strand and
test configuration for measurements. Detailed analysis of its contact forces are evident. The tension force of a chain
single chain joints is done by tactile form measurement joint, which runs from the big sprocket into the load strand,
of chain pins and bushes. A high precision roundness and is constant, while the tension force during the swivel move-
form tester determines distribution, volume and outline of ment from the slack strand to the small sprocket decreases.
wear. By measuring chain components before and after the This is explained by the run-in and -out kinematics of chain
tests, the wear abrasion is determined automatically. Mor- drives. Both the swivel movements proceed with a small
phological and micro-structured analyses of the component tension load. Besides the detailed insights on chain drive
surface come to the fore of investigations on machine ele- movements, the MBS-simulation is used to generate load
ments [45]. Various measurement devices are available for collectives, which can be used for chain tests on the chain
a more detailed inspection of the surface morphology. For joint tribometer.
example, a confocal microscope characterizes topological
structures to analyze the surface of the chain components. 2.4 Chain Joint Tribometer
Detailed information about the wear measurement methods
can be found in ([20, 46, 47]. The chain joint tribometer was developed to test a single
chain joint under real application loads. Precisely defined
2.3 Multibody simulation load conditions can be applied. A single serial chain joint,
consisting of pin and bush, is installed into specific adapters
Concurrent to experimental wear investigations, MEGT cre- and impinged with the defined tensioning force by a linear
ated a multi-body simulation (MBS) model of the described actuator. The rotation and swivel movement of the test pin
chain wear rigs. The kinematics and load collectives of is propelled by a highly dynamic electric motor. The test
a real chain drive have to be fully determined to evaluate rig control system allows a nearly free definition of load
experimental friction and wear tests. This model images the collectives with swivel angles and tension load conditions.
real processes and physical parameters inside a chain drive, Besides stationary operations, also complex load collectives
which cannot (or only with high effort) be monitored during with different swivel angle and tension load levels are pos-
experimental investigations and are necessary for tribolog- sible, which reproduce real operations concerning to me-
ical analysis. These parameters are e. g. relative movement dian load, frictional power and number of load alternations.
of the chain parts, friction length in a chain joint or pro- This opportunity allows defining a load collective by using
gression of the normal force in tensional direction. The

K
Forsch Ingenieurwes (2019) 83:53–63 57

Fig. 4 Multibody simulation 21 800

results: Load collective consist-
ing of relative angle and contact relative angle
force for a single chain joint on 18 contact force 700
the chain wear test rig (right test
chain; bush chain, 8 mm chain
pitch, 130 joints; T = 40 Nm,
n = 500 r pm at z1; number of 15 small sprocket 600
teeth: z1 = 42, z2 = 21)

12 500

big sprocket

contact force / N
relative angle / °
9 400

6 300

3 200

0 100

-3 0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35
simulation time / s

an MBS simulation model to transfer the dynamic behavior up processes are decreased. Both eddy current sensors are
inside a chain joint. stiffly connected to the chain joint installation adapter at the
Wear of pin and bush increases the free play inside the linear actuator and measure the distance to the surface of
chain joint. An online wear measurement using two eddy the drive shaft, as Fig. 5 demonstrates. Oblique positions or
current sensors determines the wear of pin and bush in as- tilting regarding installation are compensated in the analysis
sembled state. This instrumentation enables a closer look by using two sensors.
at the running-in wear and wear progression over a more The friction torque, which results from the combination
extended test period without having to measure the com- of swivel movement and tensioning force, is induced into
ponents on an external device. The wear progress can be a three axis force sensor. Regarding the kinematic condi-
measured more efficiently and influences of stop and start- tions and distance between force sensor and test chain joint
the logged reaction force is converted to the friction torque
inside to chain joint contact area.
To achieve nearly realistic driving conditions and the
identification of the effect of different lubricants on wear
and friction, a proprietary oil supply unit is used to deliver
a defined lubricant flow with temperatures up to 120 °C.
A stirring unit inside the lubricant reservoir keeps added
particles like synthetic carbon black in suspension. Several
available nozzles supply the test chain joint with lubricant
in any positions and with adjustable flow rates.
For statistical validation and minimization of test times,
the chain joint tribometer consists of three nearly identical
test cells, which are driven independently from each other.
One test cell, separated in Fig. 6, contains a more pow-
erful linear actuator for applying higher tensioning forces,
Fig. 5 Schematic representation of the chain joint tribometer e. g. for drive chains with a pitch larger than 8 mm. The

K
58 Forsch Ingenieurwes (2019) 83:53–63

Fig. 6 CAD model of the chain a

joint tribometer: a entire struc- b
ture, b timing chain configura-
tion, c drive chain configuration

chain joint tribometer rig is designed as modular as possi- tolerances (chain components, adapters, rig parts) the test
ble, whereby different chain structures and sizes are instal- joint position is adjusted to the ideal rotational axis of the
lable with specific adapters. Fig. 6 demonstrates two con- drive motor. A vertical and a horizontal adjustment helps
figuration setups for investigation on timing chains (b) and to level out precisely the eccentricity between the test joint
drive chains (c). Both configurations differ in the number of and the drive shaft axis. The configuration for timing chain
installed bearings and the dimensioning of drive shaft and tests with its described environment is shown in Fig. 7, the
adapters. The timing chain configuration is suitable for high range of test parameters is summarized in Table 1. Addi-
dynamics and a maximum tensioning force of 3 kN, while tional information about the chain joint tribometer can be
the drive chain configuration is designed for maximum ten- found in [49, 50].
sion forces up to 11 kN. For compensation of manufacturing

3 Results

After successful commissioning of the chain joint tribome-

ter, initial wear and friction test on timing chains were com-
pleted with the described methods. All tests were performed
regarding the schedule shown in Fig. 8. All components
have to be cleaned, measured in new condition with the
methods described in Chap. 2.2, and installed with defined
adjustment. Especially for friction investigations, the ad-
justment of the joint pin to the rotational axis is crucial. The
wear progress is continuously recorded during the whole
test period. Regular wear tests have to be stopped and read-
justed for friction investigations to compensate the wear
progress. Then the friction measurement is done with a de-
fined load collective. Detailed investigations of the chain
Fig. 7 Test cell of the chain joint tribometer in timing chain configu-
link wear compares the driven chain components to a new
ration
state.
Table 1 Test parameter range of the chain joint tribometer
3.1 Materials and Oil
Parameter – Min Max
Contact force N 1 11.000 Serial state bush chain segments with a chain pitch of 8 mm
Swivel angle ° 0 360° are used for friction and wear tests. The structural design of
Lubricant temperature °C 25 125 these chains is common in timing chain configurations. Two
Lubricant flow l/min 0 1 different test pins, a case-hardened (CHD) 16MnCr5 pin

K
Forsch Ingenieurwes (2019) 83:53–63 59

Methods Results 35
10 Hz, 50 N
chain length, 30
10 Hz, 250 N
inial measurements
contour of components, 50 Hz, 50 N
new chain
surface topography 50 Hz, 250 N
25

thermal rig condioning

Wear per chain joint / µm

20

15
adjustment

10

start / connuaon
test run 5

0
0 10 20 30 40 50
reacon force fricon force
Time / h
measurement coefficient of fricon
Fig. 9 Wear progress curves (averaged wear progress of three test
runs) of tests with various load collectives (CHD-pins, PAO +1 wt.-%
length measurement soot, 70 °C oil temperature)
wear

8
no CHD
test end IC
6
Wear per chain joint / µm

yes
4

chain joint removal

2

worn contour
roundness measurement 0
of components
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time / h
worn surface
surface analysis
topography Fig. 10 Comparison of wear progress of case-hardened and inchro-
mized pins during a test period of 50 h. Averaged wear of three test
Fig. 8 Flow chart for the friction and wear investigations on the chain runs. (Swivel movement: sine wave, 25 Hz, ±10°; tension force: 50 N
joint tribometer constant; PAO +1 wt.-% soot, 70 °C oil temperature)

and an inchromized (IC) Cr60e pin were installed to a case- bon black with a primary particle size of 27 nm was added
hardened bush made of 10NiCr5-4. Table 2 summarizes the to the oil (1 wt.-%) to emulate the soot entry inside com-
relevant chain design parameters. To represent real lubrica- bustion engines. This additive mediates the particle size of
tion conditions with a low viscosity oil for modern com- gasoline- (30–40 nm) and diesel-carbon black (15–25 nm)
bustion engines all test chain joints are lubricated by a fully [31, 51]. More detailed information can be found in SAP -
synthetic poly-alpha-olefin (PAO) of 0W-20 class [32]. Car- POK [20].

Table 2 Chain design parameters

3.2 Chain wear
Type Bush chain
Chain pitch 8 mm First investigations on the chain joint tribometer were run
Pin diameter (CHD) 3.15 mm with simplified load collectives. The swivel movement was
Pin diameter (IC) 3.12 mm realized by a sine wave signal with an amplitude of ±10°
Bush diameter 3.19 and frequencies in a range between 10 and 50 Hz, which
Bush width 7.85 mm represents mean contact velocities between pin and bush of

K
 60 Forsch Ingenieurwes (2019) 83:53–63

60
Lubrication start
40

20
Friction torque /Nmm

-20
µ = 0,12
µ = 0,61
-40

-60
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Time /s

Fig. 11 Friction torque measurement on the chain joint tribometer: Comparison between dry running and lubricated chain joint contact (CHD-pins,
PAO +1 wt.-% soot, 70 °C oil temperature, 70 °C test rig temperature)

10.8 to 55.6 mm/s. A constant tension force of 50 to 250 N chain joint pin axis to the drive shaft axis affect on the fric-
was applied to the chain joint during the whole test pe- tion measurement. Even a small position deviation between
riod. Fig. 9 exemplarily shows the averaged wear progress test joint and drive shaft has a massive influence on the de-
of three test runs for four load variations. Increasing load termined friction torque. In the first experiments, the friction
or contact velocity leads to an increase of the wear ratio. coefficient of the chain joint contact was investigated in cor-
The online wear measurement of the chain joint tribometer relation to the lubricant conditions. Before the experiments,
enables the identification of the run-in wear period and the all chain joint parts were cleaned using an ultrasonic bath,
state of steady wear, which can also be seen in Fig. 9. This installed and driven without any lubrication. The applied
measurement possibility is a huge advantage compared to load curve was defined as a triangular signal (±10° swivel
the chain wear test rigs by manually measuring an averaged angle, 4 Hz) with a constant tensioning force of 100 N. Af-
wear over defined periods. During initial test, heat genera- ter 30 s of dry running, a lubricant supply of 0.5 l/min was
tion due to friction in the chain joint and the bearings and applied to the chain joint. Fig. 11 shows the measured reac-
unequal length elongations distorted the wear measurement. tion torque during the test period. The addition of lubricant
A defined temperature conditioning of the test installation to the friction contact leads to a significant reduction of the
solved this issue in following investigations. friction torque. In correlation to the geometric relations of
Further investigations focused on the wear behaviour of
inchromized and case-hardened pins. The swivel movement
was applied using a sine-wave signal (25 Hz, amplitude of 30
±10°) and the tension force was kept constant at 50 N during Chain wear test rig - left chain
the whole test period of 50 h. Fig. 10 shows averaged wear Chain wear test rig - right chain
25 Chain joint tribometer
curves of three test runs for both pin materials. Both run-
in wear ratios nearly match. The CHD-pin reaches the state
of steady wear after a period of 2.5 h and wear increases 20
Wear per chain joint / µm

linear. After a longer run-in wear period of 5 h the IC-pin

wears nearly linear but less intense than the CHD-pin. This 15
results in a lower average wear of 1.5 µm of the IC-pin after
a test period of 50 h. 10

3.3 Chain friction

5

In addition to the wear investigation, first tests of the fric-

tion measurement in a chain joint were conducted on the 0
0 20 40 60 80 100
chain joint tribometer. To guarantee consistent test condi-
tions a preparation method was developed, which includes Time / h
the conditioning of the test cell at a temperature of 70 °C
Fig. 12 Comparison of tests on the chain joint tribometer and the chain
and also the adjustment of the tested chain joint in relation wear test rig: Wear progress during a test period of 100 h with suitable
to the rotational axis of the drive shaft. Eccentricities of the load conditions (CHD-pins, PAO +1 wt.-% soot, 70 °C oil temperature)

K
Forsch Ingenieurwes (2019) 83:53–63 61

Pin Bush after the experiment for both test rigs is shown in Fig. 13.
Chain wear test rig

The stationary wear rates of both experiments are nearly

identically, while the run-in wear behavior on the chain
joint tribometer is more pronounced. This difference can be
explained by the different relative speed in the contact area
and not perfectly represented contact conditions of a real
chain drive, which results in varying wear and friction char-
acteristics. Detailed measurements of the wear inside the
Chain joint tribometer

chain joint verify a high consistency of wear distribution

and angle on both joint components, though the wear vol-
ume on the tribometer driven components is higher. These
initial tests show the potential of the chain joint tribometer,
which has to be further proven in additional investigations
using realistic load collectives and point out necessary im-
provements like interpreting contact conditions.
0 -5 -10 -15 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Deviaon from ideal cylinder / μm

Fig. 13 Results of roundness measurement of pin (left) and bush 4 Conclusion and Outlook
(right) of chain wear test rig (top) and chain joint tribometer (bottom)
after 100 h runtime
This article introduces two different test rig setups for fric-
tion and wear investigations on timing and driving chains
the test configuration, the friction coefficient is determined. of different sizes and structural shapes. A new proprietary
A coefficient of 0.61 for a dry run and 0.12 for lubricated and commissioned test rig for single chain joint analysis,
conditions was measured. These results are in agreement the chain joint tribometer, creates new tribological research
with results of SAPPOK et al. [47] and COENEN [24] on possibilities besides systematic tests on standard tribome-
a pin-disc tribometer, which correlate concerning material ters and serial component tests on chain wear rigs in real
pairing, lubrication and contact forces. Even though the configuration. First friction and wear investigation results
chain joint tribometer is able to realize investigations with of bush chains confirm the high potential of this test rig to
higher contact velocities, the (mixed-) friction conditions expand knowledge of the tribological system ‘chain joint’.
are comparable. Further experiments have to validate the In the future, the shown test rigs, methods and devices,
results. primarily the chain joint tribometer, are used to investigate
the optimization potential of pins and bushes with modified
3.4 Comparison of chain wear test rig and chain surface morphology (e. g. micro- and particle structuring or
joint tribometer coating). Furthermore, the influencing parameters for fric-
tion and wear are determined in detail. Therefore, real load
After the described tests, a wear investigation test was collectives (varying swivel angle and tension force) will be
implemented on the chain joint tribometer and compared adapted to the test rig. These collectives are generated using
to the results of wear investigations on the chain wear the described MBS-model of the chain wear test rigs and
rigs. Both chain wear rigs were driven with a drive speed then applied to the actors of the chain joint tribometer for
(big sprocket) of 500 rpm (mean relative velocity: 83 mm/s) highly dynamic investigations.
and 40 Nm tensioning torque (mean load: 261 N). The load
Acknowledgements All presented results were thankfully funded by
curve of the tribometer test was defined by using a simple the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foun-
sinus-swivel movement of ±10° and a frequency of 40 Hz dation)—Projectnumber 172116086—SFB 926, subproject CO2. The
(mean relative velocity: 45 mm/s). After each cycle, a de- authors would also like to thank the company Digital Surf for providing
fined pause time was implemented in order to represent the software MountainsMap.
the passing through the load and slack strand on the chain
wear test rig. The tension force was specified to constant References
250 N. The total sliding distance of the chain wear test rig
is significantly lower (1387 m) compared to the chain joint 1. Kasem H, Stav O, Grützmacher P, Gachot C (2018) Effect of Low
Depth Surface Texturing on Friction Reduction in Lubricated Slid-
tribometer (3920 m). ing Contact. Lubricants 6(3):62
Fig. 12 shows the wear progression of tests done on the 2. Holmberg K, Siilasto R, Laitinen T, Andersson P, Jäsberg A (2013)
chain wear rig and the chain joint tribometer over a mea- Global energy consumption due to friction in paper machines. Tri-
surement period of 100 h. The roundness of pin and bush bol Int 62:58–77

K
62 Forsch Ingenieurwes (2019) 83:53–63

3. Tung SC, McMillian ML (2004) Automotive tribology overview 25. Pawlik CA (1990) Untersuchungen über den Einfluß unterschiedlich
of current advances and challenges for the future. Tribol Int oberflächenbehandelter Bolzen-Buchse-Paarungen auf das Ver-
37:517–536 schleißverhalten von Rollenketten. Ph.D. Thesis, TH Darmstadt
4. Wilcock O, Pinkus DF (1977) Strategy for energy conservation 26. Bomhauer-Beins RK (1992) Methode zum Bestimmen verschleißbe-
through tribology. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, dingter Kettenlängung. Ph.D. Thesis, Universität Rostock
New York 27. Kraus M (1997) Systematische Entwicklung einer wartungsarmen
5. Czichos H, Habig K-H (2015) Tribologie Handbuch. Vieweg + Antriebskette. Ph.D. Thesis, TH Darmstadt
Teubner, Berlin 28. Schwarze H, Brouwer L, Wolf M, Knoll G, Schlerege F, Kop-
6. Holmberg K, Andersson P, Erdemir A (2012) Global energy con- narski M, Emrich S (2006) Ölwechseloptimierter Ottomotor. Ab-
sumption due to friction in passenger cars. Tribol Int 47:221–234 schlussbericht zum Vorhaben der Forschungsvereinigung Verbren-
7. Holmberg K, Andersson P, Nylund N-O, Mäkelä K, Erdemir A nungskraftmaschinen (FVV) Nr 848:1–163
(2012) Global energy consumption due to friction in trucks and 29. Schwarze H, Brouwer L, Wolf M, Knoll G, Schlerege F, Kop-
busses. Tribol Int 78:94–114 narski M, Emrich S (2010) Ölwechseloptimierter Ottomotor II.
8. Holmberg K, Kivikytö-Reponen K, Härkisaari P, Valtonen L, Abschlussbericht zum Vorhaben der Forschungsvereinigung Ver-
Erdemir A (2017) Global energy consumption due to friction and brennungskraftmaschinen (FVV) Nr 930:1–120
wear in the mining industry. Tribol Int 115:116–139 30. Metil’kov SA, Berezhnoi SB, Yunin VV (2008) Wear of hinges in
9. Priest M, Taylor CM (2000) Automobile engine tribology— roller drive chain. Russian Engineering Research 28(9):839–844
approaching the surface. Wear 241(2):193–203 31. Polat O, Ebrinc A, Ozen C, Akca S (2009) Timing Chain Wear
10. Lach R (1999) Dynamisches Betriebsverhalten von Steuerketten- and Effects of Different Types of Lubricants. SAE, paper: 2009-01-
trieben in Verbrennungsmotoren. Ph.D. Thesis, RWTH Aachen 0198
University, Aachen 32. Müller G, Stern D, Berlet P, Pohlmann K (2013) Praxisnahe Al-
11. Basshuysen R, Schäfer F (2015) Handbuch Verbrennungsmo- terung von Motorölen und Auswirkungen auf tribologisch relevante
tor: Grundlagen, Komponenten, Systeme, Perspektiven. Springer Eigenschaften. 54. Tribologie-Fachtagung (GfT):18/1–18/11
Vieweg, Wiesbaden 33. Neugärtner J, Holstein P, Probst C (2015) Untersuchung der Rei-
12. Fink T, Hirschmann V (2001) Kettentriebe für den Einsatz in mod- bungsbeiträge an Steuerkettentrieben mittels Ultraschallverfahren.
ernen Verbrennungsmotoren. MTZ – Motortechnische Zeitschrift Reibungsminimierung im Antriebsstrang (2015) – Effiziente Wege
62(10):796–806 finden, Springer Vieweg, Wiesbaden
13. Hirschmann V, Schachter B (2009) Mikrohybrid-System für die 34. Gummer A (2013) Analytische Untersuchung des Geometrieein-
Integration in Steuertrieben. MTZ – Motortechnische Zeitschrift flusses auf das Verschleißverhalten von Antriebsketten. Ph.D. The-
70(1):30–37 sis, TUK, Kaiserslautern
14. El-Mahmoud MA, Ishikim S, Kubota A (2013) Vergleich der Rei- 35. Fabian C (2018) Verbesserung des Wirkungsgrades von Steuerket-
bungsverluste zwischen Zahnriemen und Kettentrieben. VDI-Re- tentrieben durch bedarfsgerechte Kettenspannung. Ph.D. Thesis,
port 1758:197–207 TUK, Kaiserslautern
15. Fink T, Bodenstein H (2011) Möglichkeiten der Reibungsreduk- 36. Archard JF (1953) Contact and rubbing of flat surfaces. Journal of
tion in Kettentrieben. MTZ – Motortechnische Zeitschrift 72 (7–8): Applied physics 24(8):981–988
582–587 37. Magyar B, Thielen S, Löwenstein M, Becker A, Sauer B (2017)
16. Blumenthal H, Schwarze H (2005) Tribologische Beurteilung des EHL Simulation of the Timing Chain Drive. 6th World Tribology
Verschleißverhaltens der Kolbenbolzenlagerung unter Berücksich- Congress (WTC), Bejing
tigung der Kolbenbolzenbewegung. 46. Tribologie-Fachtagung 38. Magyar B, Thielen S, Löwenstein M, Becker A, Sauer B (2018)
(GfT): 44/1–44/3 EHD Simulation eines Kettengelenkes. Tribologie und Schmierung-
17. Gropper D, Wang L, Harvey TJ (2016) Hydrodynamic lubrication stechnik 65(1):40–47
of textured surfaces: A review of modeling techniques and key find- 39. Thielen S, Foko Foko F, Magyar B, Sauer B (2018) Sealing contact
ings. Tribol Int 94:509–529 shaft structure design using EHL simulation. Proceedings of the
18. Gachot C, Rosenkranz A, Hsu SM, Costa HL (2017) A critical as- 17th EDF / PPRIME Workshop “Green Sealing”, Paris
sessment of surface texturing for friction and wear improvement. 40. Kilian M, Schönen R, Tuczu S (2002) Kettentribologie: Tribolo-
Wear 372–373:21–41 gische Beanspruchung dynamisch belasteter Kettengelenke. FVV
19. Buhl S, Schmidt K, Sappok D, Merz R, Godard C, Kerscher E, Kop- Forschungsheft 749, Forschungsvereinigung Verbrennungskraft-
narski M, Sauer B, Antonyuk S, Ripperger S (2015) Surface struc- maschinen, Frankfurt
turing of case hardened chain pins by cold-sprayed microparticles 41. Emrich S, Lohner T, Ziegltrum A, Bordyanski A, Merz R, Stahl
to modify friction and wear properties. Particuology 21:32–40 K, Kopnarski M (2016) Charakterisierung von triboinduzierten
20. Sappok D (2016) Experimentelle und simulative Methoden zur Un- Schichten in Abhängigkeit des Schmierstoffs bei Verzahnungen.
tersuchung der Verschleißvorgänge im Kettengelenk von Antriebs- Tribologie und Schmierungstechnik 64(5):25–32
und. Steuerketten. Ph.D. Thesis, TUK, Kaiserslautern 42. Ghezzi I, Houara Komba E, Tonazzi D, Bouscharain N, Le Je-
21. Schönfeld A (1967) Verschleißprobleme am Rollenkettentrieb une G, Coudert J, Massi F (2018) Damage evolution and contact
unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von Transportketten. Ph.D The- surface analysis of high-loaded oscillating hybrid bearings. Wear
sis, TH Karl-Marx-Stadt 406–407:1–12
22. Zech J (1974) Beitrag zur Berechnung von Kettengetrieben unter 43. Gummer A, Sappok D, Sauer B (2012) Kettenprüfeinrichtung zur
besonderer Berücksichtigung dynamischer Belastungen. Ph.D. Verschleißuntersuchung von Antriebs- und Steuerketten. Tribologie
Thesis, TH Karl-Marx-Stadt und Schmierungstechnik 59(2):24–29
23. Aßmann U, Nester W, Poller D (1979) Berechnungsverfahren für 44. DIN ISO 606 (2012) Kurzgliedrige Präzisions-Rollen- und Buch-
Rollenkettengetriebe unter Berücksichtigung neuer Erkenntnisse zu senketten, Befestigungslaschen und zugehörige Kettenräder. Beuth
Schmierung, Einlaufstoß und Kettenradfehlern. Ph.D. Thesis, Karl- Verlag, Berlin
Marx-Stadt 45. Güntner C, Tobie T, Stahl K (2017) Alternative microstructures and
24. Coenen W (1984) Einfluss der Schmierung auf das Verschleißver- their influence on mechanical properties of case-hardened gears.
halten von Rollenketten. Ph.D. Thesis, RWTH Aachen University, Forschung im Ingenieurwesen 81:245–251
Aachen

K
Forsch Ingenieurwes (2019) 83:53–63 63

46. Sappok D, Sauer B (2015) Wear Measurement on Chain Joint Com- 49. Becker A, Sauer B (2018) Wear investigations on timing chains
ponents Using a Roundness Instrument. Periodica Poytechnica Me- using a chain joint tribometer. 73th STLE Annual Meeting, Min-
chanical Engineering 59(2):51–59 neapolis
47. Sappok D, Merz R, Sauer B, Kopnarski M (2015) Surface Analysis 50. Becker A, Sauer B (2018) Verschleiß- und Reibungsuntersuchun-
of Chain Joint Components after Tribological Load and Usage of gen am Bolzen-Hülsen-Kontakt von Steuerketten mit einem Einzel-
Antiwear Additives. Conference Papers in Science 2015:1–12 gelenkprüfstand. 59. Tribologie-Fachtagung (GfT): 18/1–18/10
48. Becker A, Krupp F, Sauer B (2017) Systematische Verschleißun- 51. Antusch S, Dienwiebel M, Nold E, Albers P, Spicher U, Scherge M
tersuchungen an Kettenkomponenten. 58. Tribologie-Fachtagung (2012) On the tribochemical action of engine soot. Wear 269 (1–2):
(GfT): 11/1–11/10 1–12