Wear with low-lubricity fuels I. Development of a wear mapping technique

• Published in: Wear 1993-02, Vol.160 (2), p.325-332
• Main Author: Lacey, P.I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aircraft fuels; Applied sciences; Conformal mapping; Contacts (fluid mechanics); Database systems; Exact sciences and technology; Friction, wear, lubrication; Fuel injection; Fuel systems; Liquid fuels; Lubrication; Machine components; Mechanical engineering. Machine design; Testing
• ISSN: 0043-1648; 1873-2577
• DOI: 10.1016/0043-1648(93)90437-Q

Use of low-lubricity fuels such as Jet A-1 is now relatively common in military ground equipment, while severe refinery processes such as hydrotreating are removing reactive components from commercially available diesel fuels. Under critical conditions, durability problems with fuel-sensitive equipment emerge with the use of Jet A-1. Consequently, a bench wear test that accurately reflects the environment within the fuel injection system is needed. However, a better understanding of the primary wear mechanisms present in the fuel injection system and their relationship with potential bench wear tests is first required. Wear maps have previously been used to study ceramic materials and to define the wear mechanisms in metallic contacts. This technique systematically produces a data base according to a self-consistent methodology and allows the effects of each contact parameter to be precisely described. This paper, the first of two, details the initial test development required to ensure that the data base is completed according to a single well-defined procedure. The second paper, “Correlation between wear maps and pump components”, uses the test methodologies and results developed to elucidate the wear mechanisms present in fuel-lubricated contacts and to assist in bridging the gap between laboratory tests and practical applications.