Engine Friction and Lubrication

IC ENGINES
Engr. Ali Raza

Lecturer
Department of Mechanical Engineering
National University of Technology
ali.raza@nutech.edu.pk
Fall 2023
Office: MED Dept Level 5 Lab Block
TEXTBOOKS AND REFERENCE
BOOKS
 Textbook
Internal Combustion Engines by V Ganesan

Reference Books
Internal Combustion Engines Fundamentals by J B Heywood.
ENGINE FRICTION
AND
LUBRICATION
INTRODUCTION
 Friction generally refers to forces acting between surfaces in relative motion.
 In engines, frictional losses are mainly due to sliding as well as rotating parts.
 Normally, engine friction, in its broader sense, is taken as the difference
between the indicated power, ip, and the brake power, bp.
 Usually engine friction is expressed in terms of frictional power, fp.
Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

INTRODUCTION
 Frictional loss is mainly attributed to the following mechanical losses.
1. direct frictional losses
2. pumping losses
3. power loss to drive the components to charge and scavenge
4. power loss to drive other auxiliary components

INTRODUCTION
 A good engine design should not allow the total frictional losses to be more
than 30% of the energy input in reciprocating engines.
 It should be the aim of a good designer to reduce friction and wear of the parts
subjected to relative motion.
 This is achieved by proper lubrication. In this section the various losses
associated with friction is enumerated.

DIRECT FRICTIONAL LOSSES
 It is the power absorbed due to the relative motion of different bearing
surfaces such as piston rings, main bearings, cam shaft bearings etc.
 Since, there are a number of moving parts, the frictional losses are
comparatively higher in reciprocating engines.

PUMPING LOSSES
 In case of the four-stroke engines a considerable amount of energy is spent
during intake and exhaust processes.
 The pumping loss is the net power spent by the engine (piston) on the
working medium (gases) during intake and exhaust strokes.
 In the case of two-stroke engines this is negligible since the incoming fresh
mixture is used to scavenge the exhaust gases.

POWER LOSS TO DRIVE COMPONENTS TO CHARGE
AND SCAVENGE
 In certain types of four-stroke engines the intake charge is supplied at a higher
pressure than the naturally aspirated engines.
 For this purpose a mechanically driven compressor or a turbine driven
compressor is used.
 Accordingly the engine is called the supercharged or turbocharged engine.
 In case of a supercharged engine, the engine itself supplies power to drive the
compressor whereas in a turbocharged engine, the turbine is driven by the
exhaust gases of the engine.

POWER LOSS TO DRIVE COMPONENTS TO CHARGE
AND SCAVENGE
 These devices take away a part of the engine output.
 This loss is considered as negative frictional loss.
 In case of two-stroke engines with a scavenging pump, the power to drive the
pump is supplied by the engine.

POWER LOSS TO DRIVE THE AUXILIARIES
 A good percentage of the generated power output is spent to drive auxiliaries
such as water pump, lubricating oil pump, fuel pump, cooling fan, generator
etc.
 This is considered a loss because the presence of each of these components
reduces the net output of the engine.

MECHANICAL EFFICIENCY
 The various losses described above can be clubbed into one heading, viz., the
mechanical losses.
 The mechanical losses can be written in terms of mean effective pressure that
is frictional torque divided by engine displacement volume per unit time.
 Therefore, frictional mean effective pressure, fmep, can be expressed as
fmep = mmep + pmep + amep + cmep

fmep = mmep + pmep + amep + cmep
where
 mmep : mean effective pressure required to overcome mechanical friction
 pmep : Mean effective pressure required for charging and scavenging
 amep : mean effective pressure required to drive the auxiliary components
 cmep : mean effective pressure required to drive the compressor or scavenging
pump
 Because of the various mechanical losses in the engine the term mechanical
efficiency is usually associated with the reciprocating internal combustion
engine.
 Mechanical efficiency is defined as the ratio of bp to ip or bmep to imep. It is
written as

MECHANICAL FRICTION
 As mentioned earlier, friction loss comes into picture in the bearing surfaces
of the engine components due to their relative motion.
 Mechanical friction in engine may be divided into six classes which are
discussed in the following sections.

FLUID-FILM OR HYDRODYNAMIC FRICTION
 The hydrodynamic friction is associated with the phenomena when a complete
film of lubricant exists between the two bearing surfaces.
 In this case the friction force entirely depends on the lubricant viscosity.
 This type of friction is the main mechanical friction loss in the engine.

PARTIAL-FILM FRICTION
 When rubbing (metal) surfaces are not sufficiently lubricated, there is a
contact between the rubbing surfaces in some regions.
 During normal engine operation there is almost no metallic contact except
between the compression (top) piston ring and cylinder walls.
 This is mainly at the end of each stroke where the piston velocity is nearly
zero.
 During starting of the engine, the journal bearings operate in partial-film
friction. Thus, partial-film friction contributes very little to total engine
friction and hence, it may be neglected.

ROLLING FRICTION
 The rolling friction is due to rolling motion between the two surfaces.
 Ball and roller bearings and tappet rollers are subjected to rolling friction.
 Bearings of this type have a coefficient of friction which is nearly independent
of load and speed.
 This friction is partly due to local rubbing from distortion under load and
partly due to continuous climbing of roller.

ROLLING FRICTION
 Rolling friction coefficient is lower than journal bearing friction coefficient
during starting and initial running of engine.
 The reason is that the oil viscosity is high and moreover, partial friction exists
in journal bearing during starting where engine uses plain journal bearings on
the crankshaft.
 Rolling friction is negligible compared to total friction.

DRY FRICTION
 Even when an engine is not operated for a long time there is little possibility
for direct metal to metal contact.
 Always some lubricant exists between the rubbing surfaces even after long
periods of disuse.
 One can take the dry friction to be non-existent and hence, this can be safely
neglected while considering engine friction.

JOURNAL BEARING FRICTION
 A circular cylindrical shaft called journal rotates against a cylindrical surface
called the bearing.
 Journal bearings are called partial when the bearing surface is less than full
circumference. The rotary motion may be either continuous or oscillatory.
 Much theoretical and experimental work has been done to find the
performance of journal bearing under various operating conditions.

JOURNAL BEARING FRICTION
 Engine journal bearing operates under load which varies in magnitude and
direction with time.
 However, the same basic relations obtained for ordinary journal bearing apply
to engine journal bearing but the coefficients of friction are usually different.

FRICTION DUE TO PISTON MOTION
 Friction due to the motion of piston can be divided into
(i) viscous friction due to piston
(ii) non-viscous friction due to piston ring
 The non-viscous piston ring friction can be further subdivided into
1. friction due to ring tension
2. friction due to gas pressure behind the ring

 Piston rings are categorized into compression rings and oil rings. Compression
rings are on the top portion of the piston to seal against gas pressure.
 The pressure exerted by the compression ring on the cylinder wall is partly
due to the elasticity of the ring and partly due to the gas pressure which leaks
into the space between the ring and the piston.
 The gas pressure behind the top ring (compression ring) is nearly equal to the
cylinder pressure, less than the cylinder pressure in the second ring groove and
much less in the third.

 Oil rings are designed to scrape some of the oil from the cylinder wall and
allow it to return to the oil sump through radial passage in the ring.
 These grooves for the rings are vented by holes drilled into the piston interior
and therefore no gas pressure can act behind it. In this case the pressure of the
ring surface on the cylinder wall is entirely due to the elasticity (tension) of
the rings.
 Piston rings press against the cylinder walls at all times because of their spring
action. Therefore, the friction due to piston motion always exists.

BLOWBY LOSSES
 It is the phenomenon of leakage of combustion products (gases) from the
cylinder to the crankcase past the piston and piston rings. It depends on the
compression ratio, inlet pressure and the condition of the piston rings. In case
of worn out piston rings this loss is more. This loss is usually accounted in the
overall frictional losses.

PUMPING LOSS
 The work spent to charge the cylinder with fresh mixture during the suction
stroke and to discharge the combustion products during the exhaust stroke is
called the pumping loss.
 This pumping loss may be reduced by increasing the valve areas. However,
this area cannot be greatly increased due to the practical limitation on the
availability of space in the cylinder head.
 Further, engine speed also plays a role on the pumping loss.
 For four-stroke engines pumping loss may be divided into three parts as
shown in the indicator diagram, Fig.12.1.

EXHAUST BLOWDOWN LOSS
 To reduce the work spent by the piston to drive out the exhaust gases the
exhaust valve is made to open before piston reaches BDC on its expansion
stroke.
 During this period the combustion gases rush out of cylinder due to pressure
difference. Because of this there is a certain loss of power indicated by the
area shown in Fig.12.1.
 This loss is called the blowdown loss.
 This mainly depends on the exhaust valve timing and its size.
 With large valve area and earlier exhaust valve opening the blowdown loss
will be higher whereas with increase in speed this loss tends to be lower

EXHAUST STROKE LOSS
 The work required to force the products of combustion out of the cylinder
after the blowdown process is the exhaust loss.
 During the starting of blowdown process the gas pressure inside the cylinder
is more than three to four times the gas pressure inside the exhaust pipe,
therefore, the gases flow out with high velocity.
 Due to inertia, the high velocity of exhaust gases tends to persist even during
exhaust stroke and the cylinder pressure may momentarily drop below the gas
pressure in the exhaust pipe.
 When the piston moves up again, pressure rises and gases are pushed into
exhaust pipe

EXHAUST STROKE LOSS
 Thus, as mentioned earlier, the power required to drive the exhaust gases out
is called the exhaust loss.
 This loss is shown in indicator diagram. This loss depends on valve size, valve
timing and valve flow coefficient. Increase in valve size, early opening of
valve and higher valve flow coefficient may tend to reduce exhaust stroke
loss. Increase in speed increases the exhaust stroke loss.
 Thus factors like high speed, late opening of exhaust valve, reduced exhaust
valve size which tend to increase the exhaust stroke loss may tend to reduce
blowdown loss. The combination of the two losses should be minimal for
getting better performance from the engine.

INTAKE STROKE LOSS
 Energy is supplied to the piston to produce a pressure difference across the
inlet valve so that fresh charge could be drawn into the cylinder.
 This is done to overcome the friction and inertia of the gas in the intake
system and the power spent by the piston for doing this is called the intake
stroke loss.
 The combination of intake and exhaust stroke loss is called the pumping loss
illustrated in the Fig.12.1.

FACTORS AFFECTING MECHANICAL FRICTION
 Various factors affect the engine friction. In this section, the effect of some of
these factors on mechanical friction is discussed.

ENGINE DESIGN
 The design parameters which influence the friction losses are:
(i) Stroke-bore Ratio : Lower stroke-bore ratio may tend to slightly decrease
the fmep. It is mainly due to less frictional area in case of lower stroke to bore
ratio.
(ii) Effect of Engine Size : Larger engines have more frictional surfaces.
Hence, lubrication requirements are more in such engines.
(iii) Piston Rings : Reducing the number of piston rings and reducing the
contacting surface of the ring with cylinder wall reduces the friction. Light ring
pressure also reduces the friction.

 (iv) Compression Ratio : The friction mean effective pressure increases with
increase in compression ratio. But the mechanical efficiency either remains or
may improve slightly because of the increase in the imep.
 (v) Journal Bearings : Reducing journal diameter/diametrical clearance ratio
in journal bearing reduces the fmep. Short pistons with reduced mass along
the gudgeon pin axis will minimize inertia loads. This in turn will reduce the
friction loss

ENGINE SPEED
 Friction increases rapidly with increasing speed. At higher speeds mechanical
efficiency starts deteriorating considerably. This is one of the reasons for
restricting the speeds of engines.

ENGINE LOAD
 Increasing the load increases the maximum pressure in the cylinder which
results in slight increase in friction values.
 At the same time increases in load results in increase in temperature inside the
cylinder and also temperature of the lubricating oil.
 The decrease in oil viscosity due to higher temperature slightly reduces the
friction.

COOLING WATER TEMPERATURE
 A rise in cooling water temperature slightly reduces engine friction by
reducing oil viscosity.
 Friction losses are high during starting since temperature of water and oil are
low and viscosity is high.

OIL VISCOSITY
 Viscosity and friction loss are (directly) proportional to each other.
 The viscosity can be reduced by increasing the temperature of the oil.
 But beyond a certain value of oil temperature, failure of local oil film may
occur resulting in partial fluid film friction or even metal to metal contact
which is very harmful to the engine.

LUBRICATION
 From the above discussion it can be understood that lubrication is essential to
reduce friction and wear between the components in an engine. In the
following sections the details of engine lubrication are discussed.

FUNCTION OF LUBRICATION
 Lubrication is an art of admitting a lubricant (oil, grease, etc.) between two
surfaces that are in contact and in relative motion. The purpose of lubrication
in an engine is to perform one or several of the following functions.
 (i) To reduce friction and wear between the moving parts and thereby the
energy loss and to increase the life of the engine.
 (ii) To provide sealing action e.g. the lubricating oil helps the piston rings to
maintain an effective seal against the high pressure gases in the cylinder from
leaking out into the crankcase.

FUNCTION OF LUBRICATION
 (iii) To cool the surfaces by carrying away the heat generated in engine
components.
 (iv) To clean the surfaces by washing away carbon and metal particles caused
by wear.

ELASTOHYDRODYNAMIC LUBRICATION
 Elastohydrodynamic lubrication is the phenomenon that occurs when the
bearing material itself deforms elastically against the pressure built up of the
oil film.
 This type of lubrication occurs between cams and followers, gear teeth and
roller bearings where the contact pressures are extremely high.
 Hydrostatic lubrication is obtained by introducing the lubricant, which is
sometimes air or water, into the load-bearing area at a pressure high enough to
separate the surfaces with a relatively thick film of lubricant.
 So, unlike hydrodynamic lubrication, motion of one surface relative to another
is not required.

LUBRICATION OF ENGINE COMPONENTS
 In a reciprocating engine there are many surfaces in contact with each other
and therefore they should be lubricated to reduce friction. The principal
friction surfaces requiring lubrication in an internal combustion engine are
 (i) piston and cylinders
 (ii) crankshaft and their bearings
 (iii) crankpin and their bearings
 (iv) wristpin and their bearings
 (v) valve gear

LUBRICATION SYSTEM
 The function of a lubrication system is to provide sufficient quantity of cool,
filtered oil to give positive and adequate lubrication to all the moving parts of
an engine. The various lubrication systems used for internal combustion
engines may be classified as
 (i) mist lubrication system
 (ii) wet sump lubrication system
 (iii) dry sump lubrication system

CRANKCASE VENTILATION
 During the compression and the expansion strokes the gas inside the cylinder
gets past the piston rings and enters the crankcase which is called the blowby.
 It contains water vapour and sulphuric acid if either the oil or the fuel contains
appreciable amount of sulphur. They might cause corrosion of steel parts in
the crankcase. This may also promote sludge formation in the lubricating oil.
 When the amount of water vapour condensed becomes considerable, in cold
weather this may freeze and may cause damage to the lubricating oil pump.
Hence, it is imperative to remove the blowby from the crankcase.

 This removal of the blowby can be achieved
effectively by passing a constant stream of
fresh air through the crankcase known as
crankcase ventilation.
 By doing so, not only all the water vapour but
also a considerable proportion of the fuel in
the blowby may be removed from the
crankcase. The problem of excessive crankcase
dilution and the crankcase corrosion is at least
materially lessened. This type of crankcase
ventilation is illustrated in Fig.12.15.

PROPERTIES OF LUBRICANTS
 The duties of the lubricant in an engine are many and varied in scope. The
lubricant is called upon to limit and control the following: (i) friction between
the components and metal to metal contact
 (ii) overheating of the components
 (iii) wear and corrosion of the components

 To accomplish the above functions, the lubricant should have
 (i) suitable viscosity
 (ii) oiliness to ensure adherence to the bearings, and for less friction and wear
when the lubrication is in the boundary region, and as a protective covering
against corrosion
 (iii) high strength to prevent the metal to metal contact and seizure under
heavy load

 (iv) should not react with the lubricating surfaces
 (v) a low pour point to allow flow of the lubricant at low temperatures to the
oil pump
 (vi) no tendency to form deposits by reacting with air, water, fuel or the
products of combustion
 (vii) cleaning ability, nontoxic, non-inflammable, non-foaming characteristics
 (viii) low cost

SAE RATING OF LUBRICANTS
 Selection of the lubricant for engine application is based on the temperature at
which the engine is to be started and operated and the type of service to which
the engine is to be subjected to.
 The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) has been the first organization
that in June 1911 developed the SAE J300 standard that specifies Engine Oil
Viscosity Classification.
 Therefore, grade of the engine oil is defined by SAE J300 standard. They have
specified two grades for engine applications.

SINGLE-GRADE
 A single-grade engine oil cannot use a polymeric Viscosity Index Improver
additive. SAE J300 has eleven viscosity grades, of which six are considered
Winter-grades and given a W designation.
 The eleven viscosity grades are 0W, 5W, 10W, 15W, 20W, 25W, 20, 30, 40,
50, and 60. These numbers are often referred to as the ’weight’ of a motor oil;
and single-grade motor oils are often called ”straight-weight” oils.
 For single winter grade oils, the dynamic viscosity is measured at different
cold temperatures in units of mPa or the equivalent older non-SI units,
centipoise (cP), using two different test methods viz., the cold cranking
simulator (ASTMD5293) and mini-rotary viscometer (ASTMD4684).

SINGLE-GRADE
 Based on the coldest temperature at which the oil can flow, it is graded as 0W,
5W, 10W, 15W, 20W, or 25W. The lower is the viscosity grade, the lower will
be the temperature at which the oil can flow. For example, if an oil can flow at
the specifications for 10W and 5W, but fails for 0W, then that oil must be
labeled as an SAE 5W. That oil cannot be labeled as either 0W or 10W.
 For single non-winter grade oils, the kinematic viscosity is measured at a
temperature of 100 C in units of mm/s or the equivalent older non-SI units,
centistokes (abbreviated cSt).

SINGLE-GRADE
 Based on the range of viscosity the oil falls in at that temperature, the oil is
graded as SAE viscosity grade 20, 30, 40, 50, or 60. Higher the viscosity, the
higher is the SAE grade.
 For applications, where the temperature ranges in use are not very wide,
single-grade motor oil is satisfactory; for example, lawn mower engines,
industrial applications, and vintage or classic cars

MULTI-GRADE
 The temperature range the oil is exposed to in most automobiles can be wide.
For example it can range from cold temperatures in the winter before the
vehicle is started up, to hot operating temperatures when the vehicle is fully
warmed up in hot summer weather.
 A specific single-grade oil will have higher viscosity when cold and a lower
viscosity at the engine’s operating temperature. The difference in viscosities
for most single-grade oil is too large between the extremes of temperature.

MULTI-GRADE
 To bring the difference in viscosities closer together, special polymer additives
called Viscosity Index Improvers or V I Is are added to the oil.
 These additives are used to make the oil a multi-grade though it is possible to
have a multi-grade oil without the use of V I Is. The idea is to cause the multi-
grade oil to have the viscosity of the base grade when cold and the viscosity of
the second grade when hot.
 This enables one type of oil to be used all year. In fact, when multi-grades
were initially developed, they were frequently described as all-season oil.

MULTI-GRADE
 Present day engine oils are multi grade (viscosity) oils. The multi viscosity oil
is one that has a low viscosity when cold (for easier cranking) and a higher
viscosity when hot (to provide adequate lubrication). Multi grade oils are rated
at two different temperatures. The SAE designation for multi-grade oils
includes two viscosity grades. Multi grade oils are specified as SAE10W 30,
20W 40 etc.
 The first of the double numbers indicates the relative flow ability and the
second number indicates the relative resistances to film break down. For
example, a 10W 30 weight oil will flow easily (like a l0W oil) when starting a
cold engine.

MULTI-GRADE
 It will then act as a thicker oil (like 30 weight) when the engine warms up to
operating temperature. As such, it will provide adequate film strength
(thickness) when the engine is at full operating temperature.
 The service classification by API for diesel engine lubricating oils is
subdivided into three classes ranging from the least to the most severe service,
viz., DG, DM and DS. These correspond to the Diesel Good, Diesel Medium
and Diesel Severe service respectively. There are five service ratings for petrol
engine lubricating oils: SA,SB, SC, SD and SE. The oil differs in their
properties and in the additives they contain.

MULTI-GRADE
 Synthetic oils are now available for use in engines. The manufacturers claim
that these have superior lubricating properties. There are several basic types of
synthetic oils.
 The type most widely used at present is produced from organic acids and
alcohols (from plants of various types). A second type is produced from coal
and crude oil.

ADDITIVES FOR LUBRICANTS
 The lubricating oil should possess all the above properties for the satisfactory
engine performance. The modern lubricants for heavy duty engines are highly
refined which otherwise may produce sludge or suffer a progressive increase
in viscosity.
 For these reasons the lubricants are seasoned by the addition of certain oil-
soluble organic compounds containing inorganic elements such as phosphorus,
sulphur, amine derivatives. Metals are added to the mineral based lubricating
oil to exhibit the desired properties.
 Thus oil soluble organic compounds added to the present day lubricants to
impart one or more of the following characteristics.

 (i) anti-oxidant and anticorrosive agents
 (ii) detergent-dispersant
 (iii) extreme pressure additives
 (iv) pour point depressors
 (v) viscosity index improvers
 (vi) antifoam agent
 (vii) oiliness and film-strength agents


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IC ENGINES

Engr. Ali Raza

Internal Combustion Engines by V Ganesan

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

 These devices take away a part of the engine output.

 This loss is considered as negative frictional loss.

pump is supplied by the engine.

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

 A good percentage of the generated power output is spent to drive auxiliaries

 This is considered a loss because the presence of each of these components

reduces the net output of the engine.

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

fmep = mmep + pmep + amep + cmep

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

 mmep : mean effective pressure required to overcome mechanical friction

 pmep : Mean effective pressure required for charging and scavenging

 amep : mean effective pressure required to drive the auxiliary components

 cmep : mean effective pressure required to drive the compressor or scavenging

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

film of lubricant exists between the two bearing surfaces.

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

 Bearings of this type have a coefficient of friction which is nearly independent

of load and speed.

partly due to continuous climbing of roller.

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

during starting and initial running of engine.

 Rolling friction is negligible compared to total friction.

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

for direct metal to metal contact.

neglected while considering engine friction.

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

called the bearing.

circumference. The rotary motion may be either continuous or oscillatory.

performance of journal bearing under various operating conditions.

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

direction with time.

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB

Engr. Ali Raza Lecturer NUTECH ISB