Radioactive wear tests of four cylinder liner materials

An investigation on the wear properties of various liner materials, financed by a research grant from NTNF (Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research), is reported. The investigation was carried out by the Division of Internal Combustion Engines, Trondheim, Univ.,Norway, on a two-stroke, turbocharged, medium speed diesel engine (Wichmann 2ACAT, 280 by 420 mm). Thin pearlitic cast iron inserts of various compositions were pressed into the upper part of a specially machined cylinder liner. These inserts were activated in a nuclear reactor, and tracer techniques employed to measure the wear rate. Gas oil was used as a fuel throughout all tests. The insert technique employed, and the handling methods devised, were satisfactory. This part of the project must be characterised as being very successful. Originally, six different liner materials were specified, but due to misunderstandings duplications resulted in only four different materials finally being received at the laboratory. The engine tests disclosed that the wear rates of all four materials were low under laboratory conditions, and therefore difficult to measure accurately. Nevertheless, the wear properties of the inserts clearly fell into two distinct classes, which may be termed good and excellent. The relative values inside each group are, however, more uncertain due to the cumulative effects of errors, instrument drift, measurement statistics, etc. (Auth.)