University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Tribology of engineering and coated materials in the presence of environmentally friendly refrigerant

Akram, Mohammad

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Akram_Mohammad1.pdf

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/78320

Description

Title
Tribology of engineering and coated materials in the presence of environmentally friendly refrigerant
Author(s)
Akram, Mohammad
Issue Date
2015-03-10
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Polycarpou, Andreas A.
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Polycarpou, Andreas A.
Committee Member(s)
  • Economy, James
  • Bellon, Pascal
  • Jasiuk, Iwona
  • Dunn, Alison
Department of Study
Mechanical Sci & Engineering
Discipline
Mechanical Engineering
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Date of Ingest
2015-07-22T22:15:59Z
Keyword(s)
  • Aromatic Thermosetting Poyester (ATSP)
  • Polymeric Coatings
  • Tribofilm
  • Boundary Lubrication
  • Tribology
  • Hydrofluoroolefins (HFO-1234yf)
  • Environmentally Friendly Refrigerant
Abstract
In recent years, considerable effort has been devoted towards finding of alternative refrigerants due to environmental issues related to high global warming potential (GWP). Specifically, developing a system-compatible alternative refrigerant is of prime concern in order to reduce costs associated with design modifications. Among the candidate refrigerants, newly developed HFO-1234yf is considered as a direct substitution for the current R-134a refrigerant for possessing similar thermo -physical properties. However, in an actual system, a refrigerant circulates through different tribo-components where it interacts with the interfacial components (such as surface materials and lubricants), altering their tribological behavior. Therefore, the tribological performance of a refrigerant must be evaluated prior to widely used in refrigeration/ air-conditioning systems. Along this line, we have investigated the tribological performance of HFO-1234yf refrigerant under aggressive boundary lubrication conditions. Specifically, we have performed controlled tribo-experiments, simulating actual automotive air-conditioning compressor systems, to measure in-situ friction and near-contact temperature. Interestingly, we have observed a run-in instability in the frictional behavior for the case of HFO-1234yf refrigerant, unlike R-134a refrigerant. This intermediate instability is associated with decomposition of the reactive HFO-1234yf refrigerant at the contact interface under specific loading conditions. However, beneficial anti-wear tribofilms were shown to evolve throughout this process as revealed via Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) analysis. Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) in conjunction with X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopic (XPS) analysis identified the existence of Fluorine on these boundary films, attributing the fluorinated interaction at the contact zone. This fluorination, thus, facilitates formation of FeF3- enriched tribofilms over the cast iron based interface. In addition, we have demonstrated the influence of the loading conditions and state-or-art lubricants on the tribological compatibility of HFO-123yf refrigerant. Finally, the tribological performance of newly synthesized aromatic thermosetting polyester (ATSP), blended with 5% polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), namely ATSP/PTFE, has been evaluated under unlubricated and boundary lubricated conditions. Current state-of-art polymeric coatings have also been considered for comparative purposes. Tribological and morphological investigations revealed superior tribological performance for ATSP/PTFE. The better performance is attributed to segregated surface morphology associated with ATSP/PTFE
Graduation Semester
2015-5
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/78320
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2015 Mohammad Akram

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