EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON HIGH-SPEED CHARACTERISTICS OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINE OIL-PUMP CHAIN

The high-speed multi-cycle impact and speed, load fluctuant characteristics of a kind of narrow-width automotive engine oil-pump chain 06BN-1 are studied through engine assembly and road-drive tests to satisfy the light-weight demand of engine. The worn surface morphologies of rubbing area between pin, bush and roller are also analyzed based on scanning electron microscope. The results show that the main wear mechanism of automotive engine oil-pump chain is fatigue wear, and it’s failure mechanism is the forming, extending and flaking of cracks on top layer of pin and bush. Pin and bush both occurred cycle-soften phenomenon, and roller occurred cycle-harden. Fretting wear is one of the most important “fall to pieces” failure causes of automotive chain. Ensuring sufficient strength and plasticity of roller, as well as adopting suitable shaping technology are the effective methods to increase its resistance to multi-cycle impact.