Study of tribological characteristics of continuous variable transmission oils

Abstract

Reduction of friction and wear of moving parts in transmission is very important in order to get the best fuel efficiency and reduce loss of power. At all times, there must be fluid film to separate moving surfaces. Efficiency of fluid film depends on the tribological characteristic of its viscosity and temperature. The objectives of this study are to investigate the anti-friction and anti-wear characteristics of PROTON Continuous Variable Transmission Fluid (CVTF) and HONDA CVTF in different operating conditions. Several rotational speed, temperature and load have been evaluated for data analysis using a Four-ball Tester Machine. A charge-coupled device (CCD) microscope has been used to measure the wear scar diameter on the ball bearing. Results show that the frictional torque values of HONDA CVTF are lower than PROTON CVTF at speed of 1000rpm until 2000rpm. The magnitude of frictional torque does not affect the value of wear scar diameter. The PROTON CVTF gives better CVTF performance based on the lower value of wear scar diameter as compared to HONDA CVTF. Keywords : Frictional torque; coefficient of friction; average wear scar diameter; continuous variable transmission fluids