This article describes the benefits that can be achieved by using thermal spray on particular engine parts of an automobile. These include improvement in fuel consumption, wear resistance and bonding, and reduction of oil consumption, exhaust heat loss, and cooling heat loss. Typical engine parts are cylinder blocks, cylinder bores, cast iron cylinder liners, piston rings, connecting rod bearings, turbochargers, engine valve lifters, exhaust system parts, and oxygen sensors. The article also describes the benefits of using thermal spray on transmission parts such as synchronizer rings and torque converters.

Lapping is the lower-pressure, lower-speed, and lower-power application of the use of fixed abrasives. This article begins with a discussion on the process capabilities of lapping and reviews the selection of abrasive and vehicle for lapping. It describes the methods of lapping outer cylindrical surfaces, namely, ring lapping, machine lapping between plates, centerless roll lapping with loose abrasives, and centerless lapping with bonded abrasives. In addition, the article discusses the methods employed for lapping of outer surfaces of piston rings, crankshafts, inner cylindrical surfaces, flat surfaces, end surfaces, spherical surfaces, balls, spring like parts, and gears. It also reviews the problems in flat and end lapping. The article concludes information on the use of lapping in accelerated wearing-in process for matching and aligning components of bearing assemblies.

This article focuses on friction, lubrication, and wear of internal combustion engine parts, improvements in which provide important gains in energy efficiency, performance, and longevity of the internal combustion (IC) engine systems. It discusses the types, component materials, and Friction and Wear Control of IC engine. The article explains the process of friction reduction by surface textures or coatings. It provides information on surface hardening of iron and steel, which is commonly employed for engine and powertrain components such as crankshafts, cams, and cylinder liners. The article also discusses advanced surface engineering technologies, such as diamondlike carbon coatings and surface texture technology. Information on thermal-spray methods that have led to improvements in engine components is also provided. The article describes IC engine-components wear, namely, piston assembly wear, valvetrain wear, cylinder-bore wear, and engine bearing wear. It concludes with information on inlet valve and seat wear of IC engine.

Seals are mechanical components that prevent the leakage, diffusion, transfer, or mixing of different liquid, gas, solid, and multiphasic substances. This article begins by discussing the classifications of seals: static and dynamic. Static seals involve both self-energizing elastomeric materials such as O-rings, which merely react to a sealed fluid pressure, and passive materials that require clamping forces to achieve sealing, such as gaskets. The types of dynamic seals include rotary seals and reciprocating seals. The article describes the factors affecting seal wear and failure. It provides a list of some common seal wear modes and failures, namely abrasion, cavitation damage, chemical attack, compression set, corrosion, damage during abrupt decompression, dieseling damage, extrusion damage, installation damage, spiral or rolling damage, and vaporization damage. The article concludes with specific recommendations for reducting of seal friction and wear.

Cast irons have been widely used by engineers in applications that require low cost, excellent castability, good damping capacity, ease of machining, and wear resistance. This article discusses the classification of wear for cast irons: adhesive wear, abrasive wear, and erosive wear. Typical wear applications for a variety of cast iron grades are listed in a table. The article reviews the general wear characteristics of gray irons, compacted graphite (CG) irons, and ductile irons. It discusses the typical compositions and properties of white and chilled iron castings. Gray cast iron is the dominant material for both brake drums and disk brake rotors. The article reviews brake lining chemistry effects, graphite morphology effects, and external abrasive effects on brake drums. It concludes with information on cast iron grinding balls.

This article presents typical wear applications for a variety of cast iron grades in a table. In general, wear is classified according to three major types: adhesive (frictional) wear (sliding and rolling) caused by contact of one metallic surface with another; abrasive wear caused by contact with metallic (shots, swarf) or nonmetallic abrasive materials; and erosive wear. The article discusses general wear characteristics of gray iron, compacted gray iron, and ductile iron. It provides information on the brake lining chemistry effects, graphite morphology effects, normal cast iron wear, local cast iron wear, and external abrasive effects on brake drums and disk brake rotors made of gray cast iron. The article concludes with a discussion on the application of cast iron for grinding balls.

Pumps and compressors are representative fluid machineries, which are indispensably important industrial equipment for water supply systems, chemical processing and reactions, and fluid power systems. This article addresses friction, lubrication, and wear of components in several types of machines such as positive displacement pumps including hydraulic pumps, turbo-pumps including centrifugal pumps, vacuum pumps, and compressors including the positive displacement type and turbo type.

Radionuclide methods for wear measurement are used to measure wear continuously throughout a tribological experiment at a resolution of nanometers or micrograms per hour. This article presents an overview of radionuclide methods for wear measurement. It discusses complementary wear measurement methods to introduce the advantages of using radioactive isotopes (RI) for wear or corrosion measurements in comparison to other methods. The article provides information on radiation safety regulations and approaches to minimize external radiation exposure. It describes neutron activation, thin layer or surface layer activation, and ultrathin layer or recoil activation that are used to create radioactive isotopes in the samples to be tested. The article reviews the two common types of wear measurement setup configurations: the direct method and the indirect method. It concludes with a discussion on the practical application of wear measurement using radioactive isotopes.