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A Tribological Study of Synchronizing Devices Used in Car Gearboxes
Article in ARCHIVE Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part D Transport Engineering 1984-1988 (vols 198-202) · June 1989
DOI: 10.1243/PIME_PROC_1989_203_156_02
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Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers, Part D: Journal of Automobile
Engineering
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A Tribological Study of Synchronizing Devices Used in Car Gearboxes
D Denizot, C Roques-Carmes, G Monteil and J Lonchampt
Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D: Journal of Automobile Engineering 1989 203: 111
DOI: 10.1243/PIME_PROC_1989_203_156_02
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111
A tribological study of synchronizing devices used in
car gearboxes
D Denizot, PhD, MEng and C Roques-Carmes, DSc
Laboratoire de Microanalyse des Surfaces, ENSMM, Besancon, France
G Monteil, PhD, CEng and J Lonchampt
Laboratoire de Corrosion Frottement, Centre Technique de Belchamp, MontMliard,France
Tests were carried out using a computerized test-bench that allowed typical vehicle synchronizers to be studied. Comparisoy were then
made possible between two diflerent sychronizing devices (new-process, Borg- Warner). The various phases characterizing synchro-
nization were put into the equation, taking account of the kinetic and geometric parameters of the synchronizer components. Studies by
ESCA showed that the reactional mechanism under sliding was based on an additive adsorption process.
1 INTRODUCTION where F is the axial force, pc is the friction coefficient
The efficiency of the synchronizing devices is based on relative to the cone-cone sliding, R, is the mean radius
the evaluation of the wear of the synchronizer com- of the cones and f3 is the cone angle.
ponents. During synchronization, the blocking chamfers of the
The wear tests are carried out on vehicles or by ring and those of the sleeve are brought into contact
means of test-benches that allow serial synchronizers to and remain subjected to an axial force F generating a
be studied. The chemical composition of the lubricant blocking torque CR:
and the metallurgical properties of the surfaces play an
important role in the wear process. The effect of these
parameters upon the friction coefficient is analysed on a
Borg-Warner synchronizer (1,2).
However, the tribochemical reactions occurring at where p, , R, and 8 are in this case relative to the block-
interfaces remain difficult to assess. It is planned to ing chamfers.
determine the various phases characterizing synchro- The synchronizer positivity is then defined by
nization that are put into equation, taking account of
some mechanical and physicochemical parameters. F cos 8 - pr sin 8
The tests have been performed with various lubri- ARC sinf3> FR, sin 8 - pr cos 8 (3)
cants: an engine oil, a gear oil and neutral base oil
without additives. Particular attention has been paid to
the study of the wear kinetics of the synchronizer with
respect to the oil formulation. For example, an assess-
ment has been performed by analysing the wear con-
taminants in the oil and the measurements of the
evolution of the shape of the synchronizer teeth for each
oil formulation
Studies by ESCA show that the reaction mechanism
under sliding is based simply on a mere oil adsorption
process on the opposing contact surfaces.
2 SYNCHRONIZER PARAMETERS
A general schematic of the Borg-Warner synchronizer
used is shown in Fig. 1. The various phases of synchro-
nization (equalization of the cone rotating speeds,
lock-up and final movement of the sleeve splines) can be
put into equation by using geometrical and kinematic
parameters. A detailed explanation of all the relations is
given in reference (3).
2.1 Static characteristics
The synchronizing torque Cscan be written as follows:
a Gear
b Synchronizing ring
c Sleeve
d Shaft
The M S was receiwd on 9 September 1987 and was accepted for publication on 2
June 1988. Fig. 1 General schematic of the Borg-Warner synchronizer
DO3688 @IMechE 1989 0954-4062 $2.00 + .05 Proc Instn Mceh Engrs Vol203
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112 D DENIZOT, C ROQUES-CARMES, G MONTEIL AND J LONCHAMPT
where miis the initial speed and wfis the final speed.
Since
As1 and -
C2F 1, < 0.1
1, c, J e
then
Fig. 2 Dynamical parameters of the Borg-Warner synchro- 3 TEST METHODS AND EQUIPMENT
nizer
The general schematic of the bench is shown in Fig. 3.
A maximum blocking torque is obtained when p, = 0. Two types of criteria are involved in the tests. Firstly,
Thus those controlling synchronization :
the relative speed of the cones,
--
R~ >tan 6
C
' (4) the stress applied to the gearbox fork,
R, sin j?
the gear inertia,
This relation allows the angles (6, B) and the radii (R,, the chemical composition and temperature of the oil,
R,) to be selected. Thus the ratio RJR, appears as an
and secondly, the geometrical and metallurgical param-
important geometrical parameter.
Relation (3) enables the minimum value of the static eters :
friction coefficient p, to be determined: the cone angle B,
the blocking chamfer and lock-up angle 6,
R, sin B - pc R, tan r,, the value and position of the maximum of the inter-
'r> +
R, sin tan 8 p C R c lock ball force,
In practice, the values of 8, j?, pc and pr are optimized in all the metallurgical properties of the bearing sur-
order to increase the synchronizer longevity. faces.
The bench is equipped with sensors allowing the mea-
2.2 Dynamic characteristics surement of the main parameters of synchronization,
that is,
A simplified schematic of the synchronizer is shown in
Fig. 2. Two parts can be distinguished. A first part, the initial and final gear speeds
linked to the gear, whose parameters are the stress applied to the gearbox fork,
the synchronizing torque,
I, = equivalent inertia of parts between engine the shift of the synchronizing sleeve,
clutch and gear the mean oil temperature.
CIF= friction torque relative to the gear
$C = rotating angle of the gear The time evolution of these parameters is recorded on
a computer.
and a second part, linked to the synchronizer, whose
parameters are
4 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS CONCERNING THE
Je= equivalent inertia between the vehicle and the TRIBOLOGICAL APPROACH
rotating parts of the synchronizer
CZF= friction torque relative to the synchronizer 4.1 Role of the geometrical parameters of
u = rotating angle of the synchronizer the synchronizer
The first results are about the new-process synchronizer.
According to the kinetic moment theorem, The geometrical and metallurgical characteristics of the
rotating cones are shown in Fig. 4 and Table 1.
For the gear: d24
I , -= f Cs - CiF (6) Table 1 Chemical composition of the cones relative to the
dt2
new-process synchronizer
d2a A1 alloy Fe Si cu Mn Mg Al
For the synchronizer: J, -= k C, - C,, (7)
dt2 wt% 0.43 9.5 0.015 0.34 0.30 bal.
Consider the following hypotheses: Steel C Si Mg P S Fe
1. The friction torques CIFand c , F are constant during wt% 0.14 0.005 0.30 0.0015 0.0032 bal.
synchronization.
2. The synchronizing torque Cs is independent of time The results shown in Figs 5 and 6 can be summarized
as follows
Cs can be expressed with respect to the synchronizing
time is by the relation 1. The synchronizing time ts is proportional to I,.
2. ts is inversely proportional to F.
3. ts is proportional to the relative speed (ai- of)for
high stresses and low relative speeds.
Part C: Journal of Mechanical Enginering Science Q IMechE 1989
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A TRIBOLOGICAL STUDY OF SYNCHRONIZING DEVICES USED IN CAR GEARBOXES 113
i
a Primary shaft
b Sleeve
c Steelcone
d Clutch fork
e Forkshaft
f Endshaft
d e
Fig. 3 Schematic representation of the test-stand
4. The static synchronizing and friction torques are +0.075
-n
proportional to F.
The mean values of the dynamic (pc) and static (pCs)
friction coefficients can then be deduced: pc N 0.12,
pcs = 0.11.
As an example of the power of this measuring tool
comparative results are given for the same relations
with the Borg-Warner synchronizers. The main charac-
teristics of these two synchronizers are listed in Table 2.
Table 2 Characteristics of the friction parts of the types of
synchronizers
Synchronizer Cone Ring
type metallurgy metallurgy Geometry
New-process Steel Al alloy Ring is going
into the cone ring
wnchronization
Fig. 4 Geometrical parameters of a cone synchronizer rela-
Borg-Warner Molybdenum Sintered Ring is going tive to the new-process device
coated steel alloyed steel onto the
cone during
svncronization The dynamic and static friction coefficients of these two
systems are gathered in Table 3. These results also show
These results show that the ratio R,/sin /3 equals 0.38 that the new-process system has a better friction efi-
for the new-process system and 0.27 for the Borg- ciency than the Borg-Warner system.
Warner system.
Two empirical laws can then be written:
Table 3 Dynamic and static friction coefficients
CsN 0.039F for the new-process system relative to the synchronizers studied
C, N 0.025F for the Borg-Warner system
pc(dyn=ic) r,@aW pJpos
The synchronizing times are such that New-process 0.11 0.12 0.90
BoreWarner 0.09 0.15 0.60
t,(Borg-Warner) cy 1.6t&ew-process)
0. I5 I
0.11
0 5000 20 000 40 OOO
pc
0.05
I
(a)
-.
Cvcles
Fig. 5 Evolution of the friction coeficient relative to the cone-cone sliding during the resist-
ance test. The synchronizer is of the new-process type. The lubricant is (a) a gear oil
or (b) a neutral oil
C15287 @IMechE 1989 Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 203
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114 D DENIZOT, C ROQUES-CARMES, G MONTEIL AND J LONCHAMPT
A A
0.3. I .2-
0.9.
0.2-
E E
0.6.
I
0.1.
0.3.
*
0 5000 20 OOO 40000 0 1000 2000 3000
Cycles Cycles
(a) (b)
Fig. 6 Evolution of the cone shift ( x ) , tooth width ( 0 )and tooth height (0)during the
resistance test. The synchronizer is of the new-process type. The lubricant is (a) a gear
oil or (b) a neutral oil
4.2 Role of the lubricant The results show that the cone, which is made of an
Three oil formulations have been selected to character- aluminium alloy (ASlOG), exhibits an oxide surface
ize the wear resistance of a given synchronizer (new layer (A1203).It was found that there was no chemical
process) : reaction between the lubricant additives and the cone
surface.
Neutral oil (130) Small traces of additives are found adsorbed on the
Engine oil (10 W 40) surface. After a few seconds ion sputtering eliminates all
Gear oil (75 W 80 W) these marks. Alumina particles are also found in the
oxidized steel surface of the opposing cone.
As regards the dynamic friction coefficient, two behav- These observations allow a tentative explanation to
iours are observed according to the lubricant used (see be put forward for the high friction, low wear rate
Fig. 5):
mechanism of synchronization. The alumina layer,
1. When an engine oil or a gear oil (additive containing which is constantly regenerated, prevents any direct
oils) is used, p, reached a steady value (0.10) very fast. contact between the aluminium matrix and the steel
2. When a neutral oil is used, pc exhibits significant surface of the opposing cones. Its chemical composition
variations around a mean value of 0.13. is independent of the lubricant used. However, when an
additive-containing oil is used, the additives adsorb and
The wear results of the synchronizing ring are col- produce a monolayer which prevents the degradation of
lected in Fig. 6. The most noticeable variations concern the alumina layer. On the other hand, when the oil does
the longevity of the synchronizing ring. It can be seen not contain any additives, this alumina layer can be
that the wear rate, which is measured indirectly by the destroyed, which will result in a contact between steel
cone shift, is four times higher after 40oO cycles when a and aluminium and then in a degradation of the alu-
neutral oil is used than after 40000 cycles when an minium cone.
engine oil or a gear oil is used. It turns out that an
additivecontaining oil alters slightly the shape of the
gear teeth, whereas a neutral oil causes very important 6 CONCLUSION
degradation. Tribological systems are often very complicated. Many
The systematic measurements of the widths and parameters have a marked influence on the friction
heights during the resistance tests allow us to conclude characteristics and the lubricant action between the
that the gear teeth are truncated in the early stage of the opposing surfaces. The aim of this work was to develop
wear process and that the oils perform a selective role a test rig which can be used to study any type of syn-
which is expressed by a more or less important amount chronizer for industrial applications. In addition, the
of plastic deformation. purpose of such a rig is to use real components in their
The measurement of the evolution of the aluminium real situation. Thus this rig was designed to be as close
content in the various oils confirms these results. as possible to real gearboxes. It was also designed to
allow the functional parameters of the tribological
5 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS RELATIVE TO THE process to be measured. Further improvements were
PHYSICOCHEMICAL APPROACH built up to study the oil film thickness during the syn-
The results are about the analyses by ESCA of samples chronization phases. According to the theory presented
submitted to wear tests using in this paper, simple laws can characterize any synchro-
nizing device. The different devices can be compared by
A neutral oil containing a zinc dithiophosphate addi- means of selected criteria.
tive (ZDPP) Moreover, the study of evolution of the dynamic fric-
An engine oil (10 W 40) tion coefficient during a resistance test enables the deg-
A gear oil (75 W 80 W-GLS) radation of opposing surfaces to be known.
Roc lnstn Mech Engrs Vol203 C15287 @IMechE 1989
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A TRIBOLOGICAL STUDY OF SYNCHRONIZING DEVICES USED IN CAR GEARBOXES 115
Owing to the methods used to quantify the synchro- REFERENCES
nizing ring wear, it can be seen that the degradation 1 Walters, L. K. Manual transmission synchronizers. SAE Paper
mode is basically dependent on the lubricant additives. 680008,1968.
Furthermore, ESCA spectrometry allows the presen- 2 O’Connor, B. M. A. and Bell, A. F. Evaluation of lubricant per-
tation of a surface degradation mechanism under fric- formance for synchromesh transmission applications. Second Inter-
tion which is mainly controlled by an alumina layer national Symposium on The performance evaluation of automotive
fuels and lubricants, Wolfsburg, 1985, Vol. 4, pp. 1.1-1.20.
being constantly regenerated in the presence of addi- 3 Denimt, D. Engineeringthesis held in Besanpn ENSMM, 1986.
tives. 4 Montgomery, R. S. The effect of alcohols and ethers on the wear
Finally, it should be stressed that there is no tri- behaviour of aluminium. Wear, 1965,8,456478.
bochemical reaction between the lubricant additives 5 St Pierre, L. E. Chemical effects in the boundary lubrication of
aluminium. Wear, 1966,9,160-168.
and the opposing surfaces. The results are in agreement 6 Kawamura, M. Antiwear property of lubricant additives for high
with recent studies on the wear behaviour of silicon-aluminium alloy under boundary lubricating. Wear, 1983,
aluminium-silicon alloys (AS18) sliding on steel when a 89,99-105.
ZDPP neutral oil is used (4-6).These authors reached
the same conclusion based on adsorption phenomena.
Further intensive work is needed to elucidate some
probable steps in the chemical contribution to the wear
mitigation of the synchronizers.
C15287 OXMechE 1989 Roc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 203
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