Lubricated sliding wear of gear material under electrification-A new approach to understanding of the influence of shaft currents in the wear of EV transmissions

Electrification of drivelines of electric vehicles (EVs) can give rise to damaging shaft voltages/currents that can potentially impair the tribological performance of sliding and rolling elements in these driveline systems. In fact, previous research has shown that the existence of shaft voltages/currents in electric machines is indeed highly detrimental for the service life of tribological components of EVs. Such currents/voltages originate from mag-netic flux asymmetry, inverter-induced voltage and triboelectrification and may also interfere with the normal sliding condition of other electrically conductive tribological components connected to the electric motors in addition to those that are comprised in the driveline, e.g., gears. In the past, the influence of shaft voltages/ currents in gear systems has been explored scarcely. Accordingly, this work aims to investigate specifically the lubricated sliding friction and wear behavior of gear materials under the influence of DC electrification. For this, many tests were conducted on a gear material in a two-electrode-cell-based pin-on-disc tribometer representing the sliding contact of a gear interface. The tests were run under different currents (0, 1.5 and 3 A) and using different lubricants (pure mineral base oil, gear oil and transformer oil). The differences in sliding contact temperature, coefficient of friction (CoF), wear volumes and underlying mechanisms, as well as the chemical changes occurred in the lubricating oils by electrification are analyzed and discussed. Overall, the results confirmed that electrification can indeed have a strong influence on friction and wear of gear materials besides increasing contact temperature and thus accelerating the oxidation at the sliding interfaces for all the lubricants. The increase in wear is most likely due to three-body abrasion caused by increased oxidation and/or oxide-based debris formation under electrification. CoF was found to decrease by electrification, which was ascribed to the formation of a larger wear scar (that reduced contact pressure) and continuous replenishment of an oxide layer affording Lower Friction To Sliding Surfaces.

Automated summary

The electrification of drivelines in electric vehicles can lead to harmful shaft voltages/currents that can damage the tribological performance of sliding and rolling elements. This study specifically investigates the effects of DC electrification on the lubricated sliding friction and wear behavior of gear materials. The results show that electrification significantly influences friction and wear, increases contact temperature, and accelerates oxidation at the sliding interfaces.