Article
Application of a Thermo-Hydrodynamic Model of a Viscous
Torsional Vibration Damper to Determining Its Operating
Temperature in a Steady State
Wojciech Homik, Aleksander Mazurkow and Paweł Wo´s *
Citation: Homik, W.; Mazurkow, A.;
Wo´s, P. Application of a
Thermo-Hydrodynamic Model of a
Viscous Torsional Vibration Damper
to Determining Its Operating
Temperature in a Steady State.
Materials 2021, 14, 5234. https://
doi.org/10.3390/ma14185234
Academic Editors: Liaoliang Ke and
Arkadiusz Gola
Received: 12 July 2021
Accepted: 6 September 2021
Published: 11 September 2021
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional affil-
iations.
Copyright: © 2021 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, Rzeszów University of Technology, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland;
whomik@prz.edu.pl (W.H.); almaz@prz.edu.pl (A.M.)
* Correspondence: pwos@prz.edu.pl; Tel.: +48-178651355
Abstract:
The problem of damping torsional vibrations of the crankshaft of a multi-cylinder engine
is very important from the point of view of the durability and operational reliability of the drive
unit. Over the years, attempts have been made to eliminate these vibrations and the phenomena
accompanying them using various methods. One of the methods that effectively increases the
durability and reliability of the drive unit is the use of a torsional vibration damper. The torsional
vibration damper is designed and selected individually for a given drive system. A well-selected
damper reduces the amplitude of the torsional vibrations of the shaft in the entire operating speed
range of the engine. This paper proposes a thermo-hydrodynamic model of a viscous torsional
vibration damper that enables the determination of the correct operating temperature range of the
damper. The input parameters for the model, in particular the angular velocities of the damper
elements as well as the geometric and mass dimensions of the damper were determined on a test
stand equipped with a six-cylinder diesel engine equipped with a factory torsional vibration damper.
The damper surface operating temperatures used in model verification were measured with a laser
pyrometer. The presented comparative analysis of the results obtained numerically (theoretically)
and the results obtained experimentally allow us to conclude that the proposed damper model gives
an appropriate approximation to reality and can be used in the process of selecting a damper for the
drive unit.
Keywords:
internal combustion engine; crankshaft; vibration damper; torsional vibrations; temperature;
saturation time
1. Introduction
The main functional assembly in reciprocating piston engines is the crankshaft with
connecting rods and pistons. The durability and reliability of the entire engine unit
depends on the durability and reliability of the crankshaft–piston system. Due to the
friction processes occurring inside, these elements require proper lubrication and constant
maintenance of the appropriate thickness of the oil film and conditions of engine operation.
This is especially important for crankshaft bearings and the piston and rings assembled
with cylinders [
1
]. Lubrication quality can also be significantly reduced by contaminants
entering the lubricating oil from the surrounding air. Therefore, for the long service life of
the engine, it is necessary to carefully consider an appropriate design and the efficiency of
the intake air filtration [2,3].
Regardless of the design and operational conditions, as well as servicing quality,
engine crankshaft–piston assembly still generates adverse vibroacoustic phenomena. These
are often treated marginally by the authors of papers on internal combustion engine
designs [4–6], who focus extensively on aspects such as:
• Engine designs;
• Types of ignition;
Materials 2021, 14, 5234. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14185234 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/materials
