Engine lubrication system is important for an Automobile Engine, as an Engine consists of various rotating and moving parts, so we need to lubricate it well otherwise they wear and tear out, and we may face Engine breakdown.
Before diving into the Lubrication System, let me give an overview of what is Lubricant and What it should be its property?
A lubricant is an artificial or natural fluid that has high viscosity is greasy and oily. It is used to reduce the friction between the moving parts. It is not only used in the Automobile industry but it is also used in the various fields where we need to reduce the friction between two bodies, however here our main focus is on the Automobile.
In an automobile engine, lubrication is not only used for reducing friction but it is also used for:
A lubricant is classified into the following categories:
And finally, let me discuss on the Properties what should have persisted in a Lubricant
A lubricant should have:
Now get into the Lubrication System in the Automobile.
The lubrication system is one of the most important maintenance operations of motor vehicles.
The absence of this system produces friction between the moving parts, produces a large amount of heat which results in serious problems like scoring of a cylinder, burning of bearings, striking of piston rings, excess fuel consumption, extra.
The main function of the system is to make the easy running of an engine and to reduce the rate of wear and tear on the vehicles.
This system reduces power loss due to friction.
It absorbs the heat from the engine part, thereby acting as a cooling agent in the engine of the vehicle.
It also provides the sealing action between moving parts.
The lubrication system can be classified into the following ways:
Splash lubrication system is used on small, stationary four-stroke engines.
In this system, the cap of the big end bearing on the connecting rod is provided with a scoop which strikes and dips into the oil-filled through at every revolution of the crankshaft, and oil is splashed all over the interior of the crankcase into the piston and cover the exposed portion of the cylinder is shown in the figure below.
A hole is drilled through the connecting rod cap through which the oil passes through the bearing surface.
Oil pockets are provided to catch the splashed oil over all the main bearings and also the camshaft bearings.
From these pockets, oil passes to the bearings through a drilled hole.
The surplus oil dripping from the cylinder flows back to the oil sump in the crankcase.
This system consists of two pumps.
The job of the lubrication system is to distribute oil to the moving parts to reduce friction between surfaces that rub against each other. The lubrication system used by the Wright brothers is quite simple. An oil pump is located on the bottom of the engine.
Types of Engine Lubrication System: Splash System. Pressure system. Dry-Sump System.
There are three different types of lubrication: boundary, mixed and full film. Each type is different, but they all rely on a lubricant and the additives within the oils to protect against wear.
Oil pan, pickup tube, oil pump, pressure relief valve, oil filter, spurt holes and galleries, and sump.
Lubrication plays a key role in the life expectancy of an engine. Without oil, an engine would succumb to overheating and seizing very quickly. Lubricants help mitigate this problem, and if properly monitored and maintained, can extend the life of your motor.
The lubrication system of an engine provides a supply of lubricating oil to the various moving parts in the engine. Its main function is to enable the formation of a film of oil between the moving parts, which reduces friction and wear. The lubricating oil is also used as a cleaner and in some engines as a coolant.
An Automatic Lubrication System (ALS), sometimes referred to as a Centralized Lubrication System (CLS), is a system that delivers controlled amounts of lubricant to multiple locations on a machine while the machine is operating.
Its basic functions within an engine include reducing friction, cooling, sealing, cleaning, and serving as protection for moving parts.
There are three main types of lubricants: oil-based, water-based, and silicone-based.
The most common methods used for lubrication in conventional methods are:
There are 4 types of lubricants: Oil, Grease, Penetrating Lubricants, and Dry Lubricants. The 2 most common lubricants you’ll be dealing with daily are oil and grease, however, your facility will still be using dry and penetrating lubricants.
Car lubricants play four major roles – they control friction and wear in the engine, they protect the engine from rusting, they cool the pistons, and they protect the engine oil stored in the sump from combustion gases. Indeed, viscosity is the most significant physical property of a lubricant.
Oil pumps are usually either inside the oil pan and driven by a camshaft or outside the pan and driven by a crankshaft. When those engine parts start moving, the pump starts working at the same time to pump oil to reduce friction and wear between moving parts and prevent the engine from seizing.
The cylinder walls and piston-pin bearings are lubricated by oil fling dispersed by the rotating crankshaft. The excess is scraped off by the lower ring in the piston. A bleed or tributary from the main supply passage feeds each camshaft bearing.
An oil film is used between engine parts to reduce friction and wear. Oil reduces the friction between the book and the table. Oil is the most common fluid used to provide lubrication.
Lubricant is a substance used to reduce friction between surfaces in contact which reduces heat generated when the surfaces move. The property of reducing friction between two particles is known as lubricity.
There are mainly three types of Lubrication Systems: Mist lubrication system. Wet sump lubrication system and. Dry-sump lubrication system.
An oil filter is a filter designed to remove contaminants from engine oil, transmission oil, lubricating oil, or hydraulic oil.
Base oil makes up nearly 80% of a motor oil formulation and additives make up the remaining nearly 20%. The chemically engineered molecules in synthetic base oil have more uniform properties while the molecules found in conventional base oil differ in shape and levels of impurity.
Lubricants aim at reducing friction between moving pieces and at reducing passive resistance of the stationary parts. They are produced by refining heavy fractions of crude oil (remaining crude oil parts after refining hydrocarbons such as gas, fuel oil or kerosene).
White-colored grease with PTFE specially formulated for use on most mechanisms: sliding guides, chains, open gears, plain bearings…, used in industry and in particular in the food sector. The presence of PTFE ensures the formation of a dry film. It reduces friction and avoids fouling by solid contaminants.
There are three methods of lubricating LM systems: manual greasing using a grease gun or manual pump forced greasing with the aid of an automatic pump, and oil-bath lubrication.
Oil can also be used to lubricate mechanical systems, but contrary to grease and lubricant, you pour the oil into the system, after which it is automatically lubricated. It is therefore important to regularly check the oil of a system and change or replenish it if necessary.
Typically, lubricants contain 90% base oil (most often petroleum fractions, called mineral oils) and less than 10% additives. Vegetable oils or synthetic liquids such as hydrogenated polyolefins, esters, silicones, fluorocarbons, and many others are sometimes used as base oils.
Lubricating oil is refined from crude oil. After undergoing a purifying process called sedimentation, the crude oil is heated in huge fractionating towers. The various vapors which can be used to make fuel, waxes, or propane, among other substances boil off and are collected at different points in the tower.
Four-stroke engines are lubricated by oil held in an oil sump. The oil is distributed through the engine by splash lubrication or a pressurized lubrication pump system; these systems may be used alone or together. Splash lubrication is achieved by partly submerging the crankshaft in the oil sump.
A bad oil pump will lose the ability to properly pump oil through your system. This will result in low oil pressure that could lead to further vehicle damage. Increased engine operating temperature.
