Engine lubrication oil aeration

The lubrication system of an internal combustion engine serves many purposes. It lubricates moving parts, cools the engine, removes impurities, supports loads, and minimizes friction. The entrapment of air in the lubricating oil is called oil aeration. Oil aeration can be detrimental to internal combustion (IC) engines. This study attempts to determine a means to reduce the level of aeration in a typical IC engine. Experiments were performed on a motored Ford 3.0L V6 DOHC engine which was capable of reaching speeds up to 8000 rpm. Oil was sampled from the sump in the pump pick up area. Sump temperature, oil volume, and engine speed were continuously monitored. Aeration measurements were made via an x-ray absorption technique using a machine called Air-X. A repeatability and reproducibility (R&R) study was performed initially. This study determined that the measurement technique was sufficiently repeatable within the tolerance of the Air-X machine. Tests were then performed which varied parameters such as engine speed, oil volume, and hardware design. Specifically, multiple designs of the windage tray, an engine component that separates the oil sump from the rotating crankshaft, were tested. Testing revealed that within the tolerance of the Air-X machine, the extent of the windage tray open area has no significant affect on the aeration level.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Baran, Bridget A. (Bridget Anne)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Wai K. Cheng.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/38713

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/38713