Page 17 - Dana Glacier Bearings Materials Brochure, designed and produced by Connell Marketing Associates, UK

Material Development
and Testing
Other more specialised rigs are designed to simulate specific applications. The Strut rig,
for example, measures the wear and friction behaviour of polymer bearings in shock
absorbers and McPherson Struts.
Testing Methods
Principle of Viper Wear Test Rig. Principle of Scorpio Flow Erosion Rig.
Thrust Washer Test Rig
Principle of the Strut Test Rig designed to investigate thrustwasher
The thrustwasher test rig was
solutions for gasoline engines
particularly those linked to automatic
transmissions where thrust loads on
the engine can be particularly high.
A procedure was developed to
simulate the most severe operating
conditions applied to the washer,
but its design, being computer
controlled can accommodate a
wide range of test cycles, load and
speed conditions. A comprehensive
logging system monitors the
progress of the tests.
In addition to solving specific
customer problems the rig has been
used to evaluate a wide range of
materials, and details of washer
design such as the configuration
of ramp and pad profiles. It can
also investigate system variables
including misalignment, thrust face
texture and method of manufacture.
Customer machining methods and
surface finishes for counterfaces
have been reproduced on CNC
equipment and their effect on system
integrity has been examined using
this test rig.
This rig is complimentary to the
Sapphire machine for developing
our understanding of the crankshaft
bearing system.
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