A Study on Wear and Friction of Passenger Vehicles Control Arm Ball Joints

Marek Wozniak, Krzysztof Siczek, Gustavo Ozuna and Przemyslaw Kubiak
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Marek Wozniak: Department of Vehicles and Fundamentals of Machine Design, Lodz University of Technology, 90-537 Łódź, Poland
Krzysztof Siczek: Department of Vehicles and Fundamentals of Machine Design, Lodz University of Technology, 90-537 Łódź, Poland
Gustavo Ozuna: Department of Industrial Engineering and Systems, University of Sonora, Hermosillo 83000, Mexico
Przemyslaw Kubiak: Institute of Vehicles and Construction Machinery Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, 02-524 Warszawa, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-29

Abstract: The following paper describes research on vehicle suspension elements: the ball joints. The worn surface roughness of selected ball pins and their bearings was compared in terms of vehicle mileage, utilization period, and car model. Ball pin roughness was measured using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), whereas for the bearing surface, a profilometer was used. The aim of this study was to determine the resistive torque in an unloaded ball joint. Using the finite element method, models of the unloaded ball joint were analyzed in two scenarios: with and without interference between the worn ball and its bearing. Calculated values of resistive torques in the ball joint were compared, and recommendations were given relative to the mileage and the time after which it was necessary to perform verification or replacement of the ball joints.

Keywords: ball joint; suspension; vehicle; STM microscope; roughness; finite element method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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