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A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2022) | Viewed by 18631

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Nikola Vukašinović

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Guest Editor

LECAD - Laboratory for Engineering Design, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: machine design with polymer materials; product design; advanced solutions in CAD

Dr. Borut Černe

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Guest Editor

LECAD - Laboratory for Engineering Design, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: polymers; polymer gears; numerical analysis; power transmissions; thermo-mechanical modeling; experimental testing

Dr. Damijan Zorko

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Guest Editor

LECAD - Laboratory for Engineering Design, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: polymers, gears, power transmissions, testing, engineering design, numerical analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The use of engineering grade and high-performance polymers in power transmission systems has experienced an exponential increase in the last couple of decades. Ever higher performance demands require a thorough and comprehensive understanding of all mechanical, tribological, thermal, and other related physical properties of the employed polymers and their behavior in real-life applications. The purpose of this Special Issue is to present the most recent insights related to the engineering properties of various polymers’ power transmission components, including all aspects of their behavior during production and operation. The scope of this Special Issue includes but is not limited to:

Special applications in polymer power transmissions;
Special applications in polymer micro gears, micro mechanisms, micro power transmissions;
Design methods: load carrying capacity (new or improved models for fatigue, wear, and temperature prediction), design of non-involute gears, tooth shape optimization (tip relief, root fillet optimization);
Manufacturing: 3D printing, advanced injection molding techniques (process parameters), injection-compression molding, etc.;
Advanced materials: biopolymers, composites;
Quality control: geometrical quality control (tactile and optical methods), void control (tomography), crystallinity;
Advanced numerical studies of polymer power transmission systems;
Novel experimental testing methods.

Prof. Dr. Nikola Vukašinović
Dr. Borut Černe
Dr. Damijan Zorko
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Polymer power transmissions
Polymer micro gears, micro mechanisms, micro power transmissions
Design methods
Polymer part manufacturing
Polymer part prototyping
Quality control
Numerical studies
Experimental methods

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 6009 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Agile Development of Polymer Power Transmission Systems for e-Mobility—A Novel Methodology Based on an e-Bike Drive Case Study

by Ivan Demšar, Borut Černe, Jože Tavčar, Nikola Vukašinović and Damijan Zorko

Polymers 2023, 15(1), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15010068 - 24 Dec 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2643

Abstract

The market for electric bicycles has grown extremely and developed rapidly in recent years. To enter such a market with a new product, the development process has to be fast, and throughout the process, feedback from future potential customer(s) should be sought in order to achieve the best possible market acceptance. The article presents the design process of a pedelec e-bike central drive system. The authors were members of the development team and the designers of the mechanical transmission, and therefore had a good overview of the whole project. The development process and the set-up of production require a certain amount of time, during which design changes are inevitable due to changes in customer expectations and demands. The development team should respond to these changes and take them into account during development. Only the ability to react to changes and constant communication with the customer will ultimately lead to a product that can be commercially successful. Based on a critical review of the successfully completed project, general guidelines were established for the development of mechatronic products that consider the principles of Agile methodology. Particular attention was paid to the development of polymer gears, as these were the most demanding components in the system. The presented guidelines were based on an overview of the e-bike R&D process presented, but they can be generalized and used in the development process of any technical physical product. Agile methods were developed in the field of software development and therefore cannot be directly transferred to the field of physical product development. The article highlights and discusses individual special features that distinguish agile development of physical products from software development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Gears, Mechanisms and Transmissions)

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24 pages, 11152 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Automotive Test Parameters on Dry Friction Fiber-Reinforced Clutch Facing Surface Microgeometry and Wear—Part 2

by Roland Biczó and Gábor Kalácska

Polymers 2022, 14(9), 1757; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14091757 - 26 Apr 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1839

Abstract

Coefficient of friction values, wear and surface roughness differences are revealed using pin-on-disc test apparatus examinations under three pv loads, where samples are cut from a reference, unused, and several differently aged and dimensioned, used, dry friction fiber-reinforced hybrid composite clutch facings. Tests are characterized by surface activation energy and separated into Trend 1, ‘clutch killer’, and 2, ‘moderate’, groups from our previous study. The results reveal that acceptable, 0.41–0.58, coefficient of friction values among Trend 1 specimens cannot be reached during high pv tests, though the −0.19–−0.11 difference of minimum and maximum pv results disappears when activation energy reaches 179 MJ. The maximum pv friction coefficient can decrease by up to 30% at working diameter due to clutch killer test circumstances, as 179 MJ surface activation energy is applied, while by moderate tests such losses can only be detected close to 2000 MJ energy values among small-sized facings. Besides that, Trend 2 specific wear values are the third of trend 1 results at inner diameter specimens. Compared to reference facing values, specific wear results at working diameter under maximum pv decrease by 47–100%, while increasing specific wear during lifetime can only be detected at the inner diameter of facings enduring clutch killer tests or that are small-sized facings. Among Trend 1 radial and tangential Ra delta results, inner diameter samples provide more decreasing surface roughness data, while by Trend 2 values, the opposite relation is detected. Apart from the effects of activation energy, mileage and driver profile, facing size and friction diameter influence is also revealed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Gears, Mechanisms and Transmissions)

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19 pages, 4584 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comprehensive Areal Geometric Quality Characterisation of Injection Moulded Thermoplastic Gears

by Uroš Urbas, Damijan Zorko, Nikola Vukašinović and Borut Černe

Polymers 2022, 14(4), 705; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14040705 - 12 Feb 2022

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2375

Abstract

Injection moulding is currently the most widely employed production method for polymer gears. Current standardised gear metrology methods, which are based on metal gear inspection procedures, do not provide the key information regarding the geometric stability of injection moulded gears and are insufficient for a thorough gear inspection. The study developed novel areal quality parameters, along with a so-called moulding runout quality parameter, with a focus on the injection moulding method. The developed parameters were validated on twenty-nine gear samples, produced in the same moulding tool using various processing parameters. The gears were measured using a high-precision structured-light 3D scanner. The influence of injection moulding process parameters on the introduced novel quality parameters was investigated. The developed moulding runout quality parameter proved to be effective in evaluating the shrinkage that can occur in the injection moulding process. The novel moulding runout parameter returned an average value of −21.8 μm in comparison to 29.4 μm exhibited by the standard parameter on all the gears, where the negative value points directly to mould shrinkages. The rate of cooling was determined to be the most influential factor for the shrinkage of the gear. The developed areal parameters demonstrated to be advantageous in characterising the deviations on the teeth more comprehensively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Gears, Mechanisms and Transmissions)

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16 pages, 7178 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Noise Evaluation of S-Polymer Gears

by Boštjan Trobentar, Matija Hriberšek, Simon Kulovec, Srečko Glodež and Aleš Belšak

Polymers 2022, 14(3), 438; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14030438 - 22 Jan 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2333

Abstract

In this study, an acoustic behaviour of S-polymer gears made of the material combination POM/PA66 was investigated and compared to the standardised involute gears (E-gears). Basic evaluating characteristics included noise during operation, which is of particular significance when noise reduction is expected. The measured signals were analysed in time and frequency domains and the levels of acoustic activity were compared. The experimental results have shown that the sound pressure level of both E- and S-polymer gears are proportional to the torque. However, the comprehensive noise evaluation has shown some advantages of S-polymer gears if compared to the E-polymer gears. In that respect, S-polymer gears were found more appropriate for noise reduction of gear drive systems in the case of normal loading and typical drive speed. Future studies in the operating behaviour of S-polymer gears could also cover noise evaluation using new methods of sound signal analysis at different temperatures of gears. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Gears, Mechanisms and Transmissions)

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31 pages, 11407 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Automotive Test Parameters on Dry Friction Fiber-Reinforced Clutch Facing Surface Microgeometry and Wear

by Roland Biczó, Gábor Kalácska and Tamás Mankovits

Polymers 2021, 13(22), 3896; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13223896 - 11 Nov 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2090

Abstract

Wear and surface microgeometry aspects of fiber-reinforced hybrid composite dry friction clutch facings are revealed in a novel way: after different, real life automotive tests during their lifetime. This study examines and reveals the tribological response of friction material surfaces to real life application conditions with two different facing diameters and in two directions. Along the increasing activation energy scale, wear values increased according to two different trends, sorting tests into two main groups, namely ‘clutch killer’ and ‘moderate’. Wear results also highlighted the influence of mileage and test conditions, with clutch killer tests also creating considerable wear-more than 0.1 mm-at inner diameters: 1% higher wear was generated by 90% higher mileage; another 1% increment could be caused by insufficient cooling time or test bench-specific conditions. Surface roughness values trends varied accordingly with exceptions revealing effects of facing size, friction diameter and directions and test conditions: small (S) facings produced significantly decreased Rmax roughness, while large (L) and medium (M) size facings had increased roughness values; Rmax results showed the highest deviations among roughness values in radial direction; tests run with trailer and among city conditions resulted in more than 2% thickness loss and a 40–50% roughness decrease. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Gears, Mechanisms and Transmissions)

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13 pages, 4951 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Investigation of the Wear Behaviour of Coated Polymer Gears

by Brigita Polanec, Franc Zupanič, Tonica Bončina, Frančišek Tašner and Srečko Glodež

Polymers 2021, 13(20), 3588; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13203588 - 18 Oct 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2694

Abstract

A comprehensive experimental investigation of the wear behaviour of coated spur polymer gears made of POM is performed in this study. The three physical vapour deposition (PVD) coatings investigated were aluminium (Al), chromium (Cr), and chromium nitrite (CrN). Al was deposited in three process steps: By plasma activation, metallisation of Al by the magnetron sputtering process, and by plasma polymerisation. Cr deposition was performed in only one step, namely, the metallization of Cr by the magnetron sputtering process. The deposition of CrN was carried out in two steps: the first involved the metallization of Cr by the magnetron sputtering process while the second step, vapour deposition, involved the reactive metallisation of Cr with nitrogen, also by the magnetron sputtering process. The gears were tested on an in-house developed testing rig for different torques (16, 20, 24 and 30 Nm) and rotational speed of 1000 rpm. The duration of the experiments was set to 13 h, when the tooth thickness, and, consequently, the wear of the tooth flank was recorded. The experimental results showed that the influence of metallisation with aluminium, chromium, and chromium nitrite surface coatings on the wear behaviour of the analysed polymer gear is not significant. This is probably due to the fact that the analysed coatings were, in all cases, very thin (less than 500 nm), and therefore did not influence the wear resistance significantly. In that respect, an additional testing using thicker coatings should be applied in the further research work. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Gears, Mechanisms and Transmissions)

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14 pages, 15827 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of a 3D Printed Double-Acting Linear Pneumatic Actuator for the Tendon Gripping

by Ivan Grgić, Vjekoslav Wertheimer, Mirko Karakašić and Željko Ivandić

Polymers 2021, 13(15), 2528; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13152528 - 30 Jul 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2571

Abstract

The lack of standardization in tissue testing procedures results in a variety of custom-made devices. In the case of the determination of the mechanical properties of tendons, it is sometimes necessary to adapt the existing laboratory equipment for conducting experiments when specific commercial equipment is not applicable to solve issues such as proper gripping to prevent tendon slipping and rupturing, gripping control and manoeuvrability in case of tendon submerging and without contamination of the testing liquid. This paper presents the systematic development, design, and fabrication using 3D printing technology and the application of the double-acting linear pneumatic actuator to overcome such issues. It is designed to do its work submerged in the Ringers’ solution while gripping the tendon along with the clamps. The pneumatic foot valve unit of the Shimadzu AGS-X tensile testing machine controls the actuator thus preventing Ringers’ solution to be contaminated by the machine operator during specimen set-up. The actuator has a length of 60 mm, a bore of 50 mm, and a stroke length of 20 mm. It is designed to operate with an inlet pressure of up to 0.8 MPa. It comprises the cylinder body with the integrated thread, the piston, the piston head, and the gripper jaw. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) has been used as the 3D printing technique, along with polylactic acid (PLA) as the material for 3D printing. The 3D printed double-acting linear pneumatic actuator was developed into an operating prototype. This study could open new frontiers in the field of tissue testing and the development of similar specialized devices for medical purposes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Gears, Mechanisms and Transmissions)

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