Effects of using smart fluid in lubrication on skirt-liner friction

Purpose ‐ The purpose of this paper is to present, for the first time, a mathematical model for a piston skirt in mixed lubrication with respect to applying a smart fluid in lubrication. In this way, the smart fluid, as a lubricant with controlled variable viscosity, is proposed and applied to minimize the power loss in the interaction between liner and skirt. Design/methodology/approach ‐ Based on signal processing, the relationships between viscosity of lubricant and the friction loss, the hydrodynamic and contact friction force consequently are found, as part of an effective approach to acquire the function of variable viscosity. Findings ‐ It is shown that hydrodynamics and contact friction forces can be controlled and minimized by using the variable viscosity signal with the optimized viscosity signal technique. Originality/value ‐ In this paper, a mathematical model for a piston skirt in mixed lubrication with respect to applying a smart fluid in lubrication is presented for the first time.