Lightweight multi-material drive chain

Abstract

The application discloses a light-weight multi-material transmission chain, which comprises a pair of inner chain plates (11), a pair of outer chain plates (12) and a connecting shaft (13), at least one of the pair of inner chain plates (11) and the pair of outer chain plates (12) is made of light-weight aluminum matrix composite material (AMC), and the connecting shaft (13) is made of steel or titanium alloy. The light-weight multi-material transmission chain has good wear resistance and obvious weight reduction effect compared with a steel transmission chain.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of driving chains, specifically to a lightweight multi-material driving chain. Background Technology

[0002] Drive chains are common long-distance transmission devices that work with gears. They are important rotating components in machinery and equipment and have a wide range of applications. A drive chain must have three basic parts: a pair of inner chain plates, a pair of outer chain plates, and a connecting shaft. The connecting shaft connects the pair of inner chain plates and the pair of outer chain plates to form the chain. The inner chain plates, outer chain plates, and connecting shaft must meet wear-resistant requirements; they are usually made of steel with good wear resistance.

[0003] In many applications that heavily utilize drive chains, such as aerospace, aviation, and mobile machinery, lightweighting of drive chains can improve the performance of these devices. To achieve this, lightweight materials are typically used to replace steel in the production of drive chains.

[0004] However, lightweight metal alloys such as aluminum and magnesium alloys have poor wear resistance and are unsuitable for manufacturing drive chains. While titanium alloys are used to make bicycle chains, they also have poor wear resistance, and their lifespan is far shorter than that of steel chains.

[0005] To date, there is no lightweight transmission chain technology with good wear resistance, so it is necessary to develop lightweight transmission chains with good wear resistance. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Studies have shown that lightweighting and improving wear resistance are key technical challenges for drive chains. Drive chains are typically made of wear-resistant steels, such as carbon steel and chromium steel. However, lightweight metals such as aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, and magnesium alloys have poor wear resistance, as well as poor wear resistance during friction with steel, and therefore cannot meet the requirements for drive chains.

[0007] Studies have found that aluminum-based composite materials (AMCs) containing wear-resistant reinforcing phases such as ceramic particles, ceramic whiskers, and short ceramic fibers typically exhibit good wear resistance. The inventors conducted a series of studies on the frictional properties between AMCs, aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, ceramics, and steel. Surprisingly, they discovered that under various friction conditions, AMCs exhibit excellent wear resistance with steel, even surpassing the wear resistance between steel materials; furthermore, AMCs also demonstrate good wear resistance with titanium alloys. Therefore, they are suitable for manufacturing lightweight multi-material drive chains.

[0008] The following are the results of four sets of friction tests conducted according to the standards ASTM G77 "Standard Test Method for Ranking Resistance of Materials to Sliding Wear Using Block-on-Ring Wear Test" and ASTM G99 "Standard Test Method for Wear Testing with a Pin-on-Disk Apparatus", listed in Tables 1 to 4 respectively.

[0009] Tables 1 to 4 list four types of steel with different hardness: AISI 4340 steel with a hardness of 28-33 HRC, AISI 4620 steel with a hardness of 59-60 HRC, GB 40CrNiMoA steel with a hardness of 41-42 HRC, and GB GCr15 steel with a hardness of 58-61 HRC.

[0010] The tables do not list the individual wear amounts of friction material A and material B, but rather the total wear amounts of the two materials. This is because if the total wear amount is high, these two materials are not suitable for use simultaneously in transmission chain components where there is mutual pressure friction.

[0011] The representation of aluminum-based composite materials in each table follows the American National Standard ANSI H35.5, "Nomenclature System for Aluminum Metal Matrix Composite Materials". Specifically, the aluminum-based composite material 2009 / Al2O3 / 25p-T4 is a 25% volume fraction Al2O3 ceramic particle-reinforced 2009 aluminum alloy, treated with T4 heat treatment; the 6092 / SiC / 15w-T6 aluminum-based composite material is a 15% volume fraction SiC ceramic whisker-reinforced 6092 aluminum alloy; and the 6092 / Al2O3 / 15c-T6 is a 15% volume fraction Al2O3 ceramic short fiber (chopped fiber)-reinforced 6092 aluminum alloy.

[0012] Table 1. Friction test data under 33N pressure (ASTM G77)

[0013]

[0014] Table 2.4 Friction test data under 34 N pressure (ASTM G77)

[0015]

[0016] Table 3. Friction test data with GCr15 steel under 300N pressure (ASTM G99)

[0017]

[0018] Table 4. Friction test data with 40Cr steel under 300N pressure (ASTM G99)

[0019]

[0020] Table 1 shows that under low frictional pressure, the wear resistance of aluminum alloys rubbing against each other and titanium alloys rubbing against each other is poor; however, the wear resistance of AMC rubbing against aluminum alloys is even worse; the wear resistance of AMCs rubbing against each other and AMCs rubbing against titanium alloys is basically equivalent; while the wear resistance of AMCs rubbing against 4340 steel (hardness 28-33 HRC) and AMCs rubbing against alumina ceramics is better than the wear resistance of steel rubbing against steel. Table 2 shows that under higher frictional pressure, the wear resistance of AMCs rubbing against each other decreases significantly, but the wear resistance of various AMCs rubbing against 4620 steel (hardness 59-60 HRC) is better than the wear resistance of steel rubbing against steel. The results in Tables 3 and 4 further demonstrate that even under greater frictional pressure, the wear resistance of AMC against steel is better than that against steel, regardless of whether it is high-hardness (58-61 HRC) GCr15 steel (a type of bearing steel) or slightly lower-hardness (41-42 HRC) high-toughness 40CrNiMoA steel.

[0021] Under the friction conditions listed in Table 1, in the friction test between AMC and steel with a hardness of 27-33 HRC, the total wear of the two friction materials is ≤25mg, which meets the requirements of this invention. Additionally, the friction between AMC and titanium alloy also meets the requirements. Under the friction conditions listed in Table 2, in the friction test between AMC and steel with a hardness of 58-61 HRC, the total wear of the two friction materials is ≤15mg, which meets the requirements of this invention. Under the friction conditions listed in Table 3, in the friction test between AMC and steel with a hardness of 57-62 HRC, the total wear of the two friction materials is ≤1mg, which meets the requirements of this invention. Under the friction conditions listed in Table 4, in the friction test between AMC and steel with a hardness of 40-43 HRC, the total wear of the two friction materials is ≤2mg, which meets the requirements of this invention.

[0022] Table 5. Technical parameters of aluminum-based composite materials

[0023]

[0024] The yield strength of the steels tested in Tables 1 to 4 is ≥340 MPa. Table 5 above lists the material technical parameters of various AMCs in Tables 1 to 4. The densities of these AMCs range from 2.6 to 3.2 g / cm³. 3 Within this range. Different transmission loads impose different minimum yield strength requirements on the chain material. The strength of aluminum-based composite materials is higher than that of their aluminum alloy matrix. The yield strength of AMC in Table 5 is in the range of 350MPa-670MPa, which meets the requirements of this invention.

[0025] Based on the above research results, this invention is proposed.

[0026] More specifically, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a lightweight multi-material drive chain (10) is provided, specifically, at least one inner chain plate (11) or one pair of outer chain plates (12) are made of AMC, and the connecting shaft (13) is made of steel or titanium alloy. There is no external pressure friction between the pair of inner chain plates (11) and the pair of outer chain plates (12), but there is pressure friction between the pair of inner chain plates (11) and the pair of outer chain plates (12) and the connecting shaft (13) generated by the chain drive load. This multi-material drive chain (10) has excellent wear resistance and can achieve lightweighting; for example, the specific gravity of AMC is about 35% of that of steel. In a drive chain, if both the inner and outer chain plates are made of AMC and the connecting shaft is made of steel, the multi-material drive chain is about 53% lighter than that made of steel.

[0027] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the connecting shaft is made of steel or titanium alloy.

[0028] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the transmission chain is selected from basic transmission chains, roller chains, bushing chains, double-row transmission chains, multi-row transmission chains, and toothed transmission chains.

[0029] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the AMC is composed of an aluminum alloy substrate and a reinforcing phase.

[0030] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the reinforcing phase material is selected from ceramic particles, ceramic whiskers, ceramic short fibers, or mixtures thereof.

[0031] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the volume ratio of the reinforcing phase to the AMC is 10-35%, for example 10-30%, for example 10-25%.

[0032] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the aluminum alloy substrate is selected from 2-series, 3-series, 4-series, 5-series, 6-series, 7-series, and 8-series aluminum alloys in the Aluminum Association (AA) standard. Attached Figure Description

[0033] Figure 1This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a lightweight multi-material drive chain (basic drive chain) according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 2 for Figure 1 An exploded three-dimensional diagram of the basic transmission chain shown.

[0035] Figure 3 This is an exploded perspective view of a lightweight multi-material transmission chain (roller chain) according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 4 This is an exploded perspective view of a lightweight multi-material transmission chain (roller chain) according to another embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0037] The present invention can be better understood from the accompanying drawings and the following embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the descriptions in the embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and should not, and will not, limit the scope of the invention.

[0038] Example 1

[0039] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a lightweight multi-material drive chain (basic drive chain) according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 for Figure 1 A three-dimensional exploded view of the basic transmission chain.

[0040] The lightweight multi-material basic transmission chain 10 includes a pair of inner chain plates 11 and a pair of outer chain plates 12, and a connecting shaft 13 connects the pair of inner chain plates 11 and the pair of outer chain plates 12. At least one of the pair of inner chain plates 11 and the pair of outer chain plates 12 is made of lightweight AMC, and the other pair can be made of steel. The connecting shaft 13 is made of steel or titanium alloy. As described above, lightweighting can be achieved by using lightweight AMC material to make the pair of inner chain plates 11 and / or the pair of outer chain plates 12. In addition, the present invention unexpectedly found that AMC material not only has a low specific gravity, but also has good wear resistance between the AMC ring and the connecting shaft 13 made of steel or titanium alloy, thereby meeting the wear resistance requirements of the transmission chain while achieving lightweighting.

[0041] according to Figure 1The embodiment of the present invention, as shown, allows the lightweight multi-material base transmission chain 10 to be made of aluminum-based composite material (AMC) by adding a reinforcing phase to an aluminum alloy substrate. The aluminum alloy substrate can be selected from different aluminum alloy formulations according to design requirements, such as 2-series, 3-series, 4-series, 5-series, 6-series, 7-series, or 8-series aluminum alloys according to the Aluminum Association (AA) standards, with 2-series, 6-series, or 7-series aluminum alloys being preferred. The reinforcing phase can be different ceramic powder materials, such as aluminum nitride (AlN), alumina (Al2O3), boron carbide (B4C), silicon carbide (SiC), silicon nitride (Si3N4), titanium diboride (TiB2), titanium carbide (TiC), zirconium oxide (ZrO2), etc., or a mixture of one or more different ceramic powders. The average particle size of the ceramic powder can be between 0.3 and 50 micrometers, for example, 0.5 to 30 micrometers. The reinforcing phase in AMC can also be ceramic whiskers, such as silicon carbide whiskers (SiC Whisker), titanium boride whiskers (TiB2 Whisker), and aluminum borate whiskers (Al). 18 B4O 33 Whisker, potassium titanate whiskers (K2Ti6O) 13 The reinforcing phase can be composed of various materials, including whiskers, magnesium borate whiskers (Mg2B2O5Whisker), and ceramic short fibers such as alumina short fibers (Al2O3ChoppedFiber), silicon carbide short fibers (SiC ChoppedFiber), and alumina + silica short fibers (Al2O3+SiO ChoppedFiber). The average diameter of the whiskers and short fibers is between 0.5 and 25 micrometers, and the aspect ratio is between 5 and 30. The reinforcing phase can also be carbon nanotubes and graphene. The volume content of the reinforcing phase in the AMC is between 10 and 45%, for example, 10-30%, or 15-25%. The above-mentioned AMC can be produced by powder metallurgy methods (including powder hot pressing, powder isostatic pressing, powder spraying, and plasma powder spraying), as well as stirring casting or in-situ self-generation methods, with powder metallurgy being the preferred method. In powder metallurgy, the average particle size of aluminum alloy substrate powder can be 1-60 micrometers, for example 2-50 micrometers, or for example 5-40 micrometers. Studies have shown that AMC containing ≥10% by volume of the aforementioned reinforcing phase has higher strength, elastic modulus, and wear resistance than aluminum alloys.

[0042] According to the American National Standard ANSI H35.5, the AMC of the embodiment of the present invention can be expressed as: (1) AA-Alloy / Ceramic-Particle / 10~35p

[0043] (2)AA-Alloy / Ceramic-Whisker / 10~35w

[0044] (3)AA-Alloy / Ceramic-Chopped-Fiber / 10~35c

[0045] according to Figure 1 According to the present invention, the hardness of the steel in the lightweight multi-material drive chain 10 can be in the range of 20-70 HRC, for example, 25-65 HRC.

[0046] Using the lightweight multi-material drive chain of the present invention can not only effectively reduce the weight of existing steel drive chains, but also has better wear resistance than existing steel drive chains.

[0047] Example 2

[0048] Figure 3 This is an exploded perspective view of a lightweight multi-material transmission chain (roller chain) according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0049] The lightweight multi-material roller chain 10' includes a pair of inner chain plates 11' and a pair of outer chain plates 12', and a connecting shaft 13' connects the pair of inner chain plates 11' and the pair of outer chain plates 12'. The roller chain 10' has a roller 14 fitted on the connecting shaft 13 (13' of 10') of the basic drive chain 10, so that the roller chain 10' has a better fit with the sprocket. At least one of the pair of inner chain plates 11' and the pair of outer chain plates 12' is made of lightweight AMC, and the other pair can be made of steel. The connecting shaft 13' is made of steel or titanium alloy. The roller 14 can be made of steel or AMC.

[0050] according to Figure 3 The embodiment of the present invention shown uses the same aluminum-based composite material (AMC) for the lightweight multi-material roller chain 10' as in Example 1.

[0051] Example 3

[0052] Figure 4 This is an exploded perspective view of a lightweight multi-material transmission chain (roller chain) according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] The lightweight multi-material roller chain 10” includes a pair of inner chain plates 11” and a pair of outer chain plates 12”, and a connecting shaft 13” connects the pair of inner chain plates 11” and the pair of outer chain plates 12”. The roller chain 10” adds a sleeve 15 between the connecting shaft 13” and the rollers 14 (13” and 14” of the roller chain 10”, which improves the transmission efficiency of the roller chain 10”. At least one of the pair of inner chain plates 11” and the pair of outer chain plates 12” is made of lightweight AMC, and the other pair can be made of steel. The connecting shaft 13” is made of steel or titanium alloy. The rollers 14” and the sleeve 15 can be made of steel or AMC respectively.

[0054] according to Figure 4 The embodiment of the present invention shown uses the same aluminum-based composite material (AMC) for the lightweight multi-material roller chain 10” as in Example 1.

[0055] In addition to the basic transmission chain 10, roller chain 10' and roller sleeve chain 10", the present invention can also be applied to double-row transmission chains, multi-row transmission chains and toothed transmission chains, etc.

[0056] Specific implementation methods have been provided above, but the present invention is not limited to the implementation methods described above. The basic idea of ​​the present invention lies in the above basic scheme. For those skilled in the art, designing various modified models and parameters based on the teachings of the present invention does not require creative effort. Changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations made to the implementation methods without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A lightweight multi-material transmission chain (10), comprising a pair of inner chain plates (11), a pair of outer chain plates (12), and a connecting shaft (13), characterized in that: At least one of the pair of inner chain plates (11) and the pair of outer chain plates (12) is made of lightweight aluminum matrix composite (AMC), and the connecting shaft (13) is made of titanium alloy, in order to reduce the total wear between at least one of the pair of inner chain plates (11) and the pair of outer chain plates (12) and the connecting shaft (13); The aluminum-based composite material is 6092 / SiC / 25p-T6, and the titanium alloy is Ti-6AL-4V.

2. The lightweight multi-material transmission chain (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The transmission chain is selected from basic transmission chains, roller chains, bushing chains, double-row transmission chains, multi-row transmission chains, and toothed transmission chains.

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