Wear study of field worn clutch actuators and evaluation of a model test

Pneumatic clutch actuators, employed in trucks, have been investigated. The surfaces of the inside of the anodised aluminium cylinders, of the lip seals and of the guiding rings have been studied by SEM and optical microscopy. For most of the actuators no significant wear was revealed. However, one actuator, with leakage problems, was severely worn. An extensive amount of scratches was found on the cylinder surface, the thickness of the guiding ring had decreased and large parts were missing from the lip seal. A possible explanation is that particles have entered the system thus altering the contact conditions. A test setup was developed to investigate how particles present in the system affect the wear. A part of the piston, with lip seal and guiding ring, slides against a part of the anodised aluminium cylinder in a back- and forward motion. Pure silicone grease lubricated tests resulted in no wear. Tests with added dust particles resulted in distinct scratches on the aluminium surface and embedded particles in the guiding ring and the lip seal. These tests provide results in good agreement with the wear revealed in the investigations of used actuators and support the theory that wear is caused by particles.