Effect of Dust Particle Inflow on the Wear of Rubber Seal Material in Automobile Chassis System

In an automobile chassis system, several environmental factors reduce the durability of automotive components. In particular, dust particles entering through rubber seals increase the friction and wear of sliding surfaces. Increased wear causes noise, fracture, and reduced service life of components. In this study, dust particles were collected on the chassis while driving. The particle sizes and ingredients of the dust were analyzed using microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray. It was found that SiO[image omitted] and Al[image omitted]O[image omitted] were the main ingredients of the dust particles. Based on our analysis of the data, wear tests were performed with the rubber seal specimens using a ball-on-disk type sliding wear tester. When SiO[image omitted] and Al[image omitted]O[image omitted] particles came into contact with the rubber seal specimen, two-body and three-body abrasive wear took place. In tests of SiO[image omitted] particles only, the wear volumes of rubber seal specimens were increased by increasing the particle's injection amount and the size of the dust. In a test of the mixed particles (SiO[image omitted] and Al[image omitted]O[image omitted]), four mixing ratios (8:1, 4:1, 2:1, 1:2 [SiO[image omitted]:Al[image omitted]O[image omitted]]) were used based on the analysis data. When the same size particles of SiO[image omitted] and Al[image omitted]O[image omitted] were used, the wear amounts of the rubber increased with a higher percentage of Al[image omitted]O[image omitted], which is harder than SiO[image omitted]. When mixed particles with 26.6 m of SiO[image omitted] and 1 m of Al[image omitted]O[image omitted] were used, wear increased with increased amounts of SiO[image omitted].