Current trends in ICE wear detection technologies: from lab to field

Research in internal combustion engine (ICE) tribology has been an active topic during the last decades, driven by different interest&58; first, in order to improve thermodynamics and overall engine performance, while nowadays there is an interest in reducing engine losses, including friction, in order to cut down fuel consumption and also exhaust emissions. Tribology is a tri-vector science, where friction is the fundamental phenomena occurring between two surfaces, wear is the consequence of the occurrence of friction and lubrication is the solution for diminish friction and eliminate wear presence in the tribological system. During the development of ICE, different technologies and techniques have been applied for detection of ICE wear, focused in different parts of the engine life and also used for different purposes, including research or maintenance. In this work, a comprehensive look on this field is done, where several techniques are explained and their main application and pros and cons are highlighted.