Tribological Characterization of Lubricant Additives – Friction and Wear Behavior

The basic function of a lubricant is to reduce friction and wear between two surfaces in relative motion. This is usually achieved by forming a load-bearing fluid film at the contact interface. However, in many applications, the role played by lubricants is far more complex. For instance, in addition to the basic tasks mentioned above, lubricant used in an automotive engine is expected to dissipate heat, wear and foreign particles away from the mating interface, prevent oxidation and corrosion of the metal parts, maintain stability at high temperature, provide effective sealing, to name a few. All these requirements, however, cannot be fulfilled by the base oil alone. Therefore, specific chemical components known as additives are added to it to address these explicit requirements. A typical composition of engine oil used in diesel engines is presented below. While each of the additives is expected to fulfill its designated function, it is important that any interactions between the additives themselves do not have a negative impact on the overall performance of the lubricant. The tribological tests were carried out on an MCR Tribometer from Anton Paar.

Introduction

The basic function of a lubricant is to reduce friction and wear between two surfaces in relative motion. This is usually achieved by forming a load-bearing fluid film at the contact interface. However, in many applications, the role played by lubricants is far more complex. For instance, in addition to the basic tasks mentioned above, lubricant used in an automotive engine is expected to dissipate heat, wear and foreign particles away from the mating interface, prevent oxidation and corrosion of the metal parts, maintain stability at high temperature, provide effective sealing, to name a few. 

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