Tribological properties of aqueous solutions with lauric acid random copolyether (LPE) added

This work presents the results of tribological investigations of lubricating substances composed of water and a nonionic surfactant: lauric acid random copolyether (LPE), as additive. At the current stage of investigation, aqueous solutions with LPE additives are prepared and subsequently the lowering friction and reducing wear behaviors are tested by means of friction/wear tester, in conjunction with that the film forming properties experiments are carried out with a nanoscale film thickness measure apparatus. The contact is under condition of steel-steel tribo-pair. The results show that the coefficient of friction measured decreases considerably to about over 60% relative to water. The film thickness data of friction process lubricated by aqueous solutions with LPE added show that the lubrication is in boundary lubrication regime. The results indicate that aqueous solutions with LPE added can be used to improve the lubricity and they may be applied to real tribological systems.