Kinetics of formation of adsorption boundary lubricating film under lubricant starvation

The kinetics of the formation of the boundary lubricating film at severe sliding friction is described. A new probabilistic model of the adsorption process running within the interfacial capillary net is used to determine the characteristic time of the formation of a polymolecular lubricating film. It considers the supramolecular ordering of the film by introducing the ordering factor.     

Temperature—friction characteristics of cylinder lubrication in large,slow, cross‐head marine diesel engines under boundary lubrication conditions

In large, slow, cross‐head marine diesel engines research has increasingly shown that the lubrication regime between piston rings and cylinder liner at top dead centre is of the boundary lubrication type due to the high gas pressure, low sliding speed, and high temperature. This means that the tribological properties of piston ring, cylinder liner, and cylinder lubricant in these types of engine under boundary lubrication conditions should be considered simultaneously when friction and wear between the piston ring and cylinder liner are studied. Until now there has been no standard method to evaluate boundary lubrication performance. There are a few traditional methods used in lubricant research, but their results are not correlated with service conditions. It is important to find a suitable method to evaluate the boundary lubrication performance of lubricants at the laboratory testing stage or before the engine testing stage. The important parameters, such as sliding speed, normal load, materials of the contacting pairs, and lubricant, need all to be controlled. In this paper a systematic experimental procedure, the ‘five times heating and cooling test’, is introduced to assess lubricant properties under boundary lubrication conditions. Most of the parameters mentioned above are controlled. The model contact, of pin‐on‐plate form, is made from the actual piston and liner materials used in a large‐bore, slow, cross‐head marine diesel engine. The temperature characteristics of different blends of lubricants are investigated under boundary lubrication conditions using a pin‐on‐plate reciprocating test rig. These blends of lubricants have the same additives but different base fluids; they nevertheless fulfil the physical and chemical requirements of a real marine diesel engine. The test temperature range is from room temperature to the working temperature of the top piston ring. The experiments show that there are different temperature—friction characteristics for lubricants with different bases and the same additive package and there are also different temperature—friction characteristics during heating up and cooling down for each blend. Single‐base lubricants have more promising temperature—friction characteristics than those of a blend of a high‐viscosity base and a low‐viscosity base at high temperature.     

Concept of molecular design towards additive technology for advanced lubricants

A simple model to develop novel friction modifiers and anti‐wear agents for synthetic oils was studied. Our attention was focused on the construction of additive molecules to meet the requirement for synthetic oils, which possess a different polarity and solvency from mineral oils. The relation between the molecular structure of additives and their tribological properties were elucidated prior to the preparation of the substance and estimation of its tribological properties. Computer‐assisted chemistry was partly applied to predict the properties of the designed molecules. The adsorptive activity of the conventional fatty acids is insufficient to reduce friction when they were dissolved in polar synthetic oils such as polyethers. Introduction of another carboxyl group into the fatty acid, especially at the carbon atom next to the original carboxyl group, makes the molecule polar; resulting in friction modifiers for polyethers. Conversion of the carboxyl groups into trimethylsilyl esters provides soluble friction modifiers for poly(dimethylsilicone)‐type synthetic oils. A unique lubrication mechanism based on in situ regeneration of the original molecule was proposed for synthetic oils with poor solvency. Importance of adsorptive activity of additive molecule was also pointed out in phosphate‐type anti‐wear additives for polar synthetic oils. We found that both the polarity of additives and that of base oils have to be taken into account in lubricant design. Too much adsorption activity of the molecule caused corrosive wear. Hydrolytic stable compounds reduces corrosive wear to a considerable extent. Introduction of a hydroxyl group into the alkyl moiety of the phosphate ester provides polar molecule with low acidity. The additives reduce wear in synthetic esters even at low concentrations of phosphorus. The lubrication mechanism was also discussed; the novel additives provide a thick boundary film composed of iron phosphate on rubbing surfaces. Moreover, an acceleration of the kinetics of the film formation by the hydroxyl group was observed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the efficiency of additives during boundary lubrication with special regard to the processes of forming reaction layers

The process of forming reaction layers of selected compounds is investigated regarding the chemical reactivity of different lubricants. The following lubricants were used as test oils: paraffin solutions with DBDS, ZDTP, acenaphthylene and limonene. Their influence on tribological behaviour is described for different conditions of friction. Relations between layer-forming behaviour and layer properties on the one hand, and tribological properties on the other hand, were shown by chemical layer profile analysis and other methods.     

Comparison of boundary lubrication films formed under four‐ball friction test conditions with different AW/EP Additives‐an X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy study

The antiwear and extreme‐pressure properties of six different types of additive (molybdenum dialkyldithiophosphate, dibenzyl disulphide, molybdenum dialkyldithiocarbamate, zinc dialkyldithiophosphate, chlorinated paraffin wax, and triaryl phosphate) were evaluated by standard four‐ball friction and wear tests. This was followed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X‐ray photoelectron imaging (XPI) analyses of the worn surfaces to determine the structure of the boundary lubrication film and the mechanism of the tribochemical reaction occurring during the friction process. The presence of the additives in the base oil significantly increased the weld load and drastically reduced the wear‐scar diameter, suggesting antiwear and extreme‐pressure properties of the additives. The enhanced antiwear and loadcarrying capacity of the additive‐containing oils was attributed to the formation of a complex boundary lubrication film formed between the surfaces during the friction process as a result of the tribochemical reaction. The antiwear and extreme‐pressure properties of the additives were explained based on the XPS data. The studies indicated that the lubricating properties of the additives depend on their chemical nature and reactivity with metal surfaces.     

Al2O3—ZrO2陶瓷涂层的高温摩擦反应膜研究

选用三种ＺｒＯ２含是不同的Ａｌ２Ｏ３－ＺｒＯ２热喷涂涂层与铸铁匹配，在不同润滑油润滑条件下进行高温实验研究，结果表明陶瓷涂层表面亦有较强的化学活性，Ａｌ２Ｏ２－ＺｒＯ２陶瓷涂层与矿物油有较好配伍性，高温摩擦条件下生成减以应膜。     

Ultralow-friction and wear properties of IF-WS<Subscript>2</Subscript> under boundary lubrication

Tested in boundary lubrication, inorganic fullerene-like WS₂ nanoparticles used as additives in oil present interesting friction reducing and anti-wear properties. A dispersion with only 1 wt% of particles leads, from a contact pressure of 0.83 GPa, to a drastic decrease of the friction coefficient below 0.04 and to very low wear. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman Spectroscopy and video imaging were used to explain the lubrication mechanisms. A structural modification of fullerene-like nanoparticles into sheets during the friction test was evidenced to be the main effect at the origin of these properties.*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: lucile.joly-pottuz@ec-lyon.fr     

Direct observation by in situ transmission electron microscopy of the behaviour of IF‐MoS2 nanoparticles during sliding tests: influence of the crystal structure

Direct observation of the behaviour of individual inorganic fullerenes (IF)‐MoS₂ nanoparticles in a sliding interface is essential for the understanding of the influence of the intrinsic characteristics of the nanoparticles on their lubrication mechanisms, when they are used as additives in lubricant oil. In this work, in situ transmission electron microscopy sliding tests were performed on two different types of MoS₂ nanoparticles synthesised by two different methods. It is shown that the IF‐MoS₂ nanoparticles having perfect structure with a high crystalline order and without defects are able to roll and to slide under the combined effect of pressure and shear stress, whereas the IF‐MoS₂ nanoparticles containing many defects exfoliate immediately in the same conditions to deliver MoS₂ layers covering the mating surfaces. A link between these results, the lubrication mechanisms of the nanoparticles and their tribological properties at the macro‐scale was established, proving that the lubrication mechanisms of fullerenes depend on their intrinsic characteristics. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of contact configuration and coating morphology on the tribological behaviour of tetrahedral amorphous diamond-like carbon (ta-C DLC) coatings under boundary lubrication

ABSTRACT

Tribological studies were carried out with tetrahedral amorphous diamond-like carbon (ta-C DLC) coatings, varying in thickness and roughness, using two different contact configurations lubricated with seven types of hydraulic oils. Tribopair of cast iron and ta-C coated steel were tested in both non-conformal and conformal, unidirectional sliding contacts. The friction and wear results were mainly affected by the thickness of the coating in the non-conformal contact and the surface roughness of the coating in the conformal contact. Tests done with mineral base oil containing rust inhibitor in the non-conformal contact and with Polyalphaolefins and synthetic ester base oils in the conformal contact resulted in the lowest friction while that with mineral base oil containing zinc resulted in high friction and counterface wear. The results highlight the interdependence of contact configuration, lubricant chemistry, coating’s surface morphology and coating’s thickness in determining the tribological behaviour of ta-C coatings under boundary lubrication.