Wet clutch transmission fluid for AWD differentials: influence of lubricant additives on friction characteristics

In recent years, several electronically controllable automotive transmission systems using wet clutches as intelligent differentials have emerged on the market. These applications place great demands on the anti‐shudder properties of the transmission fluids used. The aims of this study were (i) to investigate the influence of different additives on the friction characteristics of a transmission fluid for all‐wheel drive systems featuring wet multi‐plate clutch with a sintered brass‐based friction material and, based on this knowledge, (ii) to formulate a new transmission fluid with the desired frictional properties. In addition to excellent anti‐shudder properties, the new fluid was required to lubricate hypoid gears under high load. To meet this requirement, it is necessary to add significant amounts of extreme pressure additives to the base oil, which are known to have an unfavourable influence on anti‐shudder properties, necessitating the adoption of novel additive technologies. The additives studied include anti‐wear additives, friction modifiers, corrosion inhibitors, detergents, antioxidants and extreme pressure additives. This paper shows how different additives affect friction in different ways, and that the interactions between the different additives are important to consider. It was concluded that it is feasible to combine good anti‐shudder properties for wet clutches with good lubrication of hypoid gears. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of lubricant additives on the performance of hydrodynamically lubricated journal bearings

A non-Newtonian rheological model to investigate theoretically the effects of lubricant additives on the steady state performance of hydrodynamically lubricated finite journal bearings is introduced. In this model, the non-Newtonian behavior resulting from blending the lubricant with polymer additives is simulated by Stokes couple stress fluid model. The formed boundary layer at the bearing surface is described through the use of a hypothetical porous medium layer that adheres to the bearing surface. The Brinkman-extended Darcy equations are utilized to model the flow in the porous region. A stress jump boundary condition is applied at the porous media/fluid film interface. A modified form of the Reynolds equation is derived and solved numerically using a finite difference scheme. The effects of bearing geometry, and non-Newtonian behavior of the lubricant on the steady-state performance characteristics such as pressure distribution, load carrying capacity, side leakage flow, and coefficient of friction are presented and discussed. The results showed that lubricant additives significantly increase the load carrying capacity and reduce both the coefficient of friction and the side leakage as compared to the Newtonian lubricants.     

The lubricant migration rate on the hard disk surface

The optical surface analyzer (OSA) was found to be an excellent tool to examine the lubricant migration rate on thin film disks. Using the OSA it was found that the rate of lubricant migration increased as molecular weight decreased. An AM type perfluoropolyether with an aromatic end group and Z-Dol were also observed to have different migration rates for the same molecular weight. The migration rate of AM lubricant was increased significantly by the presence of X-1P as an additive in the lubricant system.     

Tribological properties of 2 novel Mo/B–based lubricant additives in polyalphaolefin

Two kinds of Mo/B oleic diethanolamide derivatives (coded as YXM and YXB) were synthesised, and their tribological properties were evaluated using a 4‐ball machine. Results indicate that the 2 novel additives show excellent antiwear and extreme pressure properties. When 2.5 wt% YXM was added into the base oil, the wear scar diameter was reduced by 42.2%, and the P _B value was increased by 170.4%; when 2.5 wt% YXB was added into the base oil, the wear scar diameter was reduced by 23.1%, and the P _B value was increased by 167.1%. The worn surfaces of the lubricated GCr15 steel were analysed by using scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is indicated that the variation of tribofilm species produced by a chemical reaction between the additives and the steel surface plays an important role in inhibiting wear and friction. A model was used to analyse the action mechanism. According to the analysis, the tribofilm is composed of an adsorption layer and a reaction layer, and it could effectively protect the steel surfaces from direct contact.     

Role of nascent metallic surfaces on the tribochemistry of phosphite lubricant additives

The role of the nascent surface on the decomposition of phosphite additives has been investigated. An environmentally controlled tribometer was used to conduct tribotest in UHV and gas. Sliding test in UHV was performed to tribo-activate steel surfaces. Adsorption of trimethylphosphite on tribo-activated surface was made to investigate its decomposition on freshly scratched surfaces. In situ XPS analyses have shown that tribofilm of iron phosphide is poorly formed on the tribo-activated surface. This observation confirms that iron phosphide tribofilm is mainly formed under tribological condition. The role of the contact pressure and tribo-emission process is highlighted.     

Investigation of the effect of additives to lubricant Litol-24 on abrasive wearing of steel under sliding friction

The structure of a three-ball friction machine developed for testing lubricants is described and its advantages over the four-ball one in tests with sliding friction are shown. Using the developed machine and the testing procedure, a lubricant grease Litol-24 was subjected to testing with additions of solid lubricants (graphite powder and MoS₂) and organic dopes containing P, Cl, S, and O. According to results of investigation of their lubricity in conditions of boundary friction with abrasives, the optimal formulations of lubricants have been determined.     

Effect of proprietary oil additives on elastohydrodynamic film thickness

A study is reported of the effect on a simulated elastohydrodynamic contact of the addition of three proprietary products to the lubricating oil. Chromatic interferometry was used to study changes in lubricant film thickness. Under the conditions employed it was found that Molyslip did not affect film thickness markedly, but there is evidence that solid particles of molybdenum disulphide did enter the contact. STP and Redex both increased the film thickness as a result of increasing the viscosity, but this effect was greatly reduced at high shear rates. No evidence was found for the formation of permanent or semi-permanent surface films, although results have so far only been obtained at room temperature.     

Insights into the chemical behavior of zinc dialkyldithiophosphate anti-wear additives in their isomeric and decomposed forms through molecular simulation

Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and static quantum chemical calculations at the density functional level of theory have been applied to study zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) engine oil anti-wear additives in their parent, isomeric and decomposed forms to identify differences in the basic finite temperature chemical behavior of these species that may be related to the formation of ZDDP anti-wear films. It was found that the isomers, which contain Zn–O bonds, exhibited finite temperature behavior leading to the dissociation of these bonds, while the parent ZDDP molecule, which contains only Zn–S bonds, did not. The dissociation of the Zn–O bonds improves the abilities of these molecules to participate in film formation reactions as electron donors and hence the transformation of the ZDDP molecule into species with Zn–O bonds, such as the isomers and decomposed species, may aid in anti-wear film formation. It was observed that the dissociation of the Zn–O bonds allowed the molecules to attain rearranged structures where the coordination at the zinc atom had significantly changed and it was found that these rearranged structures could decompose through the elimination of metathiophosphates (MTPs). The results of static density functional theory calculations on all species indicated that the elimination of MTPs was energetically favorable at high temperatures, however, the ability of the parent molecule to participate in rearrangement determines whether decomposition will occur. The fact that these species readily participate in reactions that lead to MTP formation is relevant within the context of ZDDP anti-wear film formation since the MTP molecules possess properties that make them ideal precursors to the thiophosphate networks that are thought to comprise these films. Overall, the results of this study indicate that differences between the ZDDP molecule, its isomers and decomposition products exist that may affect the abilities of these species to participate in the formation of anti-wear films. This information will be useful within the development of an overall mechanism for the formation of ZDDP anti-wear films.     

XPS and XANES characteristics of tribofilms and thermal films generated by two P- and/or S-containing additives in water-based lubricant

Two phosphates were synthesized and their tribological properties as water-soluble lubricant additives were evaluated by using four-ball tester. The micro/nano-scale chemical characteristics of tribofilms and thermal films formed from these additives in different conditions were explored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. The results show that the additives have better anti-wear and friction reducing properties than the oleate solution at higher load. Surface analysis results indicate that tribofilms are mainly composed of absorbed layer and chemical reactant layer, in which phosphorus exists in the form of adsorbed molecule, phosphate or polyphosphate, and sulfur in the form of alkyldisulfide, sulfide and sulfate. As to the thermal films, phosphate (or polyphosphate) and sulfate are detected as the main components. The anti-wear and friction-reducing performances can be ascribed to the formation of films on the metal surface, and the mechanism of the process of molecules adsorption, new compounds production through tribochemical reactions, film formation and destruction.     

The effects of lubricant additives on wear and scuffing resistance of copper alloys under boundary conditions

The effects of lubricant additives on alloy composition and structure, and on the wear and scuffing resistance of copper alloys, were investigated. The copper alloys used were Sn bronze, Sn-Zn-Pb bronze, Al-Fe bronze, and Si-Mn brass. The base oil used was straight mineral oil. The additives used were dimer acid, phosphonate ester, sulphide olefine cotton-seed oil, ZDDP and n-dibutyl phosphite. The test results revealed that Si-Mn brass shows the highest resistance to wear and scuffing, and Sn-Zn-Pb the lowest. It also revealed that oiliness additives are superior in wear and tear scuffing resistance to EP additives, especially sulphur-containing additives. The authors also noted that copper alloys show good resistance to wear and scuffing when coupled with a polished steel surface.     

Lubricant additives effects on the hydrodynamic lubrication of misaligned conical–cylindrical bearings

Conical–cylindrical bearings are used in electrohydraulic servo systems to improve the control accuracy, eliminate the static friction and increase the normal load‐carrying capacity. A non‐Newtonian rheological model to investigate theoretically the effects of lubricant additives on the performance of misaligned conical–cylindrical bearings is proposed in this study. In this model, the non‐Newtonian behaviour resulting from blending the lubricant with polymer additives is simulated by Stokes couple stress fluid model. The formed boundary layer at the bearing surface is described through the use of a hypothetical porous medium layer that adheres to the bearing surface. The Brinkman‐extended Darcy equations are utilised to model the flow in the porous region. A stress jump boundary condition is applied at the porous media/fluid film interface. The misalignment of the cylinder rod is also considered. A modified form of the Reynolds equation is derived and solved numerically using a finite difference scheme. The effects of bearing geometry and non‐Newtonian behaviour of the lubricant on the steady‐state performance characteristics such as pressure distribution, load‐carrying capacity and coefficient of friction are presented and discussed. The results showed that lubricant additives significantly increase the load‐carrying capacity and reduce the coefficient of friction as compared to the Newtonian lubricants. Furthermore, the misalignment of the piston rod has significant effects on the performance of conical–cylindrical bearings. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Action mechanisms of boundary lubrication additives — A review,Part I

A wide range of literature has been published in the period 1950–2000 concerning emerging concepts relating to the action mechanisms of boundary lubrication additives. Some of the details of these additives in terms of chemical nature, surface adsorption, surface film generation, thermal stability, thermodynamics of contact surfaces, and rise in surface temperature, as reported in this literature, are reviewed in the present paper. It has been observed that the chemical constituents of boundary lubrication additives, particularly of organosulphur and organosulphur—phosphorus origin, are very complex in nature and no comprehensive details are readily available. Regarding action mechanisms, different researchers have suggested different mechanisms for different conditions. However, information on the thermodynamics of surfaces and thermal stability of additives is not readily available. Other details, such as the effect of sliding speed, operating load, surface roughness, and material design, are not covered in this paper. Overall, the literature reveals that attempts to correlate additive characteristics with boundary lubrication activity have met with limited success, and efforts aimed at achieving ever‐increasing performance levels are continuing. In this first part, the authors examine the chemical nature of boundary lubrication additives, the surface films produced, and surface temperature.     

The ep performance of certain S-benzylisoformamidinothiocarbamides in the four-ball test

Load carrying capacities of certain 1-formamidino-2-S-benzyliso-3-arylthiocarbamides were assessed using a four-ball extreme-pressure (ep) lubricant testing machine. All the compounds tested were found to be effective at high loads. 1-formamidino-2-S-benzyliso-3-phenylthiocarbamide was potentially useful at high loads; m-chlorophenyl- and p-tolyl derivatives were effective at low loads as well. For a comparative study a reference additive was used. Scanning electron microscopy was used to study the tribological properties.     

Action mechanisms of boundary lubrication additives ‐ a review,part II

A wide range of literature hs been published in the period 1950–2000 concerning emerging concepts of the action mechanisms of boundary lubrication additives. Some aspects of these additives in terms of chemical nature, surface adsorption, surface film generation, thermal stability, thermodynamics of contact surfaces, and rise in surface temperature, as reported in this literature, are reviewed in the present paper.

1 Part I of this paper appeared in Lubrication Science, 16, 4 (2004) 405–19.

It has been observed that the chemical constituents of boundary lubrication additives, particularly of organosulphur and organo‐sulphur‐phosphorus origin, are very complex in nature and no comprehensive details are readily available. Regarding action mechanisms, researchers have suggested different mechanisms for different conditions. However, information on the thermodynamics of surfaces and thermal stability of additives is not easily obtainable. Other details, such as the effect of sliding speed, operating load, surface roughness, and material design, are not covered here. Overall, the literature reveals that attempts to correlate additive characteristics with boundary lubrication activity have met with limited success, and efforts aimed at achieving ever‐increasing performance levels continue. In the first part, the authors examined the chemical nature of boundary lubrication additives, surface films, and surface temperature. In this second part, they look at thermal stability, and antiwear and extreme‐pressure activity.     

Micropolar lubricant effects on the performance of noncircular lobed bearings

The noncircular bearing configurations considered for the present study are two, three and four-lobe bearings lubricated with micropolar fluids. The modified Reynolds equation is obtained based on the theory of micropolar fluids and solving it by using finite element method, the steady state film pressures are obtained. Then the effects of the size of material characteristic length and the coupling number on the static performance are investigated. The results show that micropolar lubricants can produce significant enhancement in the static performance characteristics. The effects are more pronounced at larger coupling numbers. The trend of effects depends on the bearing configurations.     

The influence of base oil properties on the efficiency of action of ZDDP-type additives

This paper deals with the analysis of the influence of base oil viscosity on the ability of ZDDP-containing lubricants to form protective layers (especially antiwear layers). The chemical structure of additives used was characterised according to their thermal stability, determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The additives were added to base oils of various viscosities. The prepared lubricants were tested using a four-ball machine, and analysed by DSC. The relationships between base oil viscosity and seizure load (P_t), weld load (P_w) and DSC test results are presented and discussed. The mechanism of interaction between ZDDP and the base oils was analysed by the use of a mathematical model.     

The influence of some additives on the lubricating properties of semi‐synthetic ester oils

This article presents research on the lubricating properties of semi‐synthetic oils, made as compositions of mineral oil and esters. The esters were synthesized from acid substrates from the oxidation of paraffins. The last non‐seizure load (P_n), the weld point (P_z), the load wear index (I_h), and the limiting wear load (G_oz) were measured, and the effects of additives or mixtures of additives were investigated by their effects on these parameters. It was found that the efficiency of the additives depended on their chemical characteristics and concentration, and also on the chemical nature of the ester component of the semi‐synthetic oils.     

The overbasing of detergent additives: The behaviour of promoters and determination of factors controlling the overbasing reaction

The mechanism of overbasing of additives used in lubricating oils is studied. Overbased calcium sulphonates, the most widely used, are examined. Although the geometrical and physical nature of colloidal carbonate particles has been well studied, little is known about the fundamental aspects and mechanism of the overbasing process. In this paper, assessment of the physical and/or chemical nature of the reaction is made from equations related to the chemical engineering model of the shrinking spherical particle. The results show that the overbasing process is under diffusion control, and the chemical reaction is not determining.     

Effect of coatings on thermal conditions of EHL

The thermal EHD model of rectangular contact has been applied to analysing the effect of coatings on thermal conditions in EHL. The model takes into account variation of oil viscosity along and across the oil film according to the Barus formula. The solution has been obtained by means of the Newton-Raphson method. The effect of the coating has been examined by comparison of the temperature distributions in the oil film and on the surfaces of rollers for the cases with and without coating. In addition, the oil film shapes and minimum values, the pressure distributions and traction coefficients, have also been compared.     

In situ studies of the lubricant chemistry and frictional properties of perfluoropolyalkyl ethers at a sliding contact

In situ analyses of lubricated sliding contacts were performed by interfacing an ultraviolet Raman spectrometer to a ball-on-flat tribotester. The sliding contact was simulated by rotating a sapphire window that is transparent to ultraviolet radiation against a stationary ball. Various loads were transmitted to the contact center through the ball. A branched perfluoropolyaklyl ether (Krytox 479) and two linear perfluoropolyalkyl ethers (Fomblin 491 and Fomblin 497) have been studied under various loads at a 10 cm/s sliding speed. Krytox and a Fomblin of lower viscosity, Fomblin 497, decomposed to amorphous carbon upon sliding on a chrome steel ball but no amorphous carbon was detected from Fomblin 491. The amount of amorphous carbon at the contact area during sliding was a balance of formation and removal rates. It is postulated that surface activity of the chrome steel ball was the main cause for the lubricant degradation. The lubricant degradation at the chrome steel/sapphire interface was found to slightly increase the kinetic coefficient of friction at the contact center. However, catastrophic scuffing was not observed.