Lubricants — Open Access Tribology Journal

The authors analyzed the structures of sulfurized olefins using NMR spectroscopy and studied the effects of sulfur chain length and alkyl structure on the ironing performance. They found that branched chain olefins, which contain branched alkyl groups, show superior ironing performance to straight chain olefins, provided that their carbon numbers are relatively low. When the sulfurized olefins were used in combination with overbased detergents (calcium sulfonate or salicylate), they showed a higher performance in ironing than with sulfurized olefins alone. It was also found that lubricating films consisting of both iron sulfide and calcium carbonate seem to improve ironing performance. Full article

Floating ring bearings are the commonly used type of bearing for automotive turbochargers. The automotive industry continuously investigates how to reduce the bearing friction losses and how to create silent turbochargers. Many of these studies involve creating a numerical model of the rotor-bearing system and performing validation on a test bench on which a turbocharger is driven by hot gases. This approach, however, involves many uncertainties which diminish the validity of the measurement results. In this study, we present a test setup in which these uncertainties are minimized. The measurement results show the behavior of the floating ring bearing as a function of oil feed pressure, oil feed temperature, rotor unbalance and bearing clearances. Next to an increased validity, the test setup provides measurement data with good repeatability and can therefore represent a case study which can be used for validation of rotor-bearing models. Full article

Increasing quality demands of combustion engines require, amongst others, improvements of the engine’s acoustics and all (sub)components mounted to the latter. A significant impact to the audible tonal noise spectrum results from the vibratory motions of fast-rotating turbocharger rotor systems in multiple hydrodynamic bearings such as floating bearing rings. Particularly, the study of self-excited non-linear vibrations of the rotor-bearing systems is crucial for the understanding, prevention or reduction of the noise and, consequently, for a sustainable engine acoustics development. This work presents an efficient modeling approach for the investigation, optimization, and design improvement of complex turbocharger rotors in hydrodynamic journal bearings, including floating bearing rings with circular and non-circular bearing geometries. The capability of tonal non-synchronous vibration prevention using non-circular bearing shapes is demonstrated with dynamic run-up simulations of the presented model. These findings and the performance of our model are compared and validated with results of a classical Laval/Jeffcott rotor-bearing model and a specific turbocharger model found in the literature. It is shown that the presented simulation method yields fast and accurate results and furthermore, that non-circular bearing shapes are an effective measure to reduce or even prevent self-excited tonal noise. Full article

The tribological properties, under water-lubricated conditions, of three major nano-composite coatings, i.e., diamond-like carbon (DLC or a-C), amorphous carbon nitride (a-CNx) and transition metallic nitride-based (TiN-based, CrN-based), coatings are reviewed. The influences of microstructure (composition and architecture) and test conditions (counterparts and friction parameters) on their friction and wear behavior under water lubrication are systematically elucidated. In general, DLC and a-CNx coatings exhibit superior tribological performance under water lubrication due to the formation of the hydrophilic group and the lubricating layer with low shear strength, respectively. In contrast, TiN-based and CrN-based coatings present relatively poor tribological performance in pure water, but are expected to present promising applications in sea water because of their good corrosion resistance. No matter what kind of coatings, an appropriate selection of counterpart materials would make their water-lubricated tribological properties more prominent. Currently, Si-based materials are deemed as beneficial counterparts under water lubrication due to the formation of silica gel originating from the hydration of Si. In the meantime, the tribological properties of nano-composite coatings in water could be enhanced at appropriate normal load and sliding velocity due to mixed or hydrodynamic lubrication. At the end of this article, the main research that is now being developed concerning the development of nano-composite coatings under water lubrication is described synthetically. Full article

While texturing of workpiece surfaces to promote lubrication in metal forming has been applied for several decades, tool surface texturing is rather new. In the present paper, tool texturing is studied as a method to prevent galling. A strip reduction test was conducted with tools provided with shallow, longitudinal pockets oriented perpendicular to the sliding direction. The pockets had small angles to the workpiece surface and the distance between them were varied. The experiments reveal that the distance between pockets should be larger than the pocket width, thereby creating a topography similar to flat table mountains to avoid mechanical interlocking in the valleys; otherwise, an increase in drawing load and pick-up on the tools are observed. The textured tool surface lowers friction and improves lubrication performance, provided that the distance between pockets is 2–4 times larger than the pocket width. Larger drawing speed facilitates escape of the entrapped lubricant in the pockets. Testing with low-to-medium viscosity oils leads to a low sheet roughness on the plateaus, but also local workpiece material pick-up on the tool plateaus. Large lubricant viscosity results in higher sheet plateau roughness, but also prevents pick-up and galling. Full article

This paper investigates the surface film adsorption and lubricity of two different types of potential environmentally friendly cold metal forming lubricants: soybean vegetable oil in water VO/W emulsions and triblock copolymer aqueous solutions. The lubricants have different visual appearance, surface film adsorption characteristic, lubricity and surface cleaning behaviour. The effects of concentration, temperature and emulsification ultrasonic energy (for VO/W emulsion) are studied. The result shows that the soybean VO/W emulsions have stronger adsorption, superior lubricity and anti-wear property compared to the copolymer solutions. The effect of temperature is investigated at 30 °C and 65 °C which are below and above cloud point of the aqueous copolymer solutions. Both lubricants show improved friction and anti-wear property at 65 °C. However, tenacious residual film remained on the discs surface after surface cleaning indicates lower cleanability of the soybean VO/W emulsions compared to the copolymer solutions, postulating the need for extra post-processing cleaning operations after cold forming process with VO/W emulsion lubricant. Full article

It is crucial that orthopaedic implant materials are tested in conditions that replicate the natural body’s environment as closely as possible. Bovine serum is currently recommended for use by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) for the wear testing of these implant materials, however, the rheological properties of bovine serum do not match fully those of the body’s natural lubricant, synovial fluid. This study looks at a potential alternative to bovine serum for the testing of orthopaedic implant materials; 0.5% gellan gum fluid gel. Wear tests using multidirectional motion were conducted on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) pins rubbing against stainless steel plates. Roughness measurements were performed during testing along with particle analysis of the testing lubricant. At two million cycles (equivalent to 121.3 km of sliding), the mean wear factor for the four UHMWPE pins was 0.25 (standard deviation (SD) 0.03) × 10⁻⁶ mm³/Nm and there was no evidence of any transfer film on the plate surfaces. The wear factor produced by 0.5% gellan gum fluid gel was lower than that measured in previous studies using bovine serum as the lubricant but greater than the wear factor shown in published work using a similar alternative lubricant (sodium alginate mixed with gellan gum). Work on the development of a suitable alternative lubricant to bovine serum will continue. Full article

Lubricating greases show a structural degradation due to friction stress. The shear process dissipates energy. This results in a breakdown of the thickener structure, heat and entropy generation. Tribo-systems are energy driven systems. The stressed lubricating grease is modeled as a subsystem and presents an open thermodynamic system. Investigations were made to obtain more information about the correlation of system entropy and structural degradation of a lubricating grease. Experimental studies were done to estimate the role in terms of entropy transport for the open system. The degradation-entropy theorem was applied with the help of an empirical model to describe the correlation between degradation process and entropy production for the special case of a closed and stationary system. Full article

The articulation performance of silicon nitride against conventional and highly cross-linked polyethylene, as well as for self-mated silicon nitride bearings, was examined in a series of standard hip simulation studies. Wear rates for polyethylene liners against silicon nitride femoral heads were consistent with reported literature, although higher than cobalt chromium controls. Excessive protein precipitation was a confounding factor in interpretation of the wear data. Post wear-test Raman spectroscopy of the cross-linked polyethylene liners showed no oxidative degradation. Wear of self-mated silicon nitride was found to be essentially zero and indistinguishable from alumina controls using continuously orbital hip simulation for up to three million cycles. However, introduction of an alternative loading profile from three to five million cycles, including a stop-dwell-start sequence, significantly increased wear for two of six silicon nitride couples. This behavior is associated with formation and disruption of a gelatinous silicic acid tribochemical film, and is consistent with a recurrent transition from fluid-film to boundary lubrication. Overall, these results suggest that silicon nitride articulation against dissimilar counterface surfaces (e.g., highly cross-linked polyethylene) is preferred. Full article

Finely dispersed copper nanoparticles were added as an additive to fully-formulated engine oils. The copper additive was in colloidal form, with an inner core of Cu²⁺ atoms covered by surfactants to form stable reverse micelles that are completely dispersible in the base oil. The tribological process to form protective films at the metal surface is comprised of three phases. Phase I can be considered a physical process involving the build-up of polar molecules by absorption to produce a friction modifier film, whereas phases II and III have to be treated as mechanochemical processes comprising a combination of redox reactions and a third body formation. The tribological performance was investigated using atomic force microscopy, a microtribometer, a pin-on-disk tribometer in combination with continuous and high-resolution wear measurements with radionuclide technique, and high pressure stressing in a thrust roller bearing test rig. In addition, the nanostructure of the additive was characterized by atomic force microscopy. Finally, the chemical composition of the metal surface was analyzed using photoelectron spectroscopy. Full article

Journal bearings are used to support rotors in a wide range of applications. In order to ensure reliable operation, accurate analyses of these rotor-bearing systems are crucial. Coupled analysis of the rotor and the journal bearing is essential in the case that the rotor is flexible. The accuracy of prediction of the model at hand depends on its comprehensiveness. In this study, we construct three bearing models of increasing modeling comprehensiveness and use these to predict the response of two different rotor-bearing systems. The main goal is to evaluate the correlation with measurement data as a function of modeling comprehensiveness: 1D versus 2D pressure prediction, distributed versus lumped thermal model, Newtonian versus non-Newtonian fluid description and non-mass-conservative versus mass-conservative cavitation description. We conclude that all three models predict the existence of critical speeds and whirl for both rotor-bearing systems. However, the two more comprehensive models in general show better correlation with measurement data in terms of frequency and amplitude. Furthermore, we conclude that a thermal network model comprising temperature predictions of the bearing surroundings is essential to obtain accurate predictions. The results of this study aid in developing accurate and computationally-efficient models of flexible rotors supported by plain journal bearings. Full article

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) is a well-known solid lubricant for tribosystems running in vacuum or dry gases. Problems arise due to its sensitivity to humidity, which is a drawback for its application under ambient conditions. However, by using a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process, deposition parameters can be optimized not only to gain a coatings structure with favorable frictional properties but also to minimize the sensitivity to attack by water molecules. Therefore, an improved tribological behavior even under moist conditions can be achieved. MoS₂ coatings are also candidates for being applied at cryogenic temperatures. They already have proven their suitability, e.g., for sliding support elements between superconducting magnets of the nuclear fusion-experiment Wendelstein 7-X. However, these coatings were exclusively produced for this particular application and the utilization for more common tribosystems may be precluded due to cost considerations. In view of a wider range of applications, pure and Cr containing PVD-MoS₂ coatings with an optimized structure were tested under varying environments including hydrogen gas and cryogenic temperatures. Results of the most promising variant are presented in this paper. Full article

Multi-layered graphene was prepared by supercritical CO₂ exfoliation of graphite. As the additives of polyalphaolefin-2 (PAO2) oil, its tribological properties were investigated using four-ball test method. The friction reduction and anti-wear ability of pure lubricant was improved by the addition of graphene. With a favorable concentration, the graphene was dispersive. The PAO2 oil with 0.05 wt % graphene showed better tribological properties than that for the other concentration of graphene additives. It could be used as a good lubricant additive for its excellent tribological characteristics, and the multi-layered graphene can bear the load of the steel ball and prevent direct contact of the mating metal surfaces. However, a higher concentration would cause the agglomeration of graphene and weaken the improvement of tribological properties. Full article

In this paper, we report the synthesis and characterization of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)-lignin composites. During this study four different compositions, namely UHMWPE, UHMWPE-13 wt. % lignin, UHMWPE-25 wt. % lignin and UHMWPE-42.5 wt. % lignin were fabricated by hot pressing. Detailed microstructural studies by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that UHMWPE and UHMWPE-13 wt. % lignin had a uniform microstructure, whereas UHMWPE-25 wt. % lignin and UHMWPE-42.5 wt. % lignin samples were riddled with pores. UHMWPE and UHMWPE-13% lignin showed comparable flexural strengths of ~32.2 MPa and ~32.4 MPa, respectively. However, the flexural strength dropped drastically in UHMWPE-25 wt. % lignin and UHMWPE-42.5 wt. % samples to ~13 MPa and ~8 MPa, respectively. The tribology of UHMWPE-lignin composites is governed by the tribofilm formation. All the compositions showed similar µ_mean values and the specific wear rates (WR) decreased gradually as the concentration of lignin in UHMWPE was increased. Full article

This paper presents a numerical simulation of an aircraft tire in contact with a rough surface using a variable friction coefficient dependent on temperature and contact pressure. A sliding facility was used in order to evaluate this dependence of the friction coefficient. The temperature diffusion throughout the tire cross-section was measured by means of thermocouples. Both frictional heating and temperature diffusion were compared to numerical two- and three- dimensional simulations. An adequate temperature prediction could be obtained. In future simulations, wear should be taken into account in order to have a more accurate simulation especially in the case of high pressures and slipping velocities. A 3D finite element model for a rolling tire at a velocity of 37.79 knots (19.44 m/s) and in a cornering phase was investigated using a variable friction coefficient dependent on temperature and pressure. The numerical simulation tended to predict the temperature of the tire tread after a few seconds of rolling in skidding position, the temperature of the contact zone increases to 140 °C. Further investigations must be carried out in order to obtain the evolution of the temperature observed experimentally. The authors would like to point out that for confidentiality reasons, certain numerical data could not be revealed. Full article

Effective tribofilms are desirable to protect mechanical systems. In the present research, we investigated the formation of a tribofilm through the use of α-ZrP (Zr(HPO₄)₂·H₂O) as an additive. Experiments were conducted on a base oil where 0.2 wt% of the additive was used. Experimental results showed a 50% reduction in friction and a 30% reduction in wear when compared to the base oil containing 0.8 wt% ZDDP. Spectroscopic characterization indicated that the tribofilm consists of iron oxide, zirconium oxide, and zirconium phosphates. The worn surface was seen to be smooth which renders it desirable for bearing systems. Full article

The subject of the present paper is the characterization of third bodies of run-in systems. By means of continuous friction and wear measurement, lubricated steel-steel and steel-aluminum contacts were evaluated. Microstructure, chemical composition and response of the materials to shear were analyzed by XPS/AES and focused ion beam technique. After a proper running-in, both systems developed a third body. The third body differs significantly from the base materials. In addition to adapted microstructure and near-surface chemistry, the third body exhibited a substructure characterized by a near-surface zone that accommodates shear and a second, deeper region that ensures strengthening. Full article