LUBRICANT

A LUBRICANT
-(sometimes referred to as "lube") is a substance
(often a liquid) introduced between two moving
surfaces to reduce the friction between them,
improving efficiency and reducing wear.
-have the function of dissolving foreign particles.
Petroleum-based lubricants like Vaseline tend to
dissolve petroleum products such as rubber and
plastic; water-based lubricants will dissolve polar
chemicals; silicone-based lubricants can
breakdown silicone toys.

-it protects the internal combustion engines in

motor vehicles and powered equipment.
-contain 90% base oil (most often petroleum
fractions, called mineral oils) and less than 10%
additives. Vegetable oils or synthetic liquids
such as hydrogenated polyolefins, esters,
silicone, fluorocarbons and many others are
sometimes used as base oils.

-Lubricants are comprised of a base fluid, usually

of petroleum origin, combined with added
chemicals that enhance performance. Base fluids
are collected from two main sources. Refined
crude oil or a mixture of chemical compounds
that perform the same task.

PURPOSE or FUNCTION OF A LUBRICANT

Keep moving parts apart

Reduce friction
Transfer heat
Carry away contaminants & debris
Transmit power
Protect against wear
Prevent corrosion
Seal for gasses
Stop the risk of smoke and fire of objects

KEEP MOVING PARTS APART

Lubricants are typically used to separate moving parts in
a system. This has the benefit of reducing friction and
surface fatigue together with reduced heat generation,
operating noise and vibrations. Lubricants achieve this
by several ways. The most common is by forming a
physical barrier i.e. a thin layer of lubricant separates the
moving parts. This is termed hydrodynamic lubrication.
In cases of high surface pressures or temperatures the
fluid film is much thinner and some of the forces are
transmitted between the surfaces through the lubricant.
This is termed elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication.

Reduce friction
Typically the lubricant-to-surface friction is much less
than surface-to-surface friction in a system without any
lubrication. Thus use of a lubricant reduces the overall
system friction. Reduced friction has the benefit of
reducing heat generation and reduced formation of wear
particles as well as improved efficiency. Lubricants may
contain additives known as friction modifiers that
chemically bind to metal surfaces to reduce surface
friction even when there is insufficient bulk lubricant
present for hydrodynamic lubrication, e.g. protecting the
valve train in a car engine at startup.

Transfer heat
Both gas and liquid lubricants can transfer heat. However, liquid
lubricants are much more effective on account of their high
specific heat capacity. This circulating flow also determines the
amount of heat that is carried away in any given unit of time. High
flow systems can carry away a lot of heat and have the additional
benefit of reducing the thermal stress on the lubricant. Thus lower
cost liquid lubricants may be used. The primary drawback is that
high flows typically require larger sumps and bigger cooling units.
A secondary drawback is that a high flow system that relies on the
flow rate to protect the lubricant from thermal stress is susceptible
to catastrophic failure during sudden system shut downs. An
automotive oil-cooled turbocharger is a typical example.
Turbochargers get red hot during operation and the oil that is
cooling them only survives as its residence time in the system is
very short i.e. high flow rate.

Carry away contaminants and debris

Lubricant circulation systems have the benefit of carrying away
internally generated debris and external contaminants that get
introduced into the system to a filter where they can be removed.
Lubricants for machines that regularly generate debris or
contaminants such as automotive engines typically contain
detergent and dispersant additives to assist in debris and
contaminant transport to the filter and removal. Over time the filter
will get clogged and require cleaning or replacement, hence the
recommendation to change a car's oil filter at the same time as
changing the oil. In closed systems such as gear boxes the filter
may be supplemented by a magnet to attract any iron fines that
get created. Poor filtration significantly reduces the life of the
machine (engine) as well as making the system inefficient.

Transmit power
Pascal's law is at the heart of hydrostatic power
transmission. Hydraulic fluids comprise a large
portion of all lubricants produced in the world.
Protect against wear
Lubricants prevent wear by keeping the moving
parts apart. Lubricants may also contain antiwear or extreme pressure additives to boost
their performance against wear and fatigue

-Prevent corrosion
Good quality lubricants are typically formulated
with additives that form chemical bonds with
surfaces to prevent corrosion and rust.
-Seal for gasses
Lubricants will occupy the clearance between
moving parts through the capillary force, thus
sealing the clearance. This effect can be used to
seal pistons and shafts.

Types of lubricants
- Liquid including emulsions and suspensions
- Solid
- Greases
- Adhesive

Liquid lubricants
Lanolin (wool grease, natural water repellant)
Water
Mineral oils
Vegetable (natural oil)
Synthetic oils
Others
Note: although generally lubricants are based on
one type of base oil or another, it is quite possible
to use mixtures of the base oils to meet
performance requirements.

Lanolin
- A natural water repellent, lanolin is derived from
sheep wool grease, and is an alternative to the
more common petro-chemical based lubricants.
This lubricants are also corrosion inhibitors,
protecting against rust, salt and acids.
Water
- Water can be used on its own, or as a major
component in combination with one of the other
base oils. Commonly used in engineering
processes, such as milling and lathe turning.

Mineral oil
This term is used to encompass lubricating base
oil derived from crude oil. The
American Petroleum Institute (API) designates
several types of lubricant base oil identified as:
Group I - Saturates <90% and/or sulphur
>0.03%, and Society of Automotive Engineers
(SAE) viscosity index (VI) = >80 to <120
- Manufactured by solvent extraction, solvent or
catalytic dewaxing, and hydro-finishing
processes. Common Group I base oil are 150SN
(solvent neutral), 500SN, and 150BS (brightstok)

Group II Saturates >90% and sulfur <0.03%,

and SAE viscosity index >80 to <120
- Manufactured by hydrocracking and solvent or
catalytic dewaxing processes. Group II base oil
has superior anti-oxidation properties since
virtually all hydrocarbon molecules are saturated.
It has water-white color.

Group III Saturates > 90%, sulfur <0.03%, and

SAE viscosity index >120
- Manufactured by special processes such as
isohydromerization. Can be manufactured from
base oil or slax wax from dewaxing process.
Group IV Polyalphaolefins (PAO)

Group V All others not included above

Such as naphthenics, PAG, esters, and etc.
In North America, Groups III, IV and V are now
described as synthetic lubricants, with group III
frequently described as synthesised
hydrocarbons, or SHCs. In Europe, only Groups
IV and V may be classed as synthetics.
The lubricant industry commonly extends this
group terminology to include:

Group I+ with a Viscosity Index of 103 - 108

Group II+ with a Viscosity Index of 113 - 119
Group III+ with a Viscosity Index of >= 140
Can also be classified into three categories
depending on the prevailing compositions: Paraffinic - Naphthenic - Aromatic

Vegetable (natural) oils

These are primarily triglyceride esters
derived from plants and animals. For
lubricant base oil use the vegetable
derived materials are preferred.
Common ones include high oleic
canola oil, castor oil, palm oil,
sunflower seed oil and rapeseed oil
from vegetable, and Tall oil from animal
sources. Many vegetable oils are often
hydrolyzed to yield the acids which are
subsequently combined selectively to
form specialist synthetic esters.

Synthetic oils
Polyalpha-olefin (PAO)
Synthetic esters
Polyalkylene glycols (PAG)
Phosphate esters
Alkylated naphthalenes (AN)
Silicate esters
Ionic fluids

Solid lubricants
Teflon or PTFE
Teflon or PTFE is typically used as a coating layer on, for
example, cooking utensils to provide a non-stick surface.

Mineral
Graphite, hexagonal Boron nitride. Molybdenum disulfide and
Tungsten disulfide are examples of materials that can be used as
solid lubricants, often to very high temperature. The use of such
materials are still restricted by their poor resistance to oxidation
(e.g., molybdenum disulfide can only be used up to 350C in air,
but 1100C in reducing environments).

Mineral
Graphite, hexagonal boron nitride, and
molybdenum disulfide are examples of materials
that can be used as solid lubricants often to very
high temperatures. The use of such materials is
still restricted by their poor resistance to
oxidation. For example, molybdenum disulfide
can only be used up to 350 C in air, but 1,100 C
in reducing environments.

Additives
A large number of additives are used to impart performance
characteristics to the lubricants. The main families of additives are:

Antioxidants
Detergents
Anti-wear
Metal deactivators
Corrosion inhibitors, Rust inhibitors
Friction modifiers
Extreme Pressure
Anti-foaming agents
Viscosity index improvers
Demulsifying/Emulsifying

Application methods
Spraying/dipping/brushing:
Dispersion of solid lubricant as an additive in oil, water or grease
is most common used. For parts that are inaccessible for
lubrication after assembly a dry film lubricant can be sprayed.
After the solvent evaporates, the coating cures at room
temperature to form a solid lubricant. Pastes are grease like
lubricants containing a high percentage of solid lubricants used for
assembly and lubrication of highly loaded, slow moving parts.
Black pastes generally contain MoS2. For high temperatures
above 500C pastes are composed on the basis of metal powders
to protect metal parts from oxidation necessary to facilitate
disassembly of threaded connections and other assemblies.

FREE POWDER
Dry-powder thumbling is an effective application
method. The bonding can be improved by priory
phosphating the substrate. Use of free powders
has its limitations, since adhesion of the solid
particles to the substrate is usually insufficient to
provide any service life in continuous
applications. However, to improve running-in
conditions or in metal forming processes a short
duration of the improved slide conditions may
suffice.

AF-coatings
Anti-friction coatings are "lubricating paints" consisting of fine
particles of lubricating pigments, such as molydisulfide, PTFE or
graphite, blended with a binder. After application and proper
curing, these lubricants bond to the metal surface and form a dark
gray solid film. Many dry film lubricants also contain special rust
inhibitors which offer exceptional corrosion protection. Most long
wearing films are of the bonded type but are still restricted to
applications where sliding distances are not too long. AF-coatings
are applied where fretting and galling is a problem (such as
splines, universal joints and keyed bearings), where operating
pressures exceed the load-bearing capacities of ordinary oils and
greases, where smooth running in is desired (piston, camshaft),
where clean operation is desired (AF-coatings will not collect dirt
and debris like greases and oils), where parts may be stored for
long periods of time.

COMPOSITES
Self lubricating composites: Solid lubricants as PTFE, graphite,
MoS2 and some other anti friction and anti wear additives are
often compounded in polymers and all kind of sintered materials.
MoS2 for example is compounded in materials for sleeve
bearings, elastomere O-rings, carbon brushes etc. Solid lubricants
are compounded in plastics to form a "Self lubricating" or
"Internally lubricated" thermoplastic composite. PTFE particles for
example compounded in the plastic form a PTFE film over the
mating surface resulting in a reduction of friction and wear. MoS2
compounded in Nylon reduces wear, friction and stick-slip.
Furthermore it acts as a nucleating agent effecting in a very fine
crystalline structure. The primary use of graphite lubricated
thermoplastics is in applications operating in aqueous
environments.