Tribology International 129 (2019) 323–337

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Tribology International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/triboint

On the film forming and friction behaviour of greases in rolling/sliding T

contacts
Balasubramaniam Vengudusamy∗, Claus Enekes, Reiner Spallek
Klüber Lubrication München SE & Co. KG, Geisenhausenerstraße 7, 81379 Munich, Germany

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The film forming and friction properties of nine greases covering different thickener types, viscosities and NLGI
Grease friction grades have been investigated. Film thickness results are in agreement with previous work that all greases form a
Grease film thickness thicker film than the base oil counterpart at low speeds, suggesting that lambda ratio and kappa of greases can be
Stribeck curve much higher than their corresponding oils. The base oil viscosity appears to govern the grease film thickness at
Rolling bearings
low speeds by a direct relationship for polyurea greases whereas by an inverse relationship for lithium and
calcium complex greases. Grease friction results indicate that the shape of grease friction curves can differ quite
significantly from that of oils. Possible underlying mechanisms that govern friction properties are discussed.

1. Introduction
Many different types of greases varying in terms of several factors
including thickener type, base oil type, oil separation properties, NLGI
(National Lubricating Grease Institute) grade, rheological properties
etc. exist in the market. They are widely used in rolling element bear-
ings and their selection is generally made based on many factors like
type of application (e.g. automotive hub units, wind turbine gearboxes)
operating condition (speed, load, vertically or horizontally mounted,
temperature, bearing size), environment (extreme low temperature,
humid, dust), etc. Although greases have been in use since many years
as lubricants for rolling element bearings, studies related to them are
much less compared to what has been done on oils. This may partly be
due to the above described variations in grease composition, thus much
less general rules exist for greases compared to oils. As greases hold a
thickener/base oil two-phase structure, they generally exhibit proper-
ties of both of these components. However due to complex grease
compositions and limited rules, grease selection has been made based
mainly on its base oil properties. Such an approach considerably ig-
nores the potential benefits of thickener.
It is widely accepted that greases exhibit its elastic thickener re-
sponse until certain speed or shear rate or deformation beyond which it
shows the viscous response from the associated base oil. Such a re-
sponse has been commonly seen in film thickness measurements. An
early study by Cann [1] highlighted that greases form a much thicker
film with decreasing speed and follow that of its base oil at high speeds
under fully flooded condition, as shown schematically in Fig. 1. The
thick film formation at low speeds was attributed to thickener. How-
ever, such a beneficial thickener effect appears not to be practically
applied or used even though it was reported many years ago. Some
recent studies have also reported a similar pattern of thick film for-
mation at low speeds [2–8] and the beneficial thickener effect have now
begun to gain a greater attention than before. For instance, a study by
Morales-Espejel et al. highlighted how thickener effects can influence
kappa calculation [4]. However, it is less clear whether such a bene-
ficial effect is valid for all thickener types and can be applied as a
universal rule. Furthermore, it should be noted that most grease lu-
bricated bearings encounter starvation and this can significantly influ-
ence film formation [1,6,9]. The degree of starvation may depend on
many factors including thickener type, base oil viscosity, bearing type,
bearing size, operating speed, load and vibration level. Damiens et al.
[9] proposed a quantitative model of starved lubrication. However, in
order to be able to understand the sole effects of greases and their
composition on film thickness, evaluating greases in fully flooded
condition may be beneficial.
Another less explored area is the friction properties of greases.
Unlike oils, much less work has been done on grease friction. It is well
accepted that oils generally operate in boundary, mixed and EHD
(elastohydrodynamic) lubrication regimes as the speed is increased and
this is governed by their film forming properties. Thus their friction
curves generally show a much higher friction at low speeds followed by
a drop due to oil film build-up up to a certain speed beyond which it
starts increasing again at higher speeds. These regions correspond to
boundary, mixed, EHD and hydrodynamic lubrication regimes, and the

∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: Balasubramaniam.Vengudusamy@klueber.com (B. Vengudusamy).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2018.08.026
Received 5 July 2018; Received in revised form 20 August 2018; Accepted 23 August 2018
Available online 24 August 2018
0301-679X/ © 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
B. Vengudusamy et al.
Fig. 1. Typical film thickness curves for oils and greases (inspired from Ref.
[1]). δTh is the positive effect contributed by thickener in greases.
curve obtained as a function of speed is widely known as ‘‘Stribeck
curve’’. However, it is unclear whether greases that basically contain
two elements namely thickener and base oil in their structure show
friction curves similar to that of oils or behave differently. Recent stu-
dies by De Laurentis et al. [5] and Goncalves et al. [8] indicated that
grease friction curves can be quite different from that of oils while
another study by Kanazawa et al. [7] showed that they could be similar
to Stribeck curves found in oils. These differences may originate from
the differences in the nature and composition of greases studied. Other
studies on grease friction include those made directly on bearings
[10–12]. Cousseau et al. showed that grease friction at high speeds is
governed by base oil properties [11] whereas Sakai et al. showed that it
is governed by grease film thickness, flow behaviour and thickener
structure [12]. It is still unclear which properties of greases are con-
trolling their friction properties and is evident from the literature that
grease friction has been much less studied. Considering the rapid
technological growth of machines and increasing demand for greener
solutions, it is important to achieve as low friction as possible to
maximise the efficiency and lifetime of machines. All these demand for
a better understanding than existing of grease behaviour both in terms
of film formation and friction to be able to derive general rules for
greases.
In light of all of the above, the present study has investigated the
film forming and friction behaviour of nine greases covering three
groups aimed at studying (a) from group A the effect of base oil visc-
osity for lithium (Li) and lithium/calcium (Li/Ca) greases of NLGI grade
2, (b) from group B the effect of base oil viscosity for Li and Ca greases
of NLGI 1, (c) from group C the effect of base oil viscosity for polyurea
(PU) greases of NLGI 2, (d) the effect of thickener type for the same base
oil viscosity and NLGI 2 grade by comparing Li and PU greases from
groups A and C, respectively and (e) the effect of NLGI grade for the
same base oil viscosity and thickener type by comparing Li greases from
groups A and B, respectively. Additionally, temperature effects on film
formation and friction were also studied.
2. Test methods
2.1. Friction
The friction tests were carried out using a ball-on-disc EHD rig (PCS
Instruments) shown schematically in Fig. 2. A 19 mm diameter steel
ball was loaded and rubbed in rolling/sliding conditions against a steel
disc lubricated by a thin layer of test grease with the help of a grease
scoop to channel the grease into the contact. The microscope setup
shown in Fig. 2 was used only for film thickness measurements. The ball
and disc specimens used were made of AISI 52100 steel, had hardness
of 600 HV and a composite surface roughness Rq ∼15 nm. The low
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Tribology International 129 (2019) 323–337
speed friction test conditions used in this study were: applied
load = 50 N, corresponding to a maximum Hertz contact pressure of
1.1 GPa; entrainment or mean speed = 0.03 m/s; slide-roll ratio
(SRR) = 50%; temperature = 40 and 100 °C; test duration = 4 h. These
temperatures are pot temperatures, so the contact temperature is likely
to be slightly (5 °C) lower. The entrainment speed was defined as
(ub + ud)/2, where ub and ud respectively are the speed of the ball and
disc with respect to the contacting surfaces, while the SRR was defined
as the ratio of sliding speed |ub-ud| to entrainment speed. Initial friction
versus mean speed curves (Stribeck curves) were taken prior to beginning
of prolonged rubbing, by measuring friction while varying entrainment
speeds in stages from 0.004 up to 1.5 m/s at three different SRRs 10, 30
and 50%. Then prolonged slow speed rubbing was carried out at the test
conditions described above. Periodically, after 5, 15, 30, 60, 120, 180
and 240 min, the slow speed test was halted and a Stribeck curve was
taken at 50% SRR. The Stribeck curve after 4 h was taken at three SRRs.
In this paper, only the Stribeck curves taken initially and after 4 h
rubbing are shown. Stribeck curves obtained at 50% SRR showed a
better differentiation of greases, so only these curves are mainly com-
pared. However, some representative curves of 10 and 30% SRR are
shown in Appendix A. Traction curves were obtained initially by
measuring friction at a constant entrainment speed of 1.5 m/s while
varying the SRR from 0 to 30%.
2.2. Film thickness
The film thickness was measured using the same EHD rig used for
friction measurements but with a transparent glass disc instead of the
steel disc (Fig. 2). The ball specimen used was made of the same ma-
terial and hardness as used in the friction tests. The composite surface
roughness of ball and disc specimens was Rq ∼10 nm. This test setup
works on optical interferometry principles by combining spacer layer
and spectrometry to measure central film thickness in a rolling or
rolling/sliding point contact formed between a steel ball and a glass
disc [13]. The contact is illuminated by a white source directed down a
microscope through a glass disc on to the contact. Part of the light is reflected
from the chromium layer and part travels through SiO2 layer and fluid film
and is reflected back from the steel ball. Recombining the two light paths
forms an interference image, which is passed into a spectrometer and a high
resolution black and white CCD camera. The camera image is captured by a
video frame grabber and analysed by a control software to determine the
film thickness. The central film thickness, hc, was measured by varying
entrainment speed from 0.001 to 3 m/s at 50 and 100 °C under pure
rolling condition with an applied load of 50 N. A thin layer of test
grease was applied on the glass disc; a small area was left ungreased
allowing for zero film measurement prior to start of the test. Some
example interference images obtained for 130/Li/1 at 100 °C are shown
in Fig. 3, where it can be seen that contact shows a non-uniform thick
film at low speeds [7,14,15] whereas the typical horse-shoe shape at
high speeds. Similar pattern was observed with all greases but the speed
at which the horse-shape occurs slightly differed, due to effects of
thickener and base oil viscosity. These are discussed in detail later.
Both for friction and film thickness tests, the test specimens and rig
accessories were ultrasonically cleaned in Isopropanol and dried before
they were assembled in the rig. In case of oil test the lubricant pot was
filled with the test oil so that half the ball was submerged.
3. Test lubricants
Nine greases, covering three thickener types and two NLGI grades,
and two base oils were investigated. The properties of greases and base
oils investigated in this study are listed in Table 1. The greases were
carefully chosen to study the influence of viscosity, thickener type and
NLGI grade on friction and film thickness. The chosen greases are
grouped as A, B and C as listed in Table 1. Group A includes two Li and
one Li/Ca greases of different viscosities but same NLGI grade 2. Group
B. Vengudusamy et al. Tribology International 129 (2019) 323–337

Spectrometer Interference image White light

from the contact
Control
software
to
determine
the film
Diffracted image focussed on to Microscope
thickness
a fire wire black & white camera

Glass Disc

Glass disc with a thin Cr Lubricant

layer & SiO2 spacer layer
Steel ball

Load

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the test rig for film thickness measurements. For friction tests, a steel disc replaces glass disc and no camera setup was used.

4. Results

4.1. Film thickness

The film thickness measurements made as a function of speed for

three groups of greases at 50 and 100 °C are shown in Figs. 4 and 5,
respectively. As a reference, the film thickness curve of 130 mm2/s base
oil (130 BO) is also shown.

4.1.1. On the shape of film thickness versus speed curve

Fig. 3. Example interference images obtained for 130/Li/1 at 100 °C.
B includes two Li and one Ca complex greases of different viscosities but
same NLGI grade 1. Group C includes three PU greases of different
viscosities but same NLGI grade 2. The greases are named based on
their viscosity at 40 °C, thickener type and NLGI grade. For e.g. 50/Li/2
corresponds to 50 mm2/s at 40 °C, lithium thickener and NLGI grade 2.
Since the grease behaviour at high speeds is widely accepted to be well
predicted by base oil properties, understanding the behaviour at low
speeds is the focus of this study. For same reason along with the fact
that base oil types were not varied much in this study, the effects of
base oil types and their interactions with thickener are beyond the
scope of this article. It should be noted that microstructures of thickener
types investigated in this study differ but in general, they are fibrous in
nature. The microstructure of thickener may have some effects on the
observed behaviour, especially film thickness, but these are not con-
sidered in this article.
As can be seen from these figures, the film thickness with all three
groups is high at very low speeds, which then drops with increasing
speed until it starts increasing again and approaches or follows the base
oil curve at high speeds. The curve of 130/Li/1 grease however did not
exactly overlap with its associated base oil 130 BO curve at high speeds
but follow quite closely (Fig. 4a). This is believed to be due to thickener
effects extended to moderate/high speeds as well. For the same reason
the curves do not show a sharp transition from thickener-dominant to
base oil-dominant region as described in Fig. 1. The speed at which the
transition from thickener-to base oil-dominant region (transition speed)
occurs generally varies within each group and is attributed to the dif-
ference in thickener size and structure.
In general, the curves from this study broadly follow the widely
reported V-shaped pattern of behaviour [1–3,5,7] as shown in Fig. 1,
confirming previous work that greases form a much thicker film at low
speeds. The observed thick film formation at low speeds is commonly
attributed to thickener lumps entraining into contact [1].
4.1.2. Effect of base oil viscosity on film thickness
As shown in Fig. 5d, the grease film thickness at high speeds

Table 1
Properties of greases investigated in this study.
Nr. Group Grease name Thickener type Base oil NLGI grade Kinematic viscosity (mm2/s) Calculated oil film thickness at 1 m/s (nm)b

40 °C 100 °C 100 °C

1 A 50/Li/2a Lithium (Li) PAO 2 50 8 27

2 130/Li/2 Li PAO/Min 2 130 15 47
3 420/Li/Ca/2 Li/Ca Min 2 420 30 75
4 B 130/Li/1 Li PAO/Min 1 130 15 47
5 300/Li/1 Li PAO/Min 1 300 25 66
6 130/Ca/1 Calcium complex (Ca) PAO/Min 1 130 15 47
7 C 80/PU/2 Polyurea (PU) Ester 2 80 10 33
8 130/PU/2 PU Ester 2 130 15 47
9 160/PU/2 PU Ester 2 160 18 53
10 50 BO – Base oil of 50/Li/2 – 50 8 27
11 130 BO – Base oil of 130/Li/1 – 130 15 47

a
50/Li/2: every grease is named based on its base oil viscosity (50 mm2/s here), thickener type (Li) and NLGI grade (2). BO – base oil.
b
Calculated using Hamrock & Downson film thickness equation [16].

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B. Vengudusamy et al.
generally follows the EHL oil theory for the obvious reason that grease
rheology is similar to that of its base oil at high speeds. Greases made of
high base oil viscosity form a thicker film than those made of low
viscosity. However, an opposite behaviour was noticed at low speeds;
greases of low base oil viscosity show a thick film formation compared
to those of high base oil viscosity. But this behaviour was limited to
certain thickener types. It appears that the observed positive thickener
effect at low speeds gets suppressed when base oil viscosity is increased
for the Li & Ca family (Figs. 4a and 5d) irrespective of the NLGI grade
(Fig. 5a and b), whereas enhanced for PU family (Figs. 4b and 5c). In
general, PU greases show a thicker film formation followed, in order by
Ca and Li greases.
However, to be able to understand the sole effect of base oil visc-
osity on film thickness the comparison has to be made at low and high
temperatures as this eventually varies the base oil viscosity of test
grease. This is shown in the next section.
4.1.3. Temperature effect
The film thickness with oil lubrication generally drops with increase
in temperature at all speeds, while greases show such a drop only at
high speeds (indicated by a downward arrow in Fig. 6). A re-
presentative comparison illustrating the temperature effect is shown for
130/PU/2 in Fig. 6a while the comparison for other greases is shown in
Appendix A in Fig. A.1. As can be seen from these figures, at low speeds,
all greases investigated in this study show a thicker film formation with
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Fig. 4. Film thickness measurements at 50 °C (a)
Group A and B greases and (b) Group C greases.
Dashed line is the film thickness for 130 BO and the
thick line shows the V-shaped film thickness trend
for greases. The downward and upward arrows in-
dicate the decrease and increase in film thickness
with increase in base oil viscosity, respectively.
Fig. 5. Film thickness measurements at 100 °C (a)
Group A, (b) Group B and 130 mm2/s base oil, (c)
Group C greases and (d) comparison of low and high
viscosity greases. Dashed line is the film thickness for
130 BO and the thick line shows the V-shaped film
thickness trend for greases. The downward and up-
ward arrows indicate the decrease and increase in
film thickness with increase in base oil viscosity,
respectively.
increase in temperature, i.e. when their base oil viscosity was reduced.
The observed behaviour is considered obvious for two possible reasons:
(a) thickener entrainment is pronounced due to enhanced grease mo-
bility and (b) the contribution of base oil (and its viscosity) in total film
thickness at low speeds is much less at higher temperature, so the
thickener effect is much pronounced. This behaviour was seen with all
greases regardless of thickener type and NLGI grade. However, the
thickener effect leading to a thick low-speed film formation was pro-
nounced mainly with low viscosity greases. For instance, grease 130/
Li/1 showed a much thicker low speed film than 400/Li/Ca/2 at 100 °C
(Fig. A.1a and b).
Furthermore, it can be seen from Fig. A.1 that the measured high-
speed grease film thickness matches reasonably well with the calculated
oil film thickness (Table 1) although some variations exist (e.g. PU
greases). This indicates that greases follow the conventional EHL oil
theory at high speeds due possibly to their enhanced mobility leading to
a flow behaviour similar to that of oils at elevated temperatures.
However, the speed (transition speed) at which greases start following
conventional EHL oil theory (100 °C) varies and this depends sig-
nificantly on base oil viscosity and thickener structure. A general trend
observed was that the transition speed for high viscosity greases was
lower than low viscosity greases, meaning that high viscosity greases
follow the oil theory at a relatively lower speed. However, one asso-
ciated down side is that their low-speed film is much thinner than low
viscosity greases. The results confirm that lower base oil viscosity is
B. Vengudusamy et al. Tribology International 129 (2019) 323–337

Fig. 6. Film thickness curves showing the effects of (a) temperature and (b) thickener type. The downward arrow and upward arrows indicate the decrease and
increase in film thickness, respectively (a) with increase in temperature and (b) with 130/PU/2 in comparison to 130/Li/2.

beneficial in terms of thick film formation at low speeds, both for

moderate and elevated temperatures.

4.1.4. Effect of thickener type and NLGI grade on film thickness

The effect of thickener type on film thickness can be assessed by
comparing the curves of (a) Li and Ca greases of NLGI 1 (130/Li/1 and
130/Ca/1) and (b) Li and PU greases of NLGI 2 (130/Li/2 and 130/PU/
2), all for the same base oil viscosity. It can be seen from Fig. 4a that
both 130/Li/1 and 130/Ca/1 show a similar film forming behaviour at
50 °C, suggesting that thickener effect is negligible. However, their
curves at 100 °C differ significantly (Fig. 5b) and show a much thicker
film with 130/Ca/1 in comparison to 130/Li/1 particularly at low and
medium speeds, suggesting a possible thickener effect.
Comparing the thickener effects at 100 °C in NLGI 2 greases (130/
Li/2 and 130/PU/2), it is evident from Fig. 6b that a speed dependent
behaviour was noticed. In comparison to 130/Li/2, 130/PU/2 shows a
thick film formation at low speeds while the opposite was noted at
medium speeds. Both the curves overlap at high speeds. Overall, like
described in the previous section PU greases form a thicker low speed
film followed in order by Ca and Li.
The effect of NLGI grade was assessed by comparing the curves of
130/Li/2 (Figs. 5a) and 130/Li/1 (Fig. 5b). These figures show that
NLGI grade appears not to affect the film forming behaviour of these Li
greases at low and high speeds but show a slightly thicker film with the
NLGI 2 grease at medium speeds (0.1–1 m/s).
4.1.5. Lambda ratio
The lambda ratio (λ, ratio between film thickness and composite
surface roughness Rq) was calculated using the measured film thickness.
These are shown in Appendix A in Fig. A.2. The results indicate that all
greases investigated in this study operate in EHL regime even at low
speeds and high temperature while the associated low viscosity base oil
130 BO operates in mixed lubrication.
It should be noted that some effects of base oil type on film thickness
might be present. It is widely known that mineral oils form a thicker
lubricating film than ester and PAO. A similar effect is expected with
greases as well, provided their viscosities remain similar. However, this
was not studied in this work. Since the measured grease film thickness
at 1 m/s matches reasonably well with the calculated oil film thickness
at 1 m/s (Table 1), it tends to suggest that the effect of molecular
structure on grease film thickness could be similar to that observed in
oils. Although the effect of base oil type (molecular structure) on film
thickness may be present, it is believed not to be as significant as that
imparted by base oil viscosity, for the greases investigated in this study.
Fig. 7. Friction versus mean speed curves for 80/PU/2 grease at 50% SRR and
100 °C.
4.2. Friction
The friction coefficient versus entrainment speed curves (Stribeck
curves) were generated at periodic intervals of rubbing time as shown
for example in Fig. 7 for 80/PU/2 taken at 50% SRR and 100 °C. The
prolonged rubbing and intermittent Stribeck curve measurements were
deliberately made in order to firstly make sure that no starvation oc-
curred in the contact and secondly, to understand changes in lubrica-
tion regimes/mechanisms. Any sudden increase in friction at high
speeds over prolonged rubbing is considered to be an indication of
starvation. The curves from all greases showed no such increase in
friction, thus it can be said that no starvation occurred. A representative
example curve is shown in Fig. 7. Curves at 10 and 30% SRR were also
obtained but the behaviour was similar to that observed at 50% SRR
except that their friction levels were lower as expected. Some re-
presentative curves are shown in Appendix A in Fig. A.3. In fact, the
curves of 30 and 50% SRR were quite closer so only curves of 50% SRR
are used for discussion. Figs. 8 and 9 show the Stribeck curves measured
at 40 °C while those measured at 100 °C are shown in Figs. 10–12, all for
50% SRR. ‘a’ and ‘b’ in all these figures compare the friction curves
obtained initially and after 4 h, respectively.
4.2.1. On the shape of grease friction curves
4.2.1.1. Group A greases. The base oil (130 BO) curve measured at
40 °C shows a slightly higher friction in the low speed region followed
by a flat friction response in the medium speed region and then a drop
at high speeds (Fig. 8a). The rise in friction with decreasing speed in the
low speed region and the flat region at medium speeds indicate mixed
and full film lubrication, respectively, while the drop at high speeds is
due to shear heating of the EHD film [17]. It is apparent that base oil
operates mainly in full film EHL condition at 40 °C.
The friction curves of group A greases obtained initially and after
4 h (Fig. 8a and b) at 40 °C look quite similar but do not show the

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B. Vengudusamy et al.
Fig. 8. Friction versus mean speed curves for group A greases and 130 mm2/s base oil, (a) initial and (b) after 4 h of rubbing at 50% SRR and 40 °C.
conventional Stribeck curve shape commonly found in oils. They all
display an ‘‘inverse-Stribeck’’ shape [5]; i.e. low friction at low speeds
and high friction at high speeds. Interestingly, the low viscosity grease
50/Li/2 shows a speed independent friction behaviour in the low to
medium speed region followed by a rise in the high speed region
(Fig. 8a). This behaviour was fairly retained even after 4 h rubbing
(Fig. 8b). Furthermore, the 4 h curve of 130/Li/2 overlaps well with the
base oil curve in the low speed region but starts deviating with a higher
friction value at high speeds and did not show formation of mixed lu-
brication region.
Although the absolute friction values of these greases differ, they all
apparently show a viscosity dependent behaviour at all speeds, i.e.
friction increases with increase in base oil viscosity. This suggests that
the contacts operated similar to oils in full film EHL condition where
the friction is known to be controlled by base oil viscosity. This is
supported by the measured film thickness results and was further ver-
ified by the lambda ratio λ calculated using the measured grease film
thickness (see section 4.1.5 and Fig. A.2). The measured film thickness
was adjusted to contacts in friction tests by taking into account the
material properties of steel using the Dowson EHD point contact
equation [18]; the factor was 0.95. Although the plots shown in Fig. A.2
were made without the 0.95 factor, it still can be used for comparison as
the factor only reduces the lambda marginally. The calculated lambda
for group A greases, in general, was found to be over 2, 3 and 7 in the
low speed, medium speed and high speed region, respectively – clearly
indicating that full film EHL condition existed. Since all three greases in
this group operated in full film EHL condition at 40 °C, friction is pri-
marily determined by base oil viscosity.
While the low viscosity base oil 130 BO and all three greases re-
mained in full film EHL condition at 40 °C, it is expected that more
mixed lubrication region builds up at 100 °C at least with oils. This is
evident from Fig. 10a which shows a clear mixed lubrication region for
both the base oils (50 BO and 130 BO). But the initial curves of all three
(group A) greases still show no sign of mixed lubrication instead display
a behaviour similar to that observed at 40 °C, i.e. friction increases with
increasing speed. However, the mixed lubrication region was seen with
Fig. 9. Friction versus mean speed curves for group B greases and 130 mm2/s base oil, (a) initial and (b) after 4 h of rubbing at 50% SRR and 40 °C.
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all three greases after 4 h (Fig. 10b), although only marginally. The
border between mixed and EHL regime is indicated by a small vertical
line in the figure.
While 420/Li/Ca/2 showed an increase in friction with decreasing
speed, 50/Li/2 showed an increase up to a certain speed followed by a
drop at very low speeds and 130/Li/2 showed a speed independent
friction behaviour.
4.2.1.2. Group B greases. At 40 °C, all three greases show initial friction
coefficients higher than that of 130 base oil, while this was observed
only with 130/Ca/1 and 300/Li/1 after 4 h (Fig. 9a). The 4 h curve of
130/Li/1 overlapped well with its base oil, while those of other two
greases deviated from that of base oil and showed increase in friction
with speed. Interestingly, the shape of 130/Ca/1 looks similar to that of
the initial curve of 50/Li/2 (Fig. 8a). In general, the initial curves of all
three greases from group B show a shape similar to that of 130 BO
except the mixed lubrication region (Fig. 9a). Despite the difference in
viscosity, the curves of these greases generally overlap. However, some
signs of viscosity effect can be seen at high speeds where the low
viscosity greases show lower friction than the high viscosity one. This
suggests that their friction at high speeds is governed by base oil
viscosity.
Unlike group A greases, these greases show a drop in friction at high
speeds similar to what is commonly found in oils due to temperature
rise of the lubricant film in the contact. The observed drop in friction
with greases may not solely be due only to shear heating of the EHD
film but possibly partly also from their thixotropic nature and softening
during overrolling. However, the speed at which shear heating occurs is
identical (about 0.2 m/s) for all three greases and this corresponds to
λ > 3.5. The occurrence of shear heating is common in oils operating
at higher lambdas but no such effect has been reported for greases
probably because grease friction is seldom studied. Overall, the curve
shapes along with the calculated lambda ratio for these greases
(λ > 5 at low, medium and high speeds, see Fig. A.2) clearly indicate
that these greases operate in full film EHL condition at 40 °C, thus their
friction is governed by base oil viscosity.
B. Vengudusamy et al.
Fig. 10. Friction versus mean speed curves for group A greases, 50 mm2/s base oil and 130 mm2/s base oil, (a) initial and (b) after 4 h of rubbing at 50% SRR and
100 °C. The small vertical lines in (b) indicate the border between mixed and EHL region where minimum friction occurs.
At 100 °C, while the oil obviously shows mixed lubrication region in
the low speed region the greases show EHD region (Fig. 11a). Inter-
estingly, all three greases still retain the same shape that was observed
initially at 40 °C, i.e. a flat friction region followed by a drop due to
shear heating. Since the thickener effect and thus the film formation is
significant at higher temperatures (as shown by film thickness results),
it is obvious that these greases remain in EHL condition even at low
speeds. Interestingly, both 130/Li/1 and 300/Li/1 still show the same
shape even after 4 h while 130/Ca/1 shows a drop in friction even at
much lower speeds. As noted earlier, this particular grease showed a
much thicker film than the other two at 100 °C and low speeds (Fig. 5b).
This might have led to an early shear heating, thus show a drop in
friction at a much lower speed.
Initial curves of 100 °C reflect their properties much better
(Fig. 11a). Friction at high speeds for this group of greases appears to be
partly determined by base oil viscosity while by thickener at low
speeds. In general, low speed friction of Ca grease is slightly lower than
that of Li grease.
4.2.1.3. Group C greases. Only the results of 100 °C are compared. All
three PU greases show a clear mixed lubrication at low speeds followed
by a flat EHL region and then a drop at high speeds, both initially and
after 4 h (Fig. 12). This group appears to follow the typical Stribeck
curve shape found in oils.
Within the family of NLGI 2 greases (groups A and C) investigated in
this study, PU greases show the typical Stribeck curve shape while the
Li greases show ‘‘inverse-Stribeck’’ shape. With Li and Ca greases of
NLGI 1, the shape mainly shows the EHL region. Depending on the
friction properties of thickener the curve shape at low speeds may ei-
ther follow the conventional Stribeck curve shape when thickener
possesses a high friction or ‘’inverse-Stribeck’’ shape when thickener
possesses a low friction.
The results from the present work tend to suggest that the shape of
grease friction curves is primarily governed by grease film thickness
provided by thickener and the associated lambda. This is discussed
Fig. 11. Friction versus mean speed curves for group B greases and 130 mm2/s base oil, (a) initial and (b) after 4 h of rubbing at 50% SRR and 100 °C.
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more in detail later.
4.2.2. Traction curves
The traction curves measured initially at 40 and 100 °C are shown in
Fig. 13. These curves generally show a pattern of behaviour that is well
accepted in oils, i.e. low friction at very low SRR followed by a rapid
increase and then level out at high SRRs. The friction here is generally
governed by base oil viscosity. One exception is 130/Li/2, which at
40 °C showed a higher friction; may partly be influenced by NLGI grade.
However, the higher friction was not seen at 100 °C. The curves of all
130 mm2/s greases overlapped regardless of NLGI grade. The drop in
friction caused by shear heating observed with some greases in Stribeck
curves is not seen here probably because measurements were made only
at low SRRs.
5. Discussion
5.1. Lubrication regimes in greases based on friction curves
Based on the friction curve shapes observed in this study, a sche-
matic diagram illustrating the different lubrication regimes found in
greases is shown in Fig. 14a. Such a shape is well known in oils [19]. It
is probably only due to the fact that greases mainly operate in EHL
regime for the whole speed range they show only tail part of the con-
ventional Stribeck curve, thus looking different from that of oils.
Fig. 14a identifies different regimes namely boundary (B), severe mixed
(M+), mild mixed (M), EHL region where minimum friction and the
border between mixed and EHL occurs (E), EHL region where friction
increases with increasing speed (E+) and EHL flat friction region fol-
lowed by a friction drop due to shear heating (E++).
To simplify the observed trends of behaviour in greases, each lu-
brication regime was classified based on friction curve shapes and was
given a value as shown in Fig. 14a. This was done by matching the
shape of measured friction curves to the template shape shown in
Fig. 14a. One such example is shown in Fig. 14b, where friction curves
B. Vengudusamy et al.
Fig. 12. Friction versus mean speed curves for group C greases of NLGI grade 2 and 130 mm2/s base oil, (a) initial and (b) after 4 h of rubbing at 50% SRR and 100 °C.
of some greases and base oils obtained at 100 °C are plotted to the
template friction curve shown in Fig. 14a to show how lubrication re-
gimes were classified. It can be seen from Fig. 14b that base oil 50 BO
being the lowest viscosity candidate encountered the curve shape that
fits at low speed to the boundary lubrication, followed by mixed and
EHL regimes. Since 130 BO is of viscosity higher than 50 BO, it ob-
viously did not encounter boundary lubrication instead started from
mixed lubrication followed by EHL. Greases 130/PU/2 and 420/Li/Ca/
2 show a similar shape, starting mixed through to EHL regime while
grease 130/Li/1 did not show any mixed lubrication instead started
from EHL and remained in full film region for the whole speed range.
Based on this approach, a value representing each lubrication re-
gime was given; for example boundary (−3, meaning a much severe
condition), mixed (−2 & −1) and EHL (1, 2 & 3). These values were
then used to make a radar plot representing the grease behaviour in-
itially and after 4 h at 40 and 100 °C, as shown in Fig. 15. The data from
outer ring to inner ring in the radar plot simply correspond to full film
EHL to mixed/boundary regime. For e.g., 4 h and 100 °C being the se-
vere case the variation in lubrication regimes can be clearly seen for
this in Fig. 15d. It can be seen that while group B and A greases mainly
operate in E++ and E/E+ region, respectively, group C (PU) greases
encounter severe mixed lubrication (M+).
Within the Li and Ca grease family, grease friction in full film EHL
regime is determined by base oil viscosity provided the NLGI grade is
same. In all groups, increase in viscosity showed an increase in friction.
In particular, the increase was significant with Li greases when NLGI
grade was higher (group A). In general, depending on the base oil
viscosity, thickener type, friction property of the thickener and the
NLGI grade greases follow different friction paths. Thus, making their
friction curves look different from that of conventional Stribeck curves
found in oils. Some examples highlighting this are discussed below.
1 Viscosity effect: Comparing the initial case of low/medium viscosity
greases (130/Li/1, 300/Li/1) and high viscosity grease (420/Li/Ca/
2), it can be seen from Fig. 15 that low/medium viscosity greases
with E++ region follow the low friction path as shown by the
Fig. 13. Traction curves measured for some greases initially at (a) 40 °C and (b) 100 °C.
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dashed curve in Fig. 14 while the high viscosity grease with E+
region follows the high and increasing friction path. This gets severe
with the high viscosity grease at 100 °C and 4 h, at which it ex-
periences mixed lubrication while the low/medium viscosity greases
still operates in E++ region. The observed shift in lubrication re-
gime is associated with the change in film thickness over the pro-
longed rubbing.
2 Effect of NLGI grade. This is evident from the results of 130/Li/1
and 130/Li/2. While 130/Li/1 always showed a flat friction region
followed by a drop in friction due to shear heating (E++), 130/Li/
2 showed an increasing friction with speed (E+), as shown in
Fig. 15. Their Stribeck curves are compared in Fig. A.4 (Appendix
A). The results suggest that for the similar family of thickener (Li)
higher NLGI grade produces a higher friction and follows another
friction path, thus operates in a different lubrication regime.
3 Effect of thickener type: It can be seen by comparing 130/Li/1 and
130/Ca/1 that both greases operate in E++ region except the 4 h,
40 °C case where 130/Ca/1 moved towards E+ region (Fig. 15). The
effect of thickener type on friction is quite apparent between 130/
PU/2 and 130/Li/2. While Li grease operates mainly in E/E+ re-
gime, PU appears to operate in mixed and EHL regimes. For a better
understanding, the curves are compared in Fig. A.5 in Appendix A.
Since thickener effects are significant at 100 °C, the friction prop-
erties of these greases are compared at this temperature. Although
130/PU/2 formed a much thicker (thickener-dominant) low-speed
film (corresponding to an average lambda ratio of 30; see Fig. A.2e),
its friction curve shape looked as if it operated in a mixed lubrica-
tion. For cases like this, comparing the base oil response may help
understand whether the observed shape is dominated by thickener
or the base oil. 130 BO in Fig. 11b shows a shape quite similar to
that of 130/PU/2 (Fig. 12b), suggesting a less dominant thickener
role at low speeds. However, considering a thickener-dominant film
formation at low speeds it could be possible that the observed high
friction at low speeds is the intrinsic friction properties of PU
thickener, hence, the curve shape looks like a typical mixed lu-
brication. Based on the patterns of behaviour observed, it appears
B. Vengudusamy et al. Tribology International 129 (2019) 323–337

Fig. 14. (a) Schematic diagram illustrating the friction curve shapes for greases investigated in this study and (b) measured friction curves of some greases and base
oils plotted to the template curve shown in (a) to show how lubrication regimes were classified based on friction curve shapes.

that prediction of lubrication regimes in grease lubrication should
not just be based on friction curve shapes but should also consider
film thickness and lambda ratio, especially for the low speed region.
In general, Ca grease shows a slightly lower friction than the Li
grease followed by PU grease.
Overall, results from this study show three main friction curve
shapes:
(1) conventional Stribeck curve shape for PU greases (indicated by grey
rectangle in the figure),
(2) friction increasing with speed (E+), mainly for high viscosity &
NLGI 2 greases (E+ region) and
(3) flat friction region followed by a drop in friction (E++) for low
viscosity Li & Ca greases
Some possible reasons for such shapes are proposed below.
Type 1: For greases whose film thickness properties are determined
just by base oil viscosity even in the presence of strong thickener
dominance (reflected, for example, in film thickness), the curve shape is
likely to follow the conventional Stribeck curve shape as described in
(1).
Type 2: For those whose film thickness is determined either solely
by thickener or both by thickener and base oil, the curve shape follows

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B. Vengudusamy et al.
Fig. 15. Radar plot showing the lubrication regimes encountered by greases at
(a,b) 40 °C and (c,d) 100 °C, (a,c) initially and (b,d) after 4 h rubbing. Lines are
drawn to guide the eyes.
(2) or (3) or combination of both.
The shapes may be influenced by other factors like grease aging/
degradation, starvation and changes in rheological properties, but these
are beyond the scope of this article. However, what possibly expected
under such conditions is a relatively thinner film, leading to shift of the
curves towards left side – meaning more mixed lubrication.
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5.2. Lubrication regimes based on film thickness and practical implications
The measured film thickness is adjusted to predict the film thickness
in friction tests by using a multiplication factor obtained by taking into
account the material properties of steel using the Downson EHD point
contact equation [18]; the factor was 0.95. The lambda ratios calcu-
lated based on this adjusted film thickness show that all greases parti-
cularly the low viscosity ones had a much higher value. Fig. A.2 in
Appendix shows this. Although these plots were made without the 0.95
factor, it still can be used for comparison as the factor only reduces the
lambda marginally. Even at very low speeds, all low viscosity greases
(130 mm2/s) had a lambda value greater than 7 at 50 °C and 10 at
100 °C while their base oil counterpart always had a value less than 1.
Similarly the kappa k, a factor commonly used in bearings, is similar
to lambda in evaluating the lubrication condition. According to DIN ISO
281, kappa is the ratio of lubricant viscosity (v) at operating tempera-
ture (normally the base oil viscosity) to the required viscosity at op-
erating temperature for k = 1 (v1), as given in Eq. (1) [20].
v
k=
v1 (1)
It should be noted that Eq. (1) considers only base oil viscosity and
completely neglects any beneficial thickener effects. It is believed that
shear viscosity of greases at low to moderate shear rates could be a
better predictor of grease performance and could be used instead of
base oil viscosity in Eq. (1). However, the kappa calculation made using
Eq. (1) has been widely used and will be referred to as ‘‘Method 1 – DIN
ISO 281 (using base oil)’’ in this study. An alternate and a detailed way
of obtaining kappa using lambda (k = λ1.3 [20]) has also been defined in
DIN ISO 281, which will be referred to as ‘‘Method 2 (using lambda of
grease)’’ in this study and this has been compared with the conventional
method. The lambda ratios used for this calculation were obtained by
taking the ratio between measured film thickness (averaged for the
speed range of 0.001–0.01 m/s) and the composite surface roughness.
Film thickness at low speeds was used for lambda calculation in order to
compensate the difference in roughness between practical bearing
(generally higher, in the order of Rq ∼ 0.1 μm) and the specimens used
in this study (Rq ∼ 0.01 μm). The kappa values calculated both by using
base oil properties (Method 1) and lambda of grease (Method 2) for
50 °C are listed in Table 2. The kappa calculation made by Method 2
shows that the low viscosity greases have a kappa value of over 10 at
50 °C (see Table 2) and 20 at 100 °C while their base oil counterparts
show a value less than 1. The results indicate that all low viscosity
greases, despite their low base oil viscosity, have enough margin to
avoid mixed/boundary lubrication. Interestingly, the lambda and kappa
values of low viscosity greases are higher at 100 °C than at 50 °C. This is
opposite to what is commonly found in oils which typically show a
lower lambda at high temperature. These results clearly highlight that
the benefit of thickener from low viscosity greases is greater at higher
temperature where the base oil would normally not be able to achieve a
contact separation.
Furthermore, the adjusted film thicknesse was used to calculate the
effective viscosity of grease Vg eff [4] by solving the standard Hamrock
and Dowson film thickness equation [16]. The calculated effective
grease viscosity is then used in Eq. (1) instead of the base oil viscosity v
to obtain kappa of greases. This method will hereafter be referred to as
‘‘Method 3 (using effective grease viscosity)’’. Since film thickness of
grease at high speeds is generally governed by base oil properties,
grease film thickness at low speed is of most interest to compare with
the associated base oil. For this, the adjusted film thickness in the speed
range 0.001–0.01 m/s were averaged and used for calculation. The
alpha values and densities used were those of respective base oils'. The
calculated effective kinematic viscosity was then used to calculate
B. Vengudusamy et al. Tribology International 129 (2019) 323–337

Table 2
Calculated kappa based on Method 1 (using base oil properties; according to DIN ISO:281), Method 2 (using lambda of grease) and Method 3 (using effective grease
viscosity) for an example bearing case (size d = 2184 mm, D = 2527 mm, speed = 5 rpm, operating temperature = 50 °C). d and D correspond to inner and outer
diameters, respectively. V1, the required viscosity at operating temperature for k = 1, is 116 mm2/s for the chosen bearing dimensions and speed [21]. Vg eff is the
calculated effective viscosity of greases based on the measured film thickness at 50 °C.
Group Greases vg eff (mm2/s) v (mm2/s) Kappa, k

Method 1 (base oil) Method 2 (lambda of grease) Method 3 (effective grease viscosity)

A 420/Li/Ca/2 330 234 2.0 3.4 2.8

B 130/Li/1 1685 81 0.7 14.0 14.5
300/Li/1 855 173 1.5 7.7 7.4
130/Ca/1 1860 81 0.7 13.6 16.0
C 80/PU/2 242 50 0.4 2.3 2.1
130/PU/2 1870 81 0.7 13.0 16.1
160/PU/2 8430 99 0.8 57.0 72.7

kappa (k) for an example bearing case (tapered roller bearing of size
d = 2184 mm, D = 2527 mm, speed = 10 rpm, operating tempera-
ture = 50 °C). The kappa values obtained by using the calculated ef-
fective grease viscosity (Method 3) are listed in Table 2. It can be seen
that all low viscosity greases that show k < 1 by the conventional base
oil calculation (Method 1) show a much higher kappa value when
thickener effects are taken into account. This confirms previous work
that keff grease > koil [4].
Overall, the results from this study demonstrate that kappa values of
greases obtained by using lambda of grease (Method 2) and effective
grease viscosity (Method 3) are much higher than that obtained by the
conventional calculation which takes only base oil viscosity into ac-
count (Method 1 – DIN ISO 281). This highlights the importance of
including the benefits of thickeners in such calculations, especially for
slow rotating bearings.
6. Conclusions
This paper has compared the film forming and friction behaviour of
nine greases of different base oil viscosity, thickener type and NLGI
grade. The following conclusions can be made from the present study.
6.1. Grease film thickness
• Film thickness curves of all greases investigated in this study follow
the widely accepted V-shaped pattern where the much thicker film
at low speeds is due to thickener effect. The results indicate that the
transition from thickener-to base oil-dominant region is dependent
on thickener type.
• Results indicate that base oil viscosity governs the grease film
thickness at low speeds by a direction relationship for PU greases
while by an inverse relationship for Li and Ca greases.
• The low speed film thickness of all greases increases with increase in
temperature irrespective of thickener type and NLGI grade. The
increase is particularly higher with low base oil viscosity greases
(130 mm2/s greases).
• Generally, PU greases former a thicker low speed film followed in
order by Ca and Li greases.
• NLGI grade shows a negligible effect on film thickness but this
cannot be considered universal as only two greases were evaluated.
• The calculated lambda ratio and kappa values indicate that the low
viscosity greases investigated in this study operate in full film EHL
condition even at very low speeds while their counterpart base oils
do not.
• The kappa values calculated using lambda ratio and effective grease
viscosity (both using the measured grease film thickness) indicate
that they are much higher than that conventionally calculated using
base oil viscosity (DIN ISO 281). All low base oil viscosity greases
(130 mm2/s) that typically show k < 1 using base oil viscosity
calculation now show a much higher kappa when thickener effects
are considered.
• Film thickness results clearly demonstrate that the conventional oil
theory cannot predict the grease performance for low speed appli-
cations.
6.2. Grease friction
• For the greases investigated in this study, friction curve shapes look
different compared to the typical Stribeck curve shape known in
oils. Only PU greases show the typical Stribeck curve shape while Li
and Ca greases show shapes that encounter mainly EHL regime
where friction either increases with speed or remains constant fol-
lowed by a drop at high speeds. Different regions within EHL regime
have been identified to explain the behaviour of greases studied.
Results indicate that NLGI grade and thickener type influence the
curve shapes and friction curve paths.
• All greases investigated in this study operate in EHL regime when
the operating conditions are less severe and their friction properties
are governed by base oil viscosity. Under severe conditions (e.g.
high temperature, prolonged rubbing), some greases encounter
changes in lubrication regimes and their friction properties are
governed accordingly.
• In general, PU greases show higher friction followed in order by Li
and Ca greases.
• Lubrication regimes in grease lubrication should be predicted not
just based on friction curve shapes (conventional Stribeck curve) but
also based on film thickness values and the resulting lambda ratio,
especially for greases that possess high friction properties at low
speeds.
It should be noted that the results presented in this work are based
on greases investigated in this study and on a single-point contact in
contrast to a typical bearing, which encounters multiple contacts and
starvation.
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding
agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Mr. Christoph Sedlak for conducting the
tribological tests and Dr. Christoph Schmitz and Mr. Michael Gühl for
preparing the grease samples.

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Appendix A

Fig. A.1. Comparison of film thickness curves at 50 and 100 °C for (a) 400/Li/2, (b) 130/Li/1, (c) 300/Li/1, (d) 130/Ca/1, (e) 80/PU/2, (f) 130/PU/2 and (g) 160/
PU/2.

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Fig. A.2. Comparison of lambda ratios calculated based on measured grease film thicknesses for (a) Group A & B greases at 50 °C, (b) Group C greases at 50 °C, (c)
Group A greases at 100 °C, (d) Group B greases at 100 °C and (e) Group C greases at 100 °C. The shown values are average taken from 4 different speed ranges shown
in the x-axis. Lines are drawn to guide the eyes.

Fig. A.3. Comparison of initial friction curves at 10, 30 and 50% SRR for (a) 420/Li/Ca/2 and (b) 300/Li/1 greases.

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Fig. A.4. Friction curves showing the effects of NLGI grade for Li greases of same viscosity. (a,c) initial and (b,d) 4 h.

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Fig. A.5. Friction curves comparing the effects of thickener type. (a,c,e) initial and (b,d,f) 4 h.
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