Tribology Letters (2018) 66:76

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-018-1027-9

ORIGINAL PAPER

Biobased Polyalphaolefin Base Oil: Chemical, Physical, and Tribological

Properties
Girma Biresaw1

Received: 1 February 2018 / Accepted: 7 May 2018 / Published online: 14 May 2018
© This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply 2018

Abstract
The properties of a biobased polyalphaolefin with a viscosity of 40 cSt at 100 °C (BPAO-40) were investigated relative to a
commercial petroleum-based PAO of similar viscosity at 100 °C (PAO-40). BPAO-40 was synthesized by oligomerization
of a mixture of alpha olefins, with and without terminal methyl esters. These olefins were obtained from vegetable oils via a
biorefinery process. In contrast to BPAO-40, commercial PAO-40 is synthesized only from non-functionalized alpha olefins.
Thus, BPAO-40 is not only biobased, but also has a unique chemical structure, which makes it a functionalized PAO. The
effect of chemical structure (presence or lack of methyl ester functionalization) on chemical, physical, and tribological prop-
erties of these two base oils was investigated. The investigation showed that, relative to the commercial non-functionalized
PAO-40, the functionalized BPAO-40 displayed the following properties: higher density at 40–100 °C, lower number aver-
age molecular weight, higher polydispersity index, higher viscosity index, lower oxidation stability (pressurized differential
scanning calorimetry), higher total acid number, higher free fatty acid, lower four-ball anti-wear coefficient of friction (COF)
and lower wear scar diameter (WSD), higher elastohydrodynamic (EHD) lubricant film thickness under boundary conditions
(low speeds and high temperature), lower EHD traction coefficient at 40 and 100 °C, similar pressure–viscosity coefficient,
lower COF, lower WSD, and higher relative film thickness on a high-frequency reciprocating rig tribometer under boundary
conditions (low speeds).

Keywords Biobased polyalphaolefin (BPAO) · Biorefinery · Coefficient of friction (COF) · Elastohydrodynamic (EHD)
film thickness · EHD traction coefficient · Free fatty acid (FFA) · Functionalized PAO · Number average molecular weight
(Mn) · Oligomerization · Oxidation stability · Polydispersity index (PDI) · Pressure–viscosity coefficient (PVC) · Total acid
number (TAN) · Viscosity · Viscosity index (VI) · Wear scar diameter (WSD)

1 Introduction from each category could be present in the formulation.

Lubricants and greases comprise two categories of compo-
nents in their formulations, namely, base oils and additives
[1, 2]. In both lubricants and greases, one or more materials
Mention of trade names or commercial products in this publication
is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and
does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity
provider and employer.
* Girma Biresaw
girma.biresaw@ars.usda.gov
1
Bio‑Oils Research Unit, National Center for Agricultural
Utilization Research, Agricultural Research Service, United
States Department of Agriculture, 1815 N. University Street,
Peoria, IL 61604, USA
Also, in both cases, the component that is present in a larger
portion in the formulations (60–98%) is always the base oils
[1–3]. Thus, most efforts at developing biobased lubricant
and grease formulations are primarily focused on replac-
ing petroleum base oils with biobased base oil. The suc-
cess of such substitution will provide lubricant formulations
with high biocontent along with the many benefits of using
renewable, biodegradable, and environmentally friendly
ingredients [4].
According to the American Petroleum Institute, base oils
used in lubricant formulation are divided into five groups,
Groups I–V [5]. Groups I–III are petroleum distillates of
specified sulfur content and/or viscosity index (VI). Group
IV base oils are polyalphaolefins (PAOs). Group V base
oils are those that do not belong to the first four groups and
include vegetable oils, esters, silicones, phosphate esters.

13
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76 Page 2 of 16
Earlier work on biobased lubricant development explored
using commodity vegetable oils (e.g., soybean oil, canola
oil) to replace the petroleum-based Groups I–IV base oils
used in commercial lubricant formulations. The success of
this effort required overcoming some inherent weaknesses
of vegetable oils (e.g., poor oxidation stability and cold flow
properties) that impeded its application in lubricant formula-
tion. Various approaches were successfully used in this effort
including the use of appropriate additives, partially blend-
ing PAOs, partially blending high oleic vegetable oils which
have superior oxidation stability to commodity vegetable
oils, and various combinations of these methods [6–9].
One of the drawbacks of vegetable oils is that, with some
minor exceptions, they are available only in a very narrow
viscosity range of 30–40 cSt at 40 °C [10], which limits the
viscosity range of biobased lubricants that can be formulated
with it. This problem was solved with the use of heat-bodied
oils [11, 12]. These are biobased base oils produced by con-
trolled heating (time and temperature) of vegetable oil under
nitrogen. Heat-bodied oils of viscosity 75–1330 cSt at 40 °C
have been produced from commodity soybean oil by vary-
ing the heating protocol and have been successfully used to
formulate high viscosity biobased lubricants, including gear
oils [13–15].
Vegetable oils and their derivatives (fatty acids, esters,
epoxides, etc.) have been used to synthesize a variety of
biobased base oils [5]. Most of these products are at very
early stages of development and far from commercializa-
tion. The exception is estolides, which are synthesized from
vegetable oils and/or fatty acids [16–18]. Estolides possess
excellent cold flow properties and have been used to formu-
late and test a variety of lubricants. Engine oil lubricants
formulated with estolides were reported to perform as well
as or better than commercial petroleum-based products [19].
Efforts at commercializing estolides under the trademark
Biosynthetic™ base oil are underway [20].
Biobased base oils with branched hydrocarbons struc-
tures, similar to petroleum distillates (Groups I–III), have
been successfully produced using two different routes. The
first route involves conversion of vegetable oil, either by the
“Total” process (Total S. A., France: catalytic deoxygena-
tion and isomerization) [21], or by the “Advonex” process
(hydrolysis, Kolbe electrolysis, separation, hydroisomeri-
zation) [22, 23]. Currently, both of these processes are at
pre-commercial stages of development. The second route
involves the production of farnesene by fermentation of
sugar, which is then converted to Group III base oil with
renewable carbon [24]. The term “renewable carbon” is used
here to indicate that the sugars fermented for the produc-
tion of these farnesene-based Group III base oils are derived
from renewable agricultural crops such as corn, rice, potato,
sugarcane. On the other hand, regular Group III base oils are
distillates of crude petroleum with non-renewable carbon.
13
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Tribology Letters (2018) 66:76
This product is commercialized under the trade name
NovaSpec [25]. Petroleum distillate base oils (Groups I–III
and naphthenics) are very cost competitive and account for
99% of the lubricant base oil market share [3]. They are
also very highly compatible with the farnesene-based Group
III base oils (due to their structural similarity). Blending
of petroleum distillate base oils with farnesene-based base
oils (with renewable carbon) will provide a less expensive
route for producing biobased lubricant formulations with the
required biocontent.
In the work describe here, we discuss a biobased base
oil that belongs to Group IV, i.e., PAO, produced by the
“Elevance” process [26–28]. In this process, a biorefinery
is used to convert vegetable oils into functionalized (methyl
ester) and non-functionalized alpha olefins with renewable
carbons. The mixture of the functionalized and non-func-
tionalized alpha olefins are then oligomerized to the desired
viscosity using the appropriate reaction conditions (catalyst,
temperature, etc). The resulting product is a biobased PAO
(BPAO), partially functionalized due to the presence of ter-
minal methyl ester groups on some of its branches. One such
product, BPAO-40 (commercially known as Aria WTP-40),
with a viscosity of 40 cSt at 100 °C, was investigated for its
chemical, physical, and tribological properties relative to a
commercial PAO of similar viscosity at 100 °C (PAO-40).
The details of this investigation are given next.
2 Experimental
2.1 Materials
Samples of the functionalized BPAO-40, known under the
trade name Aria WTP-40, and non-functionalized petro-
leum-based PAO (PAO-40), commercially marketed under
the trade name SpectraSyn™ 40 by ExxonMobil (Hou-
ston, TX), were supplied by Elevance Renewables, LLC
(Woodridge, IL), and used as supplied. All other chemicals
(solvents and reagents) were also used as supplied.
2.2 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
1
H NMR spectra of samples in C­ DCl3 solvent were obtained
on a Bruker Avance 500 NMR spectrometer (Bruker Corpo-
ration, Billerica, MA) operating at 500.11 MHz and using
a 5 mm BBO probe. Chemical shifts are reported in parts
per million (ppm) from tetramethylsilane calculated from
the lock signal.
2.3 Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC)
GPC profiles were obtained on a HPLC system that includes
a 1515 isocratic HPLC pump, 717 plus automated injector,
Tribology Letters (2018) 66:76
column heater, and Breeze software (Waters Corporation,
Milford, MA). Columns used were PLgel 3 µm MIXED-
E, 300 × 7.5 mm and a PLgel 5 µm Guard, 50 × 7.5 mm,
part numbers PL1110-6300 and PL1110-1520, respectively
(Polymer Laboratories, Varian, Inc., Amherst, MA). Sig-
nals generated from an Optilab rEX refractive index detector
were processed using ASTRA V macromolecular characteri-
zation software (Wyatt Technology Corporation, Santa Bar-
bara, CA). THF was used as the mobile phase at a flow rate
of 1 mL/min and columns were maintained at 40 °C. The
liquid phase samples were brought into solution with THF
stabilized with butylated hydroxytoluene (Fisher Scientific,
Suwanee, GA) at a known concentration near 0.004 g/mL.
A Waters autosampler was used to make 100 µL injections
from a 1 mL sample vial. Linear polystyrene standards of
Mn = 580–100,000 Da, Mw/Mn = 1 (Polymer Laboratories,
Santa Clara, CA), were used for the calibration of molecular
weights of all polymers. Chromatogram data exported using
Astra V software were used to calculate molecular weight
using Microsoft Excel (Redmond, WA) software.
2.4 Total Acid Number (TAN)
TAN was determined according to the official AOCS Method
Te 2a-64 [29], on the 751 GPD Titrino (Metrohm Ltd., Heri-
sau, Switzerland), with ethanol substituted for methanol to
increase solubility of the samples during titration. In general,
1.0 g of sample was dissolved in 80 mL of ethanol:water
(9:1) under vigorous stirring with a titration dose rate of
0.05 mL/min. All TAN experiments were conducted in trip-
licate, and average and standard deviation values of TAN
and free fatty acid (FFA) are reported.
2.5 Density, Viscosity, and Viscosity Index (VI)
Density and dynamic viscosity were measured on a Stabin-
ger SVM3000/G2 viscometer (Anton Paar GmbH, Graz,
Austria) according to ASTM D 7042 [30]. The data were
then used to calculate kinematic viscosity at the correspond-
ing temperatures using the procedures described in the
method. VI was estimated from kinematic viscosity values
at 40 and 100 °C following the procedure outlined in ASTM
D 2270-93 [31].
2.6 Pressurized Differential Scanning Calorimetry
(PDSC)
PDSC tests were conducted on a Q20P pressurized differ-
ential scanning calorimeter (TA Instruments—Waters LLC,
New Castle, DE) following the procedure outlined in ASTM
D6186 [32]. All tests were conducted with the cell pressur-
ized with pure oxygen to 500 ± 25 psig in dynamic mode,
i.e., with positive oxygen flowing at a rate of 100 ± 10 mL/
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Page 3 of 16 76
min. The instrument was fitted with a computer and appro-
priate software to allow for data acquisition and analysis.
Duplicate runs were conducted, and average values of onset
(OT) and peak (PT) oxidation temperatures are reported.
A detailed description of the instrument and the procedure
have been given before [33].
2.7 Four‑Ball (4‑Ball) Anti‑wear (AW)
4-Ball AW tests were conducted according to ASTM D4172-
94 [34] on a model KTR-30L 4-ball tribometer equipped
with TriboDATA software (Koehler Instrument Company,
Bohemia, NY). Details about the instrument (hardware and
software) and test procedure has been given previously [35].
Coefficient of friction (COF) from each test was calculated
from the corresponding torque and load data in accordance
with ASTM D5183 [36]. Wear scar diameters (WSDs), along
and across the wear direction of the three bottom balls, were
measured at the end of each test using a wear scar measure-
ment system comprising hardware and ScarView software
(Koehler Instrument Company, Inc., Bohemia, NY). Each
test lubricant was used in at least two measurements, and
average COF and WSD are reported.
2.8 High‑Frequency Reciprocating Rig (HFRR)
Tribotest
Tests were conducted on a model D519 HFRR tribometer
(PCS Instruments, London, England) between a reciprocat-
ing steel ball sliding against a stationary steel disc, under
the set test conditions of applied load, lubricant tempera-
ture, stroke length, and frequency. All tests were conducted
in an enclosed chamber maintained at ambient temperature
and 60% relative humidity. The instrument measures and
displays the following data as a function of time: lubricant
temperature, COF, and relative film thickness (%). At the
end of each test, wear scars (along and perpendicular to the
direction of the wear tracks) on the ball and disc are meas-
ured on a metallurgical microscope (model N334PCS, PCS
Instruments, London, England), fitted with an adjustable
stage micrometer designed to fit the ball holder. Average
WSD values for the ball are reported; the width and length
of the wear on the disc are measured and reported sepa-
rately. Details about the various components of the D519,
its specifications, test procedures, and the specification of
the steel ball and disc test specimen used in the test, can be
found elsewhere [37].
2.9 Elastohydrodynamic (EHD) Film Thickness
and Traction
Measurements were conducted using the film thickness
or traction configuration of the EHL Ultra Thin Film
13
76 Page 4 of 16
Measurement System (PCS Instruments, London, England).
Film thickness was measured between a glass disk and steel
ball by the method of optical interferometry. In this configu-
ration, the speed of the disk (ud) is controlled while the ball,
which is in intimate contact with the disk, rotates freely at
the same speed as the disk (ud = ub), and film thickness is
measured under pure rolling conditions. Traction is meas-
ured between independently driven steel disk and steel ball.
This allows for independently controlling the speeds of the
disk and ball to obtain the desired entrainment speed (u) and
slide-to-roll ratio (SRR), defined as follows:
( )
u (m∕s) = ub + ud ∕2, (1)
( ) ( ) ( ) petroleum or renewable non-petroleum origin. The func-
SRR (%) = 100 ||ub − ud ||∕u = 200||ub − ud || ∕ ub + ud .
(2)
Under pure rolling conditions, the disk and ball have
identical speeds resulting in 0% SRR.
Description of the instrument and its specifications, as
well as the specifications of the glass disk, steel disk, and
steel balls used in film thickness and traction measurements,
has been given before [38, 39]. The application of interfer-
ometry for measuring film thickness is described elsewhere
[40]. Traction measurement on the Ultra Thin Film Measure-
ment System has been discussed before [39]. Film thickness
and traction measurement procedures, including instrument
set up/calibration and data acquisition/analysis, are given
elsewhere [38, 39].
3 Results and Discussion
3.1 Synthesis and Structure
Petroleum-based PAOs are commercially manufactured
by the oligomerization of linear alpha olefins in the pres-
ence of one or more catalysts [41]. Most PAOs are synthe-
sized from 1-decene, but other linear alpha olefins (e.g.,
Fig. 1  Elevance biorefinery
process for synthesis of func-
tionalized and non-functional-
ized linear alpha olefins from
vegetable oils [27]
13
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Tribology Letters (2018) 66:76
1-octene, 1-dodecene) as well as mixtures of linear alpha
olefins are also used. Conventionally, the linear alpha ole-
fins, catalyst, and oligomerization conditions are selected
to produce PAO products of a specific kinematic viscosity
at 100 °C, after a hydrogenation step, which is necessary
to remove any residual unsaturation in the product. Thus,
for example, PAO-6 and PAO-40 products will have kin-
ematic viscosities of around 6 and 40 cSt, respectively.
The BPAOs differ from the PAOs in that they are syn-
thesized from a mixture of functionalized and non-func-
tionalized linear alpha olefins [27]. The non-functionalized
linear alpha olefin components are similar to those used
in the PAO synthesis discussed above, and could be of
tionalized linear alpha olefins comprise a functional group
(e.g., methyl ester) at the other end of the chain, and could
be of petroleum or renewable origin.
The BPAO investigated in this work was synthesized
from a mixture of functionalized and non-functionalized
linear alpha olefins, both of which were obtained from
renewable feedstock, namely, vegetable oils [27]. A sche-
matic depicting the biorefinery process for converting veg-
etable oils into alpha olefins and other products is given
in Fig. 1 [27, 28]. The first step in this process involves
a patented metathesis reaction of the vegetable oils with
ethylene as the co-reactor. The product from this step is
distilled to separate the 1-decene and other non-function-
alized linear alpha olefin. The residue from the distillation
is then subjected to a transesterification step to produce
9-decenoic acid methyl ester and other functionalized lin-
ear alpha olefins.
The functionalized and non-functionalized linear alpha
olefins are then used in the oligomerization reactions in
the presence of the appropriate catalyst to produce the
BPAOs. A schematic comparing the synthesis of BPAOs
and PAOs and the corresponding base oil structures is
given in Fig. 2.
Tribology Letters (2018) 66:76 Page 5 of 16 76

Fig. 2  Schematics for the

synthesis of biobased (BPAO-
40) and commercial petroleum-
based (PAO-40) polyalphaole-
fins

Table 1  Density of biobased (BPAO-40) and commercial petroleum- Table 2  Viscosity (ASTM D7042 [30]) and viscosity index (ASTM
based (PAO-40) polyalphaolefins investigated in this work D-2270 31]) of biobased (BPAO-40) and commercial petroleum-
based (PAO-40) polyalphaolefins
T (°C) Density (g/mL)a
⟨kVis⟩ ± stdev ­(mm2/s) ⟨dVis⟩ ± stdev (mPa s)
BPAO-40 PAO-40
BPAO-40 PAO-40 BPAO-40 PAO-40
40 0.8697 ± 0.0006 0.8333 ± 0.0002
75 0.8487 ± 0.0005 0.8132 ± 0.0002 40 °C 324.6 ± 3.4 397.6 ± 0.5 282.3 ± 2.8 331.3 ± 0.4
100 0.8338 ± 0.0003 0.7988 ± 0.0002 75 °C 77.8 ± 0.6 86.4 ± 0.1 66.1 ± 0.5 70.2 ± 0.0
100 °C 37.3 ± 0.3 39.3 ± 0.0 31.1 ± 0.2 31.4 ± 0.0
All data from this work unless noted VI 164 149
a
ASTM D-7402 [30]
All data from this work unless noted

3.2 Physical and Chemical Properties

In discussions henceforth, the functionalized biobased and
the non-functionalized petroleum-based PAOs will be des-
ignated as BPAO-40 and PAO-40, respectively.
Table 1 compares the density of these two materials at 40,
75, and 100 °C measured in accordance with ASTM D-7042
[30]. The data show the BPAO-40 oil to be denser at all
temperatures. This can be attributed to the presence of some
oxygen atoms in the BPAO-40, whereas the PAO-40 is all
hydrocarbon. The presence of oxygen can result in increased
density due to its slightly higher molecular weight than car-
bon. In addition, the presence of oxygen in the form of ester
functional groups can produce dipolar interactions that could
result in lower molecular volume and, hence, higher density.
The viscosity indices of the functionalized BPAO-40 and
PAO-40 polyalphaolefins at 40, 75, and 100 °C were meas-
ured according to ASTM D-7042 [30] and are compared
in Table 2. The data show that PAO-40 has a much higher
viscosity than BPAO-40 at 40 °C, which correlates well with
the higher number average molecular weight value (⟨Mn⟩) of
PAO-40 compared to BPAO-40, measured using GPC [42]
(Fig. 3). The GPC traces in Fig. 3 also show PAO-40 with
narrower molecular weight distribution, i.e., a lower poly-
dispersity index (PDI) than that for BPAO-40. The viscosity
data in Table 2 show that the gap in viscosity between the
two oils narrows with increasing temperature, from about
73 cSt at 40 °C to about 2 cSt at 100 °C. This is consist-
ent with the fact that the two oils were synthesized to have
similar kinematic viscosity at 100 °C. However, as shown in
Table 2, the change in viscosity with change in temperature
from 40 to 100 °C was steeper for PAO-40 than for BPAO-
40. The consequence of this is a lower VI for PAO-40 com-
pared to BPAO-40 (Table 2).
The two oils were evaluated for their oxidation stability
using a PDSC method as described in ASTM D-6186 [32].
Measured onset (OT) and peak (PT) oxidation temperatures
for the two oils are compared in Table 3. The data given
in Table 3 indicate a slightly higher OT and PT oxidation
stability for the commercial and non-functionalized PAO-
40 relative to the functionalized BPAO-40. This difference
might be due to the presence of traces of unsaturation in
the BPAO-40 sample due to incomplete hydrogenation of
residual double bonds after the oligomerization process.
This explanation is supported by the 1H NMR analysis data
of the samples, which showed absorbances related to unsatu-
ration in the range 5.7–5.9 ppm for BPAO-40 but none for
PAO-40 (Fig. 4).
TAN and FFA analysis, using the AOCS official method
[29], showed very low values (TAN < 0.3 mg KOH/g;
FFA < 0.2%) for both oils (Table 4). Still, the values for the
BPAO-40 base oil were higher than those for the non-func-
tionalized PAO-40 polyalphaolefin. This result might be an
indication of potential hydrolysis of the methyl esters into
fatty acids in the BPAO-40 polyalphaolefin, possibly due to
the presence of traces of moisture in the oil. The data given
in Table 4 also show that the TAN values measured in this

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76 Page 6 of 16 Tribology Letters (2018) 66:76

Fig. 3  GPC trace for BPAO-40

and PAO-40
-6
15x10

10

Intensity
BPAO-40, <Mn>=1730 Da; PDI=2.0
PAO-40, <Mn>=1820 Da; PDI=1.3
5

0
4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2
3 4
10 10
Mol. wt. (g/mol)

Table 3  PDSC onset (OT) and peak (PT) oxidation temperatures of 3.3 Elastohydrodynamic (EHD) Properties
biobased (BPAO-40) and commercial petroleum-based (PAO-40)
polyalphaolefins
3.3.1 Film Thickness
BPAO-40 PAO-40

OT (°C) 185.8 ± 0.6 195.0 ± 0.8

PT (°C) 205.1 ± 0.8
All data from this work. ASTM D-6186 [32]
work for the PAO-40 were higher than the values reported
in the manufacturer’s Product Datasheet [43]. This might be
an indication of potential oxidation of the PAO-40 during
storage and/or transportation.
Film thickness was measured between a steel ball and a
glass disk by the method of optical interferometry [40].
209.7 ± 0.9
Measurements were conducted under pure rolling condi-
tions, i.e., at a SRR of 0% defined as follows:
( ) ( ) ( )
SRR (%) = 100 ||ub − ud ||∕u = 200||ub − ud || ∕ ub + ud ,
(2)
where ub and ud are the speeds of the ball and disk, respec-
tively, in m/s, u = (ub + ud)/2, is entrainment speed in m/s.

Fig. 4  Comparison of 1H NMR

absorptions in the region for
olefinic protons of BPAO-40
and PAO-40

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Tribology Letters (2018) 66:76
Table 4  Total acid number and free fatty acid of biobased (BPAO-40)
and commercial petroleum-based (PAO-40) polyalphaolefins
BPAO-40 PAO-40
Average ± Stdev Average ± Stdev
Total acid number 0.246 ± 0.007 0.154 ± 0.005 (lit.a < 0.10)
(mg KOH/g)
Free fatty acid (%) 0.124 ± 0.004 0.077 ± 0.002
All data from this work unless noted. Measured using AOCS Official
Method [29]
a
Data from [43] measured using ASTM D-974 method [54]
Under pure rolling conditions, the disk and ball have identi-
cal speeds resulting in 0% SRR.
Film thickness measurements were conducted as a func-
tion of entrainment speed [u in Eq. (1)] and various com-
binations of temperatures (40, 75, and 100 °C) and loads
(10, 20, 30, 40 N).
The film thickness of the functionalized BPAO-40, as a
function of entrainment speed, is compared to those of the
non-functionalized PAO-40 shown in Fig. 5. Data at 40 °C
and 10 or 40 N load, and 75 °C and 40 N load are com-
pared. The data for both oils show film thickness increas-
ing with increasing entrainment at all temperatures and
loads. At 40 °C, the film thickness values for BPAO-40
were much lower than those for PAO-40 at all entrainment
speeds. The difference in film thickness between the two
oils was larger at 10 N load compared to that at 40 N load
(Fig. 5a, b). At 75 °C and 40 N load, the two oils displayed
similar film thickness properties at all entrainment speeds
except at very low speeds corresponding to boundary con-
ditions (Fig. 5c).
The above discussed observations of the data given
in Fig. 5 are consistent with the predictions of the Ham-
rock–Dowson equation which is given as follows [44]:
h = k(u𝜂)0.67 𝛼 0.53 , (3)
where h is the lubricant film thickness in nm, k is a constant
whose value is a function of the film thickness measurement
instrument parameters and test geometry, u is entrainment
speed in m/s, η is dynamic viscosity in cP at the film thick-
ness measurement temperature and ambient atmospheric
pressure, and α is pressure–viscosity coefficient (PVC) at
the film thickness measurement temperature in ­GPa− 1. Thus,
as predicted by the Hamrock–Dowson equation, the film
thickness of both oils displayed a dramatic increase with
increasing entrainment speed at all temperatures and loads.
The higher film thickness of PAO-40 over BPAO-40 at 40 °C
shown in Fig. 5a is consistent with its higher viscosity at
this temperature (Table 2). However, the viscosity differ-
ence between the oils narrows at 75 °C (Table 2), resulting
in a very similar film thickness for the two oils at almost all
entrainment speeds (Fig. 5c).
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Page 7 of 16 76
Figure 6 compares the measured film thickness of the
two oils at 100 °C with that predicted for BPAO-40 by
the Hamrock–Dowson equation. The two oils have almost
identical viscosity at 100 °C (Table 2), and, as a result, dis-
played almost identical film thickness at all entrainment
speeds above about 0.05 m/s. The measured data for the
two oils were also close to that predicted for BPAO-40 by
the Hamrock–Dowson equation above 0.05 m/s. However,
below 0.05 m/s entrainment speed, which corresponds to
boundary lubrication conditions, the functional PAO BPAO-
40 produced thicker films than that predicted by the Ham-
rock–Dowson equation (Fig. 5). On the other hand, in the
same low entrainment speed regions (< 0.05 m/s), the non-
functional PAO-40 produced thinner lubricant films than
those predicted by the Hamrock–Dowson equation (Fig. 5).
This difference in the film forming properties of the func-
tional (BPAO-40) and non-functional (PAO-40) polyal-
phaolefins in the boundary regime can be attributed to the
difference in their chemical structures. As mentioned earlier,
BPAO-40 comprises functional ester groups in its structures,
which allows it to adsorb onto friction surfaces and generate
thin boundary lubricant films. On the other hand, the non-
functional PAO-40 has no such functional groups and cannot
generate significant boundary films.
3.3.2 Traction
Traction experiments were conducted between a steel
disk and a steel ball at various combinations of tempera-
ture (40 or 100 °C), load (10, 20, 30, 40 N), entrainment
speed (0–3.0 m/s), and SRR (0–100%). The disk and ball
are equipped with independent drive motors to allow for
precise setting of entrainment speeds and SRR. Two types
of traction experiments were conducted. In the first type,
traction coefficient was measured as a function of entrain-
ment speed (u) at a constant SRR of 50%. In the second type
of experiments, the traction coefficient was measured as a
function of SRR at a constant entrainment speed of 1.0 m/s.
Figure 7 shows the traction coefficient of the functional-
ized (BPAO-40) and non-functionalized (PAO-40) polyal-
phaolefins, at 40 and 100 °C, as a function of entrainment
speed and a constant SRR of 50%. At both temperatures,
the traction coefficient data for both oils displayed simi-
lar profiles comprising three distinct regions: region I
with high traction coefficient values (> 0.015) that varied
slightly with varying entrainment speeds in the range of 0 to
about 2.0 m/s, region III with low traction coefficient values
(< 0.003) that were more or less constant with increasing
entrainment speed above about 2.7 m/s, region II, which is a
transition between regions I and III, with the traction coeffi-
cient decreasing sharply with increasing entrainment speed.
The two oils displayed identical traction coefficient values in
region III but very different values in region I.
13
76 Page 8 of 16 Tribology Letters (2018) 66:76

Fig. 5  EHD film thickness of

1000 (a)
BPAO-40 and PAO-40 at 40
8
and 75 °C 7
6
5

Film Thickness:nm
4

3
film thickness at 40°C,10N
PAO-40
2
BPAO-40

100
8
7
6
5
4
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3
0.01 0.1 1
Entrainment Speed (m/s)

1000 (b)
8
7
6
5
Film Thickness:nm

2 film thickness at 40°C, 40N

PAO-40
BPAO-40
100
8
7
6
5
4
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3
0.01 0.1 1
Entrainment Spees (m/s)

8
6
(c)
4

2
Film Thickness: nm

100
8 film thickness at 75°C, 40N
6 PAO-40
4 BPAO-40

10
8
6

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3 4
0.01 0.1 1
Entrainment Speed (m/s)

Examination of the data in region I in Fig. 7a, b shows
that traction coefficient is a function of both temperature and
oil chemistry. Comparing the effect of temperature shows
that both oils displayed lower traction coefficient at 100 °C
compared to that at 40 °C. This was attributed to the effect
of temperature on oil viscosity, which is one of the major
oil properties affecting traction coefficient. Higher tempera-
ture reduces viscosity which in turn reduces traction coef-
ficient. However, at both temperatures, the functionalized
BPAO-40 displayed a lower traction coefficient than the

13

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Tribology Letters (2018) 66:76 Page 9 of 16 76

Fig. 6  Measured versus 4

predicted EHD film thickness 3

of BPAO-40 and PAO-40 at meas vs H-D pred film thickness at 100°C, 40N
100 °C 2 meas_h_BPAO-40 meas_h_PAO-40
0.67
pred_h_BPAO-40 =const (u)
100

Film Thickness (h, nm)

7
6
5
4

10
7
6
5
4
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 3 4
0.01 0.1 1
Entrainment Speed (u, m/s)

Fig. 7  EHD traction coefficient

for BPAO-40 and PAO-40 as a -3
(a)
50x10
function of entrainment speed at Traction coeff: 40°C;40N;50% SRR
50% SRR and 40 N load PAO-40
40 BPAO-40
Traction Coefficient

30

20

10

0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5

Entrainment speed (m/s)

-3
30x10
(b)
25 traction coeff: 100°C;40N;50%SRR
PAO-40
BPAO-40
Traction Coefficient

20

15

10

0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5

Entrainment speed (m/s)

13

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76 Page 10 of 16 Tribology Letters (2018) 66:76

non-functionalized PAO-40. This difference can be attrib-
uted to the difference in the chemical structure of the two
oils and perhaps, to a lesser extent, their viscosities. Thus,
the BPAO-40 oil with functional group produced lower trac-
tion coefficients than the PAO-40 non-functionalized oil.
Similar results have been reported before from the compari-
son of the traction coefficients of vegetable oils, which have
multiple ester functional groups in their structures, relative
to commercial PAOs of similar viscosity but without func-
tional groups [39].
The temperature and chemistry effects discussed above
indicate that the traction coefficient in region I (µ) can be
considered to be a composite value of contributions from
hydrodynamic (µh) and boundary (µb) traction coefficients
as shown below:
𝜇 = 𝜇h + 𝜇b . (4)
The hydrodynamic component is affected by the viscos-
ity of the oils, and, at 100 °C, the two oils have similar
viscosity and, hence will have nearly equal µh contribution
to the measured value (µ). On the other hand, because
the functionalized PAO BPAO-40 can adsorb on friction
surfaces and lower boundary friction, it will have a much
lower µb contribution to the traction coefficient than the
non-functionalized PAO-40. This analysis is consistent
with the observed significantly lower traction coefficient
of BPAO-40 than that of PAO-40 shown in region I of
Fig. 7b.
Traction coefficient data for the two oils as a function of
SRR at 1.0 m/s entrainment speed are given in Fig. 8. The
results display two common features with the entrainment
speed versus traction coefficient data (Fig. 7) discussed
above. First is that the traction coefficients are inversely
related to temperature, where the values at 100 °C are
lower than those at 40 °C (compare Fig. 8a vs. b). Second,
the traction coefficients of the functionalized BPAO-40
polyalphaolefin are lower than the values for the non-func-
tionalized PAO-40 at all temperatures and SRR.

Fig. 8  EHD traction coefficient

of WTP-40 and PAO-40 as (a)
-3
40x10
a function of SRR, at 1 m/s
entrainment speed and 40 N
load
Traction Coefficient

30
traction coeff: 40°C;40N;1m/s
PAO-40
BPAO-40
20

10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Slide/Roll Ratio (%)

-3
35x10
(b)
30

25
Traction Coefficient

20
traction coef: 100°C, 40N;1m/s
15 PAO-40
BPAO-40
10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Slide/Roll ratio (%)

13

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Tribology Letters (2018) 66:76 Page 11 of 16 76

3.3.3 Pressure–Viscosity Coefficient
As shown in Eq. (2), the two lubricant properties that affect
its film thickness (h) are its viscosity (η) and its PVC (α).
PVC values of lubricants vary in the range 5–60 GPa− 1
[45], and the higher the PVC of a lubricant the higher its
film thickness. The PVC of lubricants are estimated using a
variety of methods that can be grouped into direct and indi-
rect methods. The direct method which is also the preferred
method involves the analysis of pressure vs. viscosity data
on the lubricants of interest [46, 47]. However, this method
is very hard to apply for most researchers because of the
scarcity of access to instruments capable of generating the
pressure vs. viscosity data. The alternative indirect methods
involve analysis of either lubricant film thickness data [48,
49] or physical property data [50–52].
In this work, the PVC values of the functionalized
(BPAO-40) and the non-functionalized (PAO-40) polyal-
phaolefins were estimated from film thickness data. Applica-
tion of the film thickness method of PVC estimation requires
combining Eq. (3) for the test (ht) and reference (hr) lubri-
cants as follows:
( ) [ ( )0.53 ] [ ( )0.53 ]
ht ∕hr = k(u𝜂)0.67 𝛼t ∕ k(u𝜂)0.67 𝛼r . (5)
t r
In order to apply Eq. (5) to estimate the PVC of a new or
test lubricant requires (a) a reference lubricant whose PVC
(αr) was experimentally determined using a direct method,
(b) the film thickness data used in the analysis for both the
test (ht) and reference (hr) samples have been measured on
the same instrument under identical conditions of tempera-
ture, load, entrainment speeds, and (c) the film thickness
data of the test (ht) and reference (hr) samples to be ana-
lyzed must have been generated under identical range of
(uη) values, i.e., at (uη)t = (uη)r. If these conditions are met,
Eq. (5) can be rearranged and simplified to calculate the
PVC of the test lubricant as follows:
( )[1∕0.53]
𝛼t = 𝛼r ht ∕hr . (6)
In applying Eq. (6) in this work, PAO-6, which is a PAO
sold under the trade name Durasyn 166 (INEOS Oligomers,
LLC), was used as the reference oil. PAO-6 has a viscosity
of 6 cSt at 100 °C and a PVC (αr) of 15.8 GPa− 1 indepen-
dently determined by the direct method [53]. Film thickness
data for the test (BPAO-40, PAO-40) and reference (PAO-6)
oils, measured on the same instrument at 40 °C and 20 N
load, were used in the analysis. Figure 9 shows the film
thickness data used in the analysis as a function of (uη). The
points in Fig. 9 are experimental values and the lines are
predicted using a simplified form of the Hamrock–Dowson
equation [Eq. (3)] as follows:
h = a(u𝜂)0.67 , (7)
where a is a constant.
Application of the film thickness data shown in Fig. 9
for the test and reference lubricants along with the value of
αr (15.8 GPa− 1) in Eq. (6) gave 8.9 and 11.1 GPa− 1, for the
PVC of the functionalized BPAO-40 and the non-functional-
ized PAO-40 polyalphaolefins, respectively. These values are
consistent with expectations based on the structures of these
oils [45]. PAOs belong to intermediate PVC oils (PVC of
10–20 GPa− 1), which include most Groups I–V oils. Inter-
mediate PVC oils have distinct structural differences from
low PVC (< 10 GPa− 1) oils such as liquid crystals, which
have layered structures that shear and are unable to support
high loads. Intermediate PVC oils are also different from
high PVC (> 20 GPa− 1) oils such as traction oils, whose

Fig. 9  Measured (hm) and pre- 300

dicted (hp) EHD film thickness 0.67
meas vs pred [const(uη) ] film thickness
as a function of (uη) used for pao-6: h_m h_p
estimation of the pressure–vis- 250 pao-40: h_m h_p
cosity coefficient [αt in Eq. (6)] bpao-40: h_m h_p
of BPAO-40 and PAO-40 by
film thickness (h), nm

the Hamrock–Dowson method. 200

PAO-6 is the reference fluid
whose pressure–viscosity coeffi-
cient [αr in Eq. (6)] has already 150
been independently determined
to be 15.8 GPa− 1 [53]
100

50

0
0 10 20 30 40 50

uη, mN/m

13

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76 Page 12 of 16
structure allows them to support high load due to entangle-
ments and/or strong intermolecular interactions [45].
3.4 Friction and Wear Properties
3.4.1 High‑Frequency Reciprocating Rig (HFRR)
Evaluations
The functionalized BPAO-40 and non-functionalized PAO-
40 polyalphaolefins were evaluated for their friction, wear,
and relative film thickness properties as a function of aver-
age speed, ua, in m/s, on a HFRR. Average speed on the
HFRR is defined as follows:
ua (m∕s) = (2s)𝜐, (8)
where s is stroke length in m, and υ is frequency in Hz.
Experiments were conducted on a wide range of ua values
(0.4 × 10− 3–400 × 10− 3 m/s) using various combinations of
stroke length (s) and frequency (υ) settings available on the
instrument. All experiments were conducted at 1 kgf (9.8 N)
load, 75 °C for 1 h.
COF and relative film thickness (hr, %) data were meas-
ured as a function of time, displayed, and saved in real time
at a rate of 60/min. The real time data and corresponding
averages are saved and displayed at the end of each test.
Also, at the end of each test, the WSD on the ball and disc
are measured manually using a specialized microscope, and
the wear scar values, along and across the wear direction,
are recorded and combined with the corresponding COF and
film thickness data of the specific run.
The relative film thickness data on the HFRR are obtained
from electric contact resistance data between the steel disc
and steel ball measured during the test. According to this
method, measured relative film thickness values vary from
0 to 100%, depending on the value of the measured electric
contact resistance. In the absence of lubricant film, the ball
and disk are in direct contact, there will be zero electric con-
tact resistance between the two, and a relative film thickness
of 0% is measured. In the presence of thick non-conductive
lubricant film, the ball and disk are completely separated,
maximum electric contact resistance occurs, and a relative
film thickness of 100% is measured. Relative film thick-
ness values between these two extremes are obtained when
partial contact between the ball and disk occurs, resulting
in intermediate electric contact resistance values. As will
be shown below, the relative film thickness data obtained
on the HFRR are capable of differentiating film thickness
between the major lubrication regimes (boundary, hydro-
dynamic, mixed), even though it is too crude to distinguish
film thickness within each regime.
The effect of average HFRR speed (ua) at 75 °C on COF,
steel ball WSD, and relative film thickness (hr) of the func-
tionalized (BPAO-40) and non-functionalized (PAO-40)
13
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Tribology Letters (2018) 66:76
polyalphaolefins is compared in Fig. 10a–c. Each point in
Fig. 10a–c corresponds to the average and standard deviation
of multiple tests at each average speed, which is obtained by
using varying combinations of stroke length and frequency.
The three sets of data (COF, WSD, hr) shown in Fig. 10
show the following common features:
(a) At high average speeds (ua > 0.12 m/s), the two oils dis-
played similar COF, WSD, and hr values that remained
constant with increasing ua. This speed region corre-
sponds to the hydrodynamic regime, where lubricant
properties are functions of viscosity. Since the two
oils have similar viscosity values at this temperature
(Table 2), they are expected to display similar values
of COF, WSD, and hr, as was observed.
(b) At very low average speeds (< 0.08 m/s for PAO-
40, < 0.03 m/s for BPAO-40), the two oils displayed
different COF, WSD, and hr values that were almost
independent of ua. Since this speed region corresponds
to the boundary lubrication regime, the properties of
the oils are a function of their chemical structures. In
this region, the functionalized BPAO-40 polyalphaole-
fin is expected to adsorb on friction surfaces and pro-
duce lower COF, lower WSD, and higher hr than the
non-functionalized PAO-40 polyalphaolefin. The data
shown in Fig. 10 are consistent with this expectation.
(c) In between the above two regions of average speed, the
two oils displayed different COF, WSD, and hr values
that varied with increasing ua. In this region, both oils
displayed relative film thickness values that increased
with increasing average speed, with the values for the
BPAO-40 being consistently much higher than those
for the PAO-40. Similarly, COF and WSD values, espe-
cially for the PAO-40, sharply decreased with increas-
ing average speed.
(d) The COF and relative film thickness data from the
HFRR measurements shown in Fig. 10 are consistent
with film thickness and traction data discussed earlier
from EHL experiments. Thus, the increasing relative
film thickness with increasing average speed shown in
Fig. 10c correlates well with the entrainment speed (u)
versus film thickness (h) data shown in Figs. 5 and 6.
Similarly, the decreasing COF with increasing aver-
age speed shown in Fig. 10a correlates well with the
decrease of traction coefficient with increasing entrain-
ment speed displayed in Fig. 7.
3.4.2 Four‑Ball Anti‑wear Evaluations
The 4-ball AW evaluations were conducted according to
ASTM D-4172 and ASTM D5183 [34, 36] under the fol-
lowing test conditions: 75 °C, 1200 rpm, 392 N load, and
for 1 h. COF data, collected at a rate of 60/min, are averaged
Tribology Letters (2018) 66:76 Page 13 of 16 76

Fig. 10  HFRR coefficient of

friction, relative film thickness,
(a)
and wear scar diameter as a 0.4
function of average speed, at COF @ 75°C
75 °C and 1 kgf, for BPAO-40 PAO-40

<Coefficient of Friction>
and PAO-40 0.3 BPAO-40

0.2

0.1

0.0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
average speed, m/s

800
(b)
WSD @ 75°C
600 PAO-40
<wear scar diameter>, µm

BPAO-40

400

200

0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
average speed, m/s

(c)
100

80
<relative film thickness>, %

60 relative film thickness @ 75°C

BPAO-40
PAO-40
40

20

0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4

average speed, m/s

13

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76 Page 14 of 16
and reported. The average WSD values from measurements
along and across the wear direction of each of the three balls
from each test are reported. Average and standard deviation
values from duplicate runs on the functionalized BPAO-40
and non-functionalized PAO-40 polyalphaolefins are sum-
marized in Table 5. The data show higher COF and WSD
values for the non-functionalized PAO-40 polyalphaolefin
compared to the values for functionalized BPAO-40. Since
the AW test is conducted in the mixed film regime, both
hydrodynamic (viscosity) and boundary (polar chemical
structure) properties of the lubricants will have a critical
influence on the observed COF and WSD. At 75 °C, the
non-functionalized PAO-40 is more viscous (Table 2) and,
hence, will generate higher hydrodynamic friction (traction)
than the functionalized BPAO-40. Unlike the functionalized
BPAO-40, the non-functionalized PAO-40 cannot adsorb
onto friction surfaces and reduce friction and wear under
boundary conditions. Thus, it will generate higher bound-
ary COF and wear in the boundary regime. Thus, based on
viscosity and chemical structure considerations, the non-
functionalized PAO-40 is predicted to produce a higher COF
and a higher WSD in the mixed film regime than the func-
tionalized BPAO-40, as is observed in Table 5.
4 Summary/Conclusion
The properties of a BPAO-40, with a viscosity of 40 cSt at
100 °C, were investigated relative to a commercial petro-
leum-based PAO of similar viscosity at 100 °C (PAO-40).
BPAO-40 is synthesized by oligomerization of a mixture
of alpha olefins, with and without terminal methyl esters,
derived from vegetable oils via a biorefinery process. By
contrast, commercial PAOs are synthesized only from non-
functionalized alpha olefins. Thus, BPAO-40 is not only
biobased, but also has a unique chemical structure, which
makes it a functionalized PAO. The effect of chemical struc-
ture (presence or lack of functionalization) on chemical,
physical, and tribological properties of these two PAO base
oils was investigated.
The two PAO oils were synthesized to have similar
kinematic viscosity of around 40 cSt at 100 °C, which
was found to be true. However, below 100 °C, PAO-40
Table 5  4-Ball anti-wear coefficient of friction (COF, ASTM D4172
[34], ASTM D5183 [36]) and wear scar diameter (WSD, ASTM
D4172 [34]) of biobased (BPAO-40) and commercial petroleum-
based (PAO-40) polyalphaolefins
BPAO-40 PAO-40
COF 0.073 ± 0.016 0.091 ± 0.020
WSD (mm) 0.734 ± 0.029 0.815 ± 0.080
All data from this work
13
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
Tribology Letters (2018) 66:76
was more viscous than BPAO-40, and the viscosity gap
between the oils increased with decreasing temperature,
from about 2 cSt at 100 °C to about 9 cSt at 75 °C, and to
about 73 cSt at 40 °C.
Physical property investigation showed that, relative to
PAO-40, the functionalized BPAO-40 showed
• higher density in the temperature range of 40–100 °C,
• higher VI,
• lower oxidation stability, i.e., lower PDSC onset and
peak oxidation temperatures, which was attributed to
incomplete hydrogenation of residual double bonds in
BPAO-40, and
• higher TAN, attributed to potential hydrolysis of methyl
esters by traces of moisture in the oil, especially during
storage and/or transportation in high humidity condi-
tions.
In 4-ball AW tests, BPAO-40 displayed lower COF and
lower WSD than PAO-40, which was attributed to the abil-
ity of the functionalized BPAO-40 to adsorb onto friction
surfaces and lower boundary friction and wear.
In EHD film thickness investigations, relative to PAO-
40, the functionalized BPAO-40 displayed:
• lower EHD film thickness at 40 °C, 10 N load, and all
speeds, attributed to its lower viscosity at this tempera-
ture;
• lower EHD film thickness at 40 °C, 40 N load, and
≥ 0.03 m/s speeds, attributed to its lower viscosity at
this temperature;
• similar EHD film thickness at 40 °C, 40 N load, and
< 0.03 m/s speeds, attributed to its functional property
to adsorb onto surfaces and form boundary films, even
though it has a much lower viscosity at this tempera-
ture;
• similar EHD film thickness at 75–100 °C, all loads (10–
40 N), and ≥ 0.03 m/s speeds, attributed to the similar
viscosity of the oils in this temperature range; and
• higher EHD film thickness at 75–100 °C, all loads (10–
40 N), and < 0.03 m/s speeds, attributed to its functional
property to adsorb onto surfaces and form a boundary
film, even though both oils have similar viscosity at this
temperature.
The two oils displayed similar PVCs derived from EHD
film thickness data, which was expected since both oils have
structures consistent with intermediate PVC oils that are nei-
ther layered and shear (low PVC oils), nor entangled and/or
display strong intermolecular interactions (high PVC oils).
In EHD traction, investigations as a function of entrain-
ment speed, 50% SRR, 40 N load, 40–100 °C temperature
range, and < 2.25 m/s entrainment speed:
Tribology Letters (2018) 66:76
• Both oils displayed a lower traction coefficient at 100 °C
compared to that at 40 °C, which was attributed to a
lower viscosity of the oils at 100 °C
• Functionalized BPAO-40 displayed a lower traction coef-
ficient than PAO-40 at both temperatures, which was
attributed to its functionality producing lower boundary
friction, and, as a result, lower overall traction coeffi-
cient.
In EHD traction investigations as a function of SRR,
1 m/s entrainment speed, 40 N load:
• Both oils displayed lower a traction coefficient at 100 °C
relative to that at 40 °C, which was attributed to the lower
viscosity at 100 °C
• Functionalized BPAO-40 displayed lower traction coef-
ficient than PAO-40 at both temperatures, attributed to
its functionality producing lower boundary friction and,
as a result, lower overall traction coefficient, at all SRR
values > 3%.
HFRR investigations at 75 °C and 10 N load, as a func-
tion of average speed, gave COF, WSD, and relative film
thickness values that were in line with the EHD traction and
film thickness results. Thus, relative to the non-functional-
ized PAO-40, the functionalized BPAO-40 displayed:
• lower COF at lower speeds (< 0.12 m/s), but similar COF
at higher speeds (> 0.12 m/s), which is in line with the
trend observed in the traction versus entrainment speed
data;
• higher relative film thickness at lower speeds
(< 0.12 m/s), but similar relative film thickness at higher
speeds (> 0.12 m/s), which is in line with the EHL film
thickness data at high temperatures; and
• lower WSD at lower speeds (< 0.12 m/s), but similar
WSD at higher speeds (> 0.12 m/s), which is in line with
the COF results summarized above.
Overall, relative to the commercial non-functionalized
PAO-40, the functionalized BPAO-40 displayed the follow-
ing properties: higher density at 40–100 °C, higher VI, lower
number average molecular weight (Mn), higher PDI, lower
oxidation stability (PDSC OT and PT), higher TAN, higher
FFA, lower 4-ball AW COF and WSD, higher EHD lubricant
film thickness under boundary conditions (low speeds and
high temperature), lower EHD traction coefficient at 40 and
100 °C, similar PVC, lower COF, lower WSD, and higher
relative film thickness on HFRR tribometer under boundary
conditions (low speeds).
Acknowledgements The author thanks Elevance Renewables, LLC,
for providing free samples of the biobased and petroleum-based PAOs
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
Page 15 of 16 76
used in this study. The author is grateful for the technical help from Ms.
Linda Cao, Ms. Amber Durham, Mr. Dan Knetzer, Mr. Kevin Steidley,
and Dr. Karl Vermillion.
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