LAB SESSION # 09

9.0 TRIBOLOGY:
Tribology is the science and engineering of
interacting surfaces in relative motion. It includes the study and
application of the principles of friction, lubrication and wear. Tribology is
a branch of mechanical engineering and materials science.

9.1

LUBRICANT:

A lubricant is a substance introduced to reduce friction between

moving surfaces. It may also have the function of transporting foreign
particles. The property of reducing friction is known as lubricity.
Lubrication is the admittance of oil in between the two surfaces having
relative motion. The objective of lubrication may be one or more of the
following
To reduce friction between the parts having relative motion
To reduce the wear of the moving parts
To cool the surfaces by carrying away heat generated due to friction
To seal a space adjoining the surfaces
To absorb shocks between the bearing and other parts and
consequently reduce the noise.
To remove the dirt and grit that might have crept between the
rubbing parts

PROPERTIES OF LUBRICANTS:
The chief qualities to be considered in selecting oil for lubrication are:

VISCOSITY:
It is the ability of the oil to resist internal deformation due to
mechanical stress and hence it is a measure of the ability of the oil
film to carry a load. More viscous oil can carry greater load, but it will
offer greater friction to sliding movement of the one bearing surface
over the other. Viscosity varies with the temperature and hence if a
surface to be lubricated is normally at high temperature it should be
supplied with oil of a higher viscosity.

FLASH POINT:
It is defined as the lowest temperature at which the lubricating
oil will flash when a small flame is passed across its surface. The
flash point of the oil should be sufficiently high so as to avoid
flashing of oil vapours at the temperature occurring in common use.
High flash point are needed in the air compressors.

FIRE POINT:
It is the lowest temperature at the oil burns continuously. The
fire point also must be high in lubricating oil, so that the oil dose not
burn in service.

CLOUD POINT:
When subject to low temperatures the oil changes from liquid
state to a plastic or solid state, in some cases the oil starts solidifying
which makes it to appear cloudy, the temperature at which this takes
place is called cloud point.

POUR POINT:
Pour point is the lowest temperature at which the lubricating oil
will pour. It is an indication of its ability to move at low temperatures.
This property must be considered because of its effect on starting an
engine in cold weather and on free circulation of oil through exterior
feed pipes when pressure is not applied.

OILINESS:
This is the property which enables oil to spread over and
adhere to the surface of the bearing. It is most important in
boundary lubrication.

CORROSION:
A lubricant should not corrode the working parts and it must
retain its properties even in the presence of foreign matter and
additives.

EMULSIFICATION;
A lubricating oil, when mixed with water is emulsified and
losses its lubricating property. The emulsification number is an index
of the tendency of oil to emulsify with water.

PHYSICAL STABILITY:
A lubricating oil must be stable physically at the lowest and
highest temperatures between which the oil is to be used. At the
lowest temperature there should not be any separation of solids, and
at high temperature it should not vaporize beyond a certain limit.

CHEMICAL STABILITY:
Lubricating oil should be stable chemically. There should not be
any tendency for oxide formation.

NEUTRALIZATION NUMBER:
Oil may contain certain impurities that are not removed during
refining. The neutralization number test is a simple procedure to
determine acidity or alkalinity of an oil. It is the weight in milligrams
of potassium hydroxide required to neutralize the acid content of one
gram of oil.

ADHESIVENESS:
It is the property of lubricating oil due to which the oil particles
stick with the metal surfaces.

FILM STRENGTH:
It is the property of lubricating oil due to which the oil retains a
thin film between the two surfaces even at high speed and load. The
film does not break and the two surfaces do not come in direct
contact. Adhesiveness and film strength cause the lubricant to enter
the metal pores and cling to the surfaces of the bearings and
journals keeping them wet when the journals are at rest and
presenting metal to metal contact until the film of lubricant is built
up.

PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS:
The demanding specifications of the Lubricating oils are
Longer life in spite of higher thermal and mechanical loads
Improved emission characteristics by a cut in fuel consumption
Lower oil-related particulate emissions
Improved wear protection even in severe conditions

How oil lubricates?

Every moving part of the engine is designed to have a specific
clearance from its adjacent surface. As oil is fed to the surface it
forms a film, preventing the moving part from actually touching the
surface. As a part rotates, the film of oil acts as a series of rollers.
Because the moving parts do not actually touch each other, friction
is reduced greatly. It is important that sufficient clearance be allowed
between the part and the bearing; otherwise the film might be too
thin. This would allow contact between the parts, causing the
bearing to wear or burn up .It also is important that the clearance not
be too large between rotating parts and their bearings. This is true
particularly with heavily loaded bearings like those found on the
connecting rods. The heavy loads could then cause the oil film to be
squeezed out, resulting in bearing failure.

Purpose:
Lubricants perform the following key functions.
Keep moving parts apart

Reduce friction

Transfer heat

Carry away contaminants & debris

Transmit power

Protect against wear

Prevent corrosion

Seal for gases

Stop the risk of smoke and fire of objects

It fulfills two purposes:

1 Oil as lubricant
2 Oil as coolant
Oil as lubricant :
The primary function of engine oil is to reduce friction between
moving parts (lubricate). Friction, in addition to wasting engine
power, creates destructive heat and rapid wear of parts. The greater
the friction present between moving parts, the greater the energy
required to overcome that friction. The increase in energy adds to
the amount of heat generated, causing moving parts that are
deprived of oil to melt, fuse, and seize after a very short period of
engine operation. The effectiveness of a modern lubrication system
makes possible the use of friction-type bearings in an engine. Friction

between the pistons and the cylinder walls is severe, making

effective lubrication of this area imperative. Lubrication of the
connecting rod and main bearings is crucial because of the heavy
loads that are placed on them. There are many other less critical
engine parts that also need a constant supply of oil, such as the
camshaft, valve stems, rocker arms, and timing chains.

Oil as coolant:
Engine oil circulated throughout the engine also serves to
remove heat from the friction points. The oil circulates through the
engine and drains to the sump. The heat picked up by the oil while it
is circulated is reduced by airflow around the outside of the sump. In
some instances, where the sump is not exposed to a flow of air, it is
necessary to add an oil cooling unit that transfers the heat from the
oil to the engine cooling system.

FORMULATION OF ENGINE OIL:

Engine oils are complex mixture s which are best described as
formulations containing base oils and additives. Compared to other
groups of lubricants, the base oils plays an important role. Those
mixtures of base oils are selected which have the necessary viscosity
and performance to correspond to a rough classification. The final
products are then marketed as conventional mineral oil-based,
unconventional semi-synthetic and synthetic engine oils. Base oils
are divided into five groups:
Group 1: SN mineral oils with saturates <90 %, 80< Viscosity Index
<120, Sulfur >0.03%
Group 2: HC oils with saturated >90%, 80 %< Viscosity index<120,
Sulfur<0.03%. These base oils possess good properties such as
volatility and pressure wear control.
Group 3: HC oils with saturates > 90%, Viscosity index>120,
Sulfur<0.03%.They possess molecular uniformity, stability, mixing with
additives to form synthetic and semi synthetic oils.
Group 4: Polyalphaolefins: These are chemically synthesized base
oils. With additives, they offer excellent performance over a wide range
of lubricating properties. They are very stable chemical compositions
and highly uniform molecular chains

 Group 5: Esters and others: They are not used as base oils
themselves, but add beneficial properties to other base oils.

PERFORMANCE ADDITIVES:
Depending on the base oil used and the required engine performance,
engine oils can contain up to 30 different additives whose percentage
content can range from 5 to 25 % in total. Some on the performance
additives along with their basic function are described below:

DETERGENTS:
Controls high temperature deposits
They also act as effective acid neutralizer if overbased.
Commonly Ca and Mg sulfonates, phenolates and salicylates are
used as detergents

DISPERSANTS:
Control low temperature deposits such as cold sludge and vanish
deposits.
Dispersant contains Polyisobutylene and ethylene-propylene
oligomers with nitrogen and or oxygen as a functional group

ANTI-WEAR ADDITIVES:
These additives reduce wear and prevent scoring, galling and
seizure.
They provide an extra strength needed to ensure efficient lubrication
under severe operating conditions.
The additives used are chlorine and phosphate compounds.
Metal dithiophosphate and carbamate are also used as anti-wear
additives.

RUST INHIBITORS:
Reduce rusting by acid neutralization of formation by protective film.

VISCOSITY INDEX IMPROVER:

It prevents undue thinning of the oil as the temperature increases.
A high viscosity index is always desired for the lubrication oil as it
can be used in severe winter and summer conditions.

 Multigrade oils have been used which have special ability to adapt to
both summer and winter.
Alkyl methacrylate is used as viscosity improver.

ANTI FOAM AGENT:

Reduce oil foaming by causing collapsing of bubbles due to air
entrainment.
Silicon esters are used as antifoaming agents

VISCOSITY GRADES:
The viscosity of engine oil is an indicator of how readily a load
carrying film can be formed at all the lubrication points in an engine.
As viscosity is a function of temperature, this applies to all potential
ambient and operating temperatures. The adequate and rapid
circulation of oil at low temperature which is given by low viscosity
must be achieved at cold start cranking speeds. On the other hand,
viscosity must not fall too much at high temperatures so that
adequate lubricating film stability is given at high thermal loads.
In order to meet the viscosity requirements of lubricant, Society
of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has assigned a particular number to
the oil whose viscosity falls under a certain range.
SAE 5W, 10 W and 20W grades are defined in terms of viscosity
at -18C and are the oils which under starting of engine in cold
weather makes easy. SAE 20, 30, 40 and 50 W grades are defined in
terms of viscosity at 100 C and these oils work satisfactorily in
normal and hot climates. Such oils that work for a specific weather
condition are called as single grade oils. These numbers are merely
used for the classification of the oils according to the viscosity and
do not indicate the quality of oil since factors like stability, oiliness
etc. are not considered.
It is also possible to develop oil with more than one viscosity at
different temperatures. Thus an oil may be in SAE-30 in summer and
SAE-10W in winters. Thus this oil will be a multi grade oil with the
rating of SAE 10W-30. Multi grade oils have many advantages as
described below:
No necessity to change the oil as per weather requirements

 Owing to ease of cranking at low ambient temperatures, the life of

engine is battery is extended.
Long life of engine.

Engine oil contamination:

Oil does not wear out, but it does become contaminated. When
foreign matter enters through the air intake, some of it will pass by
the piston rings and enter the crankcase. This dirt, combined with
foreign matter entering through the crankcase breather pipe, mixes
with the oil, and when forced into the bearings, greatly accelerates
wear. Water, one of the products of combustion, will seep by the
piston rings as steam and condense in the crankcase. The water in
the crankcase then will emulsify with the oil to form a thick sludge.
Products of fuel combustion will mix with the oil as they enter the
crankcase through blowby. The oil, when mixed with the
contaminants, loses its lubricating qualities and becomes acidic.
Engine oil must be changed periodically to prevent contaminated oil
from allowing excessive wear and causing etching of bearings. Oil
contamination is controlled in the following ways
Control engine temperature ,a hotter running engine burns
its fuel more completely and evaporates the water produced
within it before any appreciable oil contamination occurs
The use of oil filters removes dirt particles from the oil before
it reaches the bearings, minimizing wear.

An adequate crankcase ventilation system will purge the

crankcase of blowby fumes effectively before a large amount of
contaminants can six with the oil.

The use of air intake filters traps foreign material and keep it from
entering the engine.
13.0