5/20/2015

BasicconceptsofFrictionandLubrication
ROBERTEPIESCIK
RINDGE,NH

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WhatareSynthetic
Lubricants?
BasicsofMotorOil

BasicConceptsofFrictionandLubrication

BasicConceptsofFrictionand
Lubrication
TechnicalPropertiesof
Lubricant
ThickandThinofViscosity
VolitilityandtheNoackTest
HistoryofOilFiltration
TrueMeasureofLubricant
Quality
EducationinGrease
FFRDynoTest
MobilvsAmsoil
WhyHarleyOwnerschoose
Amsoil

Lubricationcanbeadauntingobstacleto
someoneunfamiliarwithitsbasicconcepts.
Evensomeonewithexperiencecanbeconfused
bythetechnologyofcurrentmachinery
combinewiththemultitudeoflubrications
availableonthemarkettoday.Reviewingafew
ofthebasicprinciplesoflubricationcanmake
iteasiertoseewhyproperlubricationis
necessaryineveryapplication.

COMPARE

FRICTION

Websterdefinesfrictionasthe"rubbingofone
bodyagainstanother,"andas"resistanceto
relativemotionbetweentwobodiesincontact."
Frictioncanbebeneficial.Asweovercomethis
resistancetomotionbetweentwoobjectsin
contact,heatisgenerated.Thisheatiswhat
warmsourhandsorstartsafire.Frictionis
alsotheprinciplebehindthebrakingsystems
wefindonourautomobiles.Infact,oncewe
wereabletogetacarmovingtherewouldbe
nothingtostopitwithoutfrictionexceptthe
effectsofgravityorotherobjects.

Slidingandrollingmaterialsareseparatedbyathinfilmof
lubricantheldinplacebypressurecreatedbetween
surfaces.

Althoughhydrodynamiclubricationis
theideallubricationscenario,inmany
situationsitcannotbemaintained.
Hydrodynamiclubricationislimitedby
thelubricant'sviscosity,therotation
speedorRPMandbycomponent

loading.Anincreaseinspeedor
BestValue
viscosityincreasesoilfilmthickness.
Anincreaseinloaddecreasesoilfilm
thickness.

However,frictioncanalsobeourenemy.The

AmsoilNewProductsBelow heatgeneratedastheresultoffrictioncan
AMSOILEuropeanCar
Formula5W40FullSAPS
SyntheticMotorOil(EFM)
AMSOILEuropeanCar
Formula5W40MidSAPS
SyntheticMotorOil(AFL)
AMSOILOE10W30
SyntheticDieselOil(OEC)

AMSOILSyntheticHV
HydraulicOilISO22(HVG) TYPESOFLUBRICATION

Therearethreetypesoflubricationor

AMSOILSyntheticHV
lubricationsituationsthatcanexistsbetween
HydraulicOilISO32(HVH) twosurfacesseparatedbyalubricant.Whether
AMSOILSyntheticHV
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HydraulicOilISO68(HVJ)

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causedamage.Becausecontactisrequiredto
generatefriction,wearintheareasofcontact
canoccur.Thiscanleadtomaterialfailures,
overheatingandtheformationofwear
deposits.
Althoughtherearemanywaystoreduce
friction,themostcommonwayisthroughthe
useofafluidorasemifluidmaterial.Thekey
characteristicofsuchmaterialsisthattheyare
notreadilycompressible.Fluidandsemifluid
materialsallowustominimizecomponent
contactoreliminatecontactaltogether.These
fluidsarecommonlyreferredtoaslubricants.

ornotthesesituationsoccurisdependentupon
theabilityofthelubricanttoprovideadequate
protectiontothemovingsurfaces.

HPMarineSynthetic2Stroke
Oil(HPM)
http://www.weareoil.com/basic_concepts_of_friction_and_lubrication.htm

Whenafluidlubricantispresent
betweentworollingand/orsliding
surfaces,athickerpressurizedfilmcan
begeneratedbythemovementofthe
surfaces(attheirrespective
velocities).Thenoncompressible
natureofthisfilmseparatesthe
surfacesandpreventsanymetalto
metalcontact.Theconditioninwhich
surfacesarecompletelyseparatedbya
continuousfilmoflubricatingfluidis
commonlyreferredtoas
HydrodynamicorFullFluidFilm
Lubrication.

Lubricantfilmistoothintoprovidetotalsurface
separation.Contactbetweensurfaceasperities(or
microscopicpeaksandvalleys)occurs.Frictionproduction
andwearproductionisthenonlyprovidedthroughchemical
additives.

BoundaryLubricationisaconditionin
whichthelubricantfilmbecomestoo
thintoprovidetotalsurface
separation.Thismaybedueto
excessiveloading,lowspeedsora
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changeinthefluid'scharacteristics.In
suchacase,contactbetweensurface
asperities(orpeaksandvalleys)
occurs.Frictionreductionandwear
protectionisthenprovidedvia
Rs.799
chemicalcompoundsratherthan
throughpropertiesofthelubricating
More
Adsbyrightcoupon
fluid.
Thethirdtypelubricationsituationis
knownasElastohyrodynamic
Lubrication(EHDorEHL).This
situationoccursaspressureorload
increasestoalevelwheretheviscosity
ofthelubricantprovidesahighershear
strengththanthemetalsurfacethatit
supports.Asaresult,themetal
surfacesdeformelasticallyin
preferencetothehighlypressurized
lubricant.Thisincreasesthecontact
areaanddecreasestheeffectiveness
ofthelubricant.
Tominimizefriction,aneffective

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5/20/2015

BasicconceptsofFrictionandLubrication

AMSOILMotorcycleOctane
Boost(MOB)

lubricantshouldbeabletohandlethe
pressuresandspeedsofthesurfacesit
willseparate.

SyntheticWaterResistant
Grease(GWR)
SyntheticMultiPurpose
GreaseNLGI#2(GLC)
AMSOILEaHeavyDuty
ExtendedLifeOilFilters
(EaHD)

Pressureorloadhasincreasedtoalevelwheretheviscosity
ofthelubricantprovidesahighershearthanthemetal
surfaceitsupports.Asaresult,themetalsurfacesdeform
elastically,whichincreasesthecontactareaanddecreases
theeffectivenessofthelubricant.

AMSOILEngineAssembly
Lube(EAL)
AMSOILOE15W40
SyntheticDieselOil
AMSOILBreakInOil(SAE
30)
AmsoilProductsforClassic
andVintageVehicles
AMSOILZROD10W30
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ProductsforSnowmobiles
QuickshotSE
AmsoilEngineand
TransmissionFlush
AMSOILDominator
CoolantBoost

WHATEVERYLUBRICANTMUSTDO
Throughtheabilitytominimizefrictionisthenumberonefunctionofalubricant,thereareothermajorfunctionsthatmustbe
considered.Alubricantislikelytoalsoberequiredto:
CLEANAlubricantmustmaintaininternalcleanlinessbysuspendingcontaminantsorkeepingcontaminantsfromadheringto
components.
COOLMOVINGELEMENTSReducingfrictionwillreducetheamounttheheatthatisgeneratedandlowertheoperatingtemperature
ofthecomponents.Alubricantmustalsoabsorbheatfromthecomponentsandtransportittoalocationwhereitcanbesafely
dissipated.
PREVENTCONTAMINATIONThelubricantshouldactasadynamicsealinlocationssuchasthepiston,pistonringandcylinder
contactareas.Thisminimizescontaminationbycombustionbyproducts(forexample)inthelubricatingsystem.Lubricantsarealso
reliedupontosupportmechanicalsealsfoundelsewhereandtominimizeexternalcontaminationandfluidloss.
DAMPENSHOCKThelubricantmayberequiredtocushiontheblowsofmechanicalshock.Alubricantfilmcanabsorbanddisperse
theseenergyspikesoveraboardercontactarea.
TRANSFERENERGYAlubricantmayberequiredtoactasanenergytransfermedianasinthecaseofhydraulicequipmentorlifers

AMSOILExtendedDrainOils inanautomotiveengine.
PREVENTCORROSIONAlubricantmustalsohavetheabilitytopreventorminimizeinternalcomponentcorrosion.Thiscanbe

SyntheticSAE60Motorcycle accomplishedeitherbychemicallyneutralizingthecorrosiveproductsorbysettingupabarrierbetweenthecomponentsandthe
Oil(MCS)
corrosivematerial.
AMSOILEuropeanCar
Formula5W30LowSAPS
SyntheticMotorOil(AEL)

COMPONENTSOFALUBRICANT

Lubricantsaregenerallycomposedoftwogroupsofmaterials.Thefirstisabaseorstockfluid.Thisfluidwillmakeup75to95
percentofthefinishedproduct.Themostcommonlyusedstockstodayarederivedfrompetroleumcrudeoil.Thesestocksarealso
referredtoasmineralorsyntheticoils.
Tothis,baseorstockchemicalcompoundsmaybeaddedtoenhanceorimpartnewpropertiestothemineraloil.Thesecompounds
arecommonlyreferredtoasadditives.Theuseofsuchspecialchemicalcompoundsisanotherwaytominimizefrictionandwear.
Themainroleofthesecompoundsistoofferprotectionwhenthelubricatingfluidcannotmaintaincomponentseparation.

THEEVOLUTIONOFSYNTHETICOILS

Astimegoeson,thelubricationneedsofequipmentcontinuetochange.Asequipmentbecomesmoresophisticated,thedemands
placedupontherequiredlubricantsbecomemoresevere.Whatmayhavebeenapreferredlubricantinthepastislikelytobetotally
unacceptabletoday.
Theautomotiveindustryisanexcellentexampleofhowdemandsonequipmenthavechanged.Theenginesusedintoday'scars
requiresignificantlymorefromamotoroilthantheydidonlyafewyearsago.
Forimprovedfueleconomy,mostcarsarenowusinglighteroils.Yetthesamecarshaveenginesthatputoutmorepowerpercubic
inchofdisplacementthaneverbefore.Toachievethispowerlevel,designersareaddingturbochargeswhichexposetheoilsto
highertemperaturesandgreaterstress.Requirementsforcleanerexhaustemissionshavecontributedtohigherlevelsof
contaminantsintheoilandalsoincreasedtheoil'soperatingtemperature.Byreducingtheaerodynamicdragofnewvehicles,
designershavealsominimizedtheamountofairthatflowsoverenginesanddrivetrains,andcausedoperatingtemperaturesto
increasestillfurther.Evenwithallofthesechanges,designersarestillrequiringlubricantstolastlongerthantheyeverdidbefore.
Thedemandforsyntheticlubricantshasneverbeenhigher.

HOWARESYNTHETICOILSDIFFERENT?

Althoughtheengineeringofeachsyntheticbasestockvariesdependingonheparticularstock,syntheticaregenerallymadethrough
areactionprocess.Thisreactionprocesssignificantlyimprovestheconsistencyofthestockanditsmolecularuniformity.Mineral
stocks,ontheotherhand,areobtainedthroughaprocessofdistillation.
Distillationslightlylimitsthemoleculardiversitythatmayexistwithinthestock,butdoesnotcompletelyeliminatenonessential
molecularstructures.Thisisimportantbecauseunnecessarymolecularstructuresproducevariationsinthestock'sperformance.The
ideallubricant'schemicalcompositionisoneinwhichthemolecularconstructionisidenticalthroughout,suchasinasyntheticbase
stock.Becauseofthewaysyntheticstocksareproduced,theyaremolecularlyuniformandcontainsignificantlylessundesirable
materialsthanamineralbasestock.

http://www.weareoil.com/basic_concepts_of_friction_and_lubrication.htm

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BasicconceptsofFrictionandLubrication
Molecularuniformityalsoaffectsthepropertiesthateachtypeoflubricantpossesses.Thepropertiesofmineraloilstendtovarydue
toinconsistenciesinthecrudefromwhichtheyareobtained.Thepropertiesandperformancefeaturesofsynthetics,ontheother
handareverypredictable.Onceagain,thisisduetotheirmolecularuniformity.
AMSOILsyntheticlubricantsareformulatedtotakeadvantageofsuperiorpropertiesofsyntheticbasestocks.Theyprovideexcellent
lubricationandwearprotectionandhavebeendesignedtoresistthechemicalbreakdownprocessesthatlimittheservicelifeof
conventionalmineralbasedoils.

IwelcometheopportunitytoworkwithyoupersonallyasyourservicingAMSOILDealer.Usetheinformationonthiswebsitetocontact
me.YoumayalsocheckouttheAMSOILCorporateWebsiteforproductandbusinessopportunityinformation.

LastUpdatedJanuary12,2015
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