Aims and Objectives;

Aim
To find the effect of elevated temperature on engine lubricants by experimental
method.

Objectives
• To compare two types of cylinder liner material, namely Cast Grey Iron
and Nikasil coated Aluminium.
• To compare three types of oil; Base Oil (control), Long Life Oil and Fully
Synthetic Oil.
• To analyse the resultant products, and environment left by the breakdown
of the oil, and abrasion of cylinder liner material by a piston ring
equivalent.
• To analyse results from measuring friction to determine the critical
breakdown temperature of the three oils.

Background (Lit Review)

Losses due to friction
In any system of moving parts, there are losses to due to friction. These can be
small or large, depending on the size, application and speed of the mechanical
system in question. However, no matter the specifics, friction is a major issue.

Friction costs mechanical engineering as a whole a great deal of money, in lost

power, wear of parts, downtime etc. Any advances in this field can have a
beneficial effect to all aspects of engineering.

Power Loss due to Friction

There are many different ways to quantify power loss due to friction. The
simplest however is to analyse two plane surfaces;

[3]
To work out the loss per unit area: H1=μU2h (hpm2)

Where:

μ=Uniform Viscosity

h=Lubricant Film Thickness

U=Combined Speed of Interacting Parts

H1=Frictional Power Loss

From this equation, it can be seen that as area increases, frictional losses
increase, and that lubricant viscosity has a large part to play in the specification
of said lubricant.
Wear due to Friction
Wear can be defined as, “the progressive loss of substance from the operating
surface of a body occurring as a result of relative motion at the surface”
(Research Group on Wear of Engineering Materials, Glossary, Paris (1969).

There are several types of wear found by the interaction of two surfaces. The
most common in piston ring and cylinder liner applications is “Adhesive Wear”.
It is easily distinguishable by the phenomena of localised bonding between the
two interacting surfaces.

Adhesive wear results in the deposition of material from one mating surface to
the other, e.g., cylinder liner material being deposited on the piston ring.

General Piston (and corresponding Liner) Design

Lubricants are arguably one of the most important aspects any engine designer
has to take into account.

“The two major causes of damage in an engine are vibrations and thermal
phenomena” [1]. Thermal phenomena cause major issues such as piston
deformation, which in turn leads to damage to the engine.

Even while exhibiting “normal” behaviour, the “piston crown” receives a wave of
heat on the combustion stroke. This causes a temperature gradient from the top
of the piston to the base, resulting in a convex shape. On the other side, the
pressure difference caused by the differential in pressure above the piston and
below it causes the piston to become concave. The piston is therefore deformed
by the resultant of these two forces.

Piston designers take this into account, and design their pistons accordingly with
[1]
“various conical, cylindrical and elliptical parts” to reduce the variations in
temperature and pressure and to further stabilise the piston. They also use
“clearances” which can be used to their advantages in one of two ways; one
prevents all contact between the piston and the cylinder. The other is to use the
cylinder as a heat sink for the piston, to prevent build up of combustion products
within the piston ring groove. (And therefore prevent the piston ring “sticking” to
the liner)

2
However both of these choices have their pitfalls; the latter can result in high
temperatures at the piston ring and cause the piston ring to stick to the cylinder
due to disproportionally high temperatures and expansions.

The former can produce damage to the cylinder and (in the case of Aluminium
Pistons and Cast Iron Cylinder liners) fairly extensive damage to the outside
diameter of the piston.

It is also worth noting that with increased temperatures, the aforementioned

clearances will reduce dramatically; “...the clearance between a piston and liner
[1]
in an engine with a bore of 80mm may vary, when cold, from 15 to 100μm....” ,
and also that no matter how well said piston and cylinder liner are manufactured,
that there will never be constant clearance, “....despite all precautions, the
clearance between a piston and a liner is far from uniform.”[1]. This is an
important point to regard, and will be discussed further on in the chapter.

Contact Pressure for two curved surfaces (Hertz’s stress)

The interaction between two curved surfaces is far more complex than more
simple plate to plate surfaces. Hertz’s equation is the best way to represent this
“curved contact”.

a=Ka3F

Ka= 38 (1-ν12)E1+(1-ν22)/E21d1+(1d2)1/3

Where

ν1,ν2=Poisson's ratio for spheres 1 and 2

E1,E2=elastic modulii for spheres 1 and 2

d1,d2=diameters of spheres 1 and 2

For this case, d2 = -d, as this is a sphere in contact with an internal spherical
surface or ‘cup’ [5].

From these initial calculations, the maximum contact pressure (pmax) can be
found;

pmax=3F2πa2

Where

3
F=applied Force

a=circular are of radius a

4
History of Engine Lubricants

Production and Properties of Mineral Oils

In the early stages of Tribology lubricants were generally plant or animal fat
based. However, once crude oil was discovered, and along with it advances in
the petroleum industry, mineral oils came into use.

Initially, the first oil used specifically as a lubricant, was “base oil”, a constituent
of crude oil that was discovered upon the “cracking” of crude oil.

With advances in research within the petroleum industry, many different grades
on mineral oils have been discovered and used. Up until recently most
automotive manufacturers specify oils with mineral oil as their main element,
with other synthetic ingredients added to increase the benefits of the oil;

 Antisludge properties, i.e. the ability to prevent the formation of sludge

on hot surfaces and the coking of piston rings
 Wear-resistant properties
 Dispersion properties, i.e., the ability to prevent the formation of low
temperature sediment in the crank-case, oil piping, oil filter and other
areas during low load operation of the engine
 Anticorrosion properties, i.e. the ability to prevent corrosion of the
crankshaft bearing linings
 Antioxidation properties, i.e. resistance to oxidation at high
temperatures
 Neutralizing properties, i.e. the ability to neutralize acids forming in the
process of oil oxidation and condensed from the end products of fuel
combustion[2]

However, mineral oils have inherent problems in use, “Mineral oils ... have
several serious defects, such as oxidation and viscosity loss at high
temperatures, combustion or explosion in the presence of strong oxidizising
agents and solidification at low temperatures” [4]

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Production and Properties of Synthetic Oils
The automotive industry is now moving on to using more synthetic lubricants in
engines. There are three sub types that synthetic lubricants fall into, synthetic
hydrocarbon lubricants, silicon analogues of hydrocarbons and organohalogens.
The type normally used as a replacement for mineral oils are synthetic
hydrocarbon lubricants as they “provide a lubricant that is similar in price to
mineral oil but has superior performance” [4]

For the purpose of this report the production of synthetic hydrocarbon lubricants
will be discussed, as silicon analogues and organohalogens are not generally
used in motor oils.

Synthetic hydrocarbon lubricants are produced by further cracking the

hydrocarbons found in mineral oils, using a combination of high pressures and
chemical catalysts. The larger more complex hydrocarbons found in mineral oils
are broken down into simpler, smaller molecules. These smaller hydrocarbon
molecules are then further processed by a process known as “polymerisation”.
This is a highly technical procedure, which requires careful control. If the process
is not carefully controlled, solid polymers can be created, which is undesirable.

There are many synthetic hydrocarbons sub groups suitable for use in engine
oils;

 Polyalphaolefins – These are “constructed” from a chain of carbon

atoms, with an unsaturated carbon atom at either end. With further
polymerisation of this molecule, lubricating oil can be formed. The
most common form of these is a “Polydecenes”. They have many
desirable properties,”Polydecenes are highly resistant to oxidation,
have a low volatility due to lack of small molecular weight
[4]
substances and are not toxic or corrosive.” These make a good
general purpose synthetic lubricant.
 Polyphenyl Ethers – These have a high oxidation and thermal
stability, but at high temperatures, their viscosity suffers.

6
  Esters – These are formed by the reaction of alcohol with acids
(both inorganic and organic). They have much better resistance to
heat, as the bonds between esters are much stronger than
hydrocarbon bonds.
 Cycloaliphatics - Due to the cyclic shape of the hydrocarbon based
molecules, they have high resistance to deformation due to
pressure. This gives them a high pressure-viscosity coefficient.
 Polyalkeleneglycols – Compared to other synthetic compounds,
this family of compounds is susceptible to oxidation and poor
pressure-viscosity coefficients. Its burns without leaving a
“carbonaceous” deposit.

N.B. It is worth noting that there are many more subgroups than the above
mentioned, but only synthetic compounds likely to be found in motor oil have
been discussed.

Use of Lubricants
Lubricants aid the prevention of metal to metal contact between the piston and
cylinder liner. However due to the fact that (as previously mentioned) the piston
and cylinder liner are never in constant clearance, there are constant breaks in
the dynamic film of oil.

There have been experiments to measure the film of oil within a journal bearing,
“...the writer passed an electric current through a journal bearing while
measuring its friction.....the insulating effect of the oil could be found by
recording the voltage drop across the film...”[3]. Experiments such as this have
led to a better understanding of the phenomena known as “boundary
lubrication” which will be discussed later on in this chapter.

Physical properties of Lubricants

The most important property of a “fluid lubricant” is its viscosity. Different types
of oil exhibit different viscosity values. As a general rule, the thicker the oil, the
larger the “oil-film” between two interacting surfaces, which in turns means a
more effective lubricant. [3]

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However, this is not always the case as thicker oils have higher shear strengths,
and therefore take more energy than a less viscous oil to shear. This results in
higher temperatures being generated, and the resultant energy loss due to the
shearing of the lubricant takes power from the whole mechanical process during
normal use, due to the shear of the oil. As a result of the heat generated by
shear of the lubricant, the components the lubricant is applied to may fail due to
localised higher temperatures. [2]

While viscosity is the most important property, it is affected by many different

external factors, such as temperatures, pressure and shear rate. In this report
the effect of temperature on engine lubricants will be investigated;

Effect of Temperatures on Lubricants

Temperature can have a dramatic effect on lubricants, “.... the viscosity of oil
can fall by 80% with a temperature increase of 25⁰C.”[3].

There are many ways to theoretically predict viscosity values for certain
lubricants at certain operating temperatures. This is very useful because, as
discussed earlier, the viscosity of the lubricant determines the thickness of the
film during use.

There are three commonly used viscosity-temperature equations; The Reynolds’s

equation (Early equation, accurate only for a very limited temperature range,
The Slotte equation (useful purely as a mathematical model), The Walther
equation (which is the basis for the American Standards for Testing and Materials
viscosity – temperature graph) and The Vogel Equation (the most accurate of
them all, useful in engineering calculations. [4]

Breakdown of Engine Lubricants at Elevated Temperatures

In this report, chemical analysis of the samples used in experimentation will be
undertaken.

8
As the temperature of the engine increases, the oil environment becomes much
more aggressive, and the oil will eventually breakdown into various groups when
its critical temperature (the temperature at which the oil is expected to work to)
is exceeded.

As a result of these elevated temperatures, new chemicals are formed due to the
oxidation and further polymerisation of the oils. These can be broken down into
three subgroups [6];

a) Carbon and oxygen.

b) Metallic elements due to the wear of the interacting materials (in this case
iron and aluminium based compounds)
c) Trace elements from the additives in engine oil (e.g. magnesium, silicon,
phosphorous, sulphur and zinc)

While it may seem that some of the trace elements may be due to the fuel used
in tests, this has been proved not to be the case, “....engine tests carried out
with fuel containing 100 mg of cerium additive. Consequently as there was no
cerium detected in the deposits one can assume that the fuel was not
responsible for the deposits formation, as it has been also reported by Fukui et
[6]
al.”

The main deposits that are found after the “critical temperature” is exceeded are
carbonaceous, caused by the oxidation of the organic compounds found in
engine lubricants. From these deposits, aromatic chains, such as Benzene (C6H6),
Xylene (C8H10) and Napthatlene (C14H10) to mention a few, are formed, as the
deposits of carbonaceous substances undergo pyrolysis due to the extreme
temperatures. [6]

Other Factors affecting Lubricant Efficiency

Speed, Load (and therefore pressure), Viscosity, Lubricant Film thickness and
friction all effect the efficiency of lubricants. In this report, Speed and Load will
be kept constant; friction will be measured, while Viscosity and Lubricant Film
will be kept constant. However, it is useful to see how friction varies with these

9
parameters with the use of a “Stribeck Curve” (Fig.1) where coefficient of friction
is plotted against ηV/W. Where η = lubricant viscosity, V = sliding velocity and W
= Pressure.

(Fig.1 – General Stribeck Curve)[7]

As can be seen from Fig.1 there are three distinct zones. To the right hand side
of the graph is the zone designated “Fluid-Film Lubrication”. This is where the
friction coefficient is at its minimum. This is due to the fact that the oil film
thickness is enough to completely separate the two interacting surfaces. From
the gradient it can be seen that as ηV/W increases, so does the coefficient of
friction.

This zone to the left of this is a combination of “Mixed-Film Lubrication”, and

“Elastohydronamic Lubrication”. In this region, the fluid film is so thin, that the
elastic deformation of the interacting surfaces cannot be ignored. As the fluid
film is so thin, the pressure exerted upon the lubricant is much greater than in
“Fluid-Film Lubrication” and the lubricant viscosity increases.

When the viscosity of the fluid is reduced to its critical value, then the two
surfaces are supported on a mixture of lubrication film, and interacting peaks
and troughs inherent in the production of said surfaces. This is known as “Mixed
Film Lubrication”. This has a knock on effect, and the wear of the surfaces
increases.

10
At the extreme left of the graph, the two surfaces will be in contact for the entire
duration. This is known as “Boundary Lubrication”. In the peaks and troughs of
the two surfaces, there will be intermittent areas of thin-film boundary
lubrication, and areas of metal to metal contact. This in turn creates areas of
elastic and plastic deformation, and wear can be seen at these points.

Classification of Lubricants
Different oils have different critical values; e.g. temperature vs. viscosity, initial
viscosity, shear strength, breakdown temperatures etc. In the early 1900s, a
“Viscosity Index” was created when it was noticed two crude oils of the same
viscosity at room temperature were affected by varying degrees by the
application of higher temperatures. “.....1920 .... Pennsylvania crude oils were
better than Gulf Coast crude oils. Pennsylvania crude had the best viscosity
temperature characteristics....Gulf Coast crude had the worst since its viscosity
varied much more with temperature”[3].

Oils were defined within the “Viscosity Index”. Viscosity index is calculated from
the equation:

[2]
VI=100(L-U)/(L-H)

Where U is the viscosity of the oil (measure in centistokes), L is the oil viscosity
at 50⁰ C, L is the viscosity of an oil of viscosity index rating 0 at a temperature
giving it equivalent viscosity of the sample in question at 100⁰C and H is the
viscosity of an oil at 50⁰C with a viscosity index rating of 100 having equivalent
viscosity to the sample in question at 100⁰C [2]

More recently, more accurate means of deriving the viscosity of oils have been
established, such as a Cold Cranking Viscometer, or Mini-Rotary Viscometer etc.

While this simple classification technique, its gives a good rating for comparisons
of various weights of oils at a glance. E.g. the higher the Viscosity index, the less
the lubricant viscosity varies with temperature.

11
While the Viscosity index works well for a general comparison, motor oils have a
different classification method, established by the SAE (Society of Automotive
Engineers). Engine oils were split up into 11 different viscosity grades, 0W, 5W,
10W, 15W, 20W, 25W, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60. The “W” denotes winter, for oils
expected to work at low temperatures. The lower the winter grade, the better
the oil at low temperatures. The document “SAE J300” shows the values
associated to each of these grades.

Motor Oil Classification

More recently, multigrade oils have been developed, e.g. 10W40 (one of the
most common). This is more universal oil, having a winter rating of 10, and a
normal use rating of 40. These multigrade oils have allowed the use of a single
oil for winter and summer in many different environments around the world.

Of course, more extreme temperatures will require higher and lower winter
ratings respectively. For example, a very cold climate may only require an oil of
rating 0W20. But, conversely an extremely hot climate may not need a winter
rating at all, and a single grade 50 may be suitable.

For the purposes of this report, base oil (untreated oil), fully synthetic oil, and
long life oil will be used.

12
Appendices
Appendix 1 (references)
[1] C. F. McCue, J C Cree, R Tourret., Performance of Lubricants for Automotive
Engines & Transmissions, Applied Science Publishers, England, 1974.

[2] Nickolai K.Myshkin, Chung Kyun Kim, Mark I. Petrovets., Introduction to

Tribology, Cheong Moon Gak publishing, Korea, 1997.

[3] Mayo Dyer Hersey., Theory and Research in Lubrication, John Wiley & Sons,
Inc. America, 1966.

[4] Gwidon W. Stachowiak, Andrew W.Batchelor. Engineering Tribology, Third

Edition. Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann. America, 2005.

[5] http://www.scribd.com/doc/9724081/Hertz-Contact-Stresses, retrieved on 23rd

November.

[6] M. Diaby, M. Sablier, A. Le Negrate, M. El Fassi, J. Bocquet,

Understanding carbonaceous deposit formation resulting from engine oil
degradation, Elsevier. Internet, 18th October 2008.

[7] http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1678-
58782007000100009&script=sci_arttext, Marcia Marie Maru, Deniol K.Tanaka.
Internet. Retrieved 24th November 2009

[8] PP Benham, RJ Crawford, CG Armstrong, Mechanics of Engineering Materials,

Pearson Prentice Hall, China, 1996

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Appendix 2 (Project Plan)

14
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Appendix 3 (Tutor visit Report)

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