LUBRICANTS

Lubricant
Any substance which is introduced between two moving or sliding surfaces in order to reduce friction and to minimize wear and tear is known as lubricant, e.g Greases, Mobil oil etc.

Functions of Lubricants
1. It reduces wear and tear by keeping the rubbing surfaces apart.
2. It reduces loss of energy in the form of heat and act as coolant. 3. It increases efficiency of the machine. 4. It avoids machine part loss. 5. It reduces maintenance and running cost of the machine. 6. It acts as a seal. 7. It makes the moving parts of the machine smooth.

Classification of Lubricants

On the basis of their physical appearances

Liquid Lubricants Semi- Solid Lubricants Solid Lubricants

Mineral oils Vegetable oils Animal oils Blended Oils Synthetic oils

Grease Waxes

Graphite Molybdenum disulphide

 Mineral oils
These oils are obtained by the fractional distillation of crude oil under certain conditions and then filtered to remove impurities such as wax by dew axing and acid by acid refining. They are cheap stable and easily available eg:- different petroleum products.

Vegetable oils
These oils are obtained from vegetables sources. In earlier time these were used but now they are replaced by mineral oils. These oils are mixed in the mineral oils to increase their quality. eg:- Olive oil or sweat oil obtained from fruits of olive tree, golden yellow in color), Palm oil, Rape seed oil, Castor oil, etc.

 Animal oils
These oils are obtained from animal sources. These can be added to mineral oils to improve their quality. Examples=Whale oil (pale yellow color, obtained by distillation of whale fat), Lard oil (obtained from kidney and intestine of and the fat of the pig),Tallow oil (Obtained from the fat of cattle) etc.

Blended Oils
Mixture of mineral oil with animal oil or vegetable oil is known as blended oil. It acts as a good lubricant. Blending of an oil is done to improve viscosity, oiliness, oxidation resistance, corrosion resistance and to improve color

Synthetic oils
These oils are commercially prepared in the laboratories. Where mineral oils fail to work synthetic oils are used. They are very effective under severe conditions. eg:- Silicones, Polyglycols, Phosphates, Esters etc

Semi- Solid Lubricants

Grease are semi- solid lubricants. It is made up of soap dispersed in petroleum oil or synthetic oils and may contain additives like waxes, fats, petroleum residues. Based on the nature of soap used greases are of following types. 1. Soda based grease 2. Lithium Based grease 3. Axle grease

Solid Lubricants
The two most common solid lubricants are graphite and molybdenum disulphide. Some organic substances water or oil
are mixed with to use them as lubricants.

Graphite
It is most widely used of all solid lubricants. It is soapy in touch non inflammable. It can be used up to very high temperatures. When graphite is dispersed in oil it is known as oil dag and in water it is known as aqua dag.

Molybdenum disulphide
It is very fine powder and can be sprinkled on sliding surfaces. It is also used

along with solvents and grease.

Mechanism of lubrication

It is done by three mechanisms: 1. 2. 3 Fluid Film or Thick Film or Hydrodynamic Lubrication Thin Film or Boundary Lubrication Extreme pressure Lubrication

1.

Fluid Film or Thick Film or Hydrodynamic Lubrication

This type of lubrication is done by liquid lubricants. In this mechanism lubricant oil forms a thickness of 1000 which prevent the direct contact of the machine parts as a result the friction is reduced, wear and tear is reduced. In fluid film lubrication, lubricant should have minimum viscosity under working conditions and lubricant should remain inside and separate the surfaces. This type of lubrication is provided in case of delicate instruments , lights machines and scientific instruments.

2.

Thin Film or Boundary Lubrication

This type of lubrication takes place when a continuous fluid film cannot be maintained due to low speed, heavy load, low viscosity of the oil and movement of the shaft. In this mechanism the thickness of the film cannot be more then two molecular layers. In boundary lubrication lubricating oil should have good oiliness , long hydrocarbon chain, active polar and functional groups which promote wetting and chemical bond formation with the metal surface

3.

Extreme pressure lubrication

This mechanism of lubrication is used when the moving surfaces are under high pressure and excessive heat is produced, where the normal lubricants fails to work. These special lubricants are known as extreme pressure lubricants. These are prepared by the addition of organic compounds such as chlorinated esters and tricresyl phosphates etc

S.N O
1

Fluid Film or Thick Film Lubrication

In this mechanism lubricant oil forms a film of thickness of 1000 . In fluid film lubrication, lubricant should have minimum viscosity under working conditions. This type of mechanism is used under high speed and low loads. The lubricant applied is sufficient to keep the machine surfaces apart. This mechanism is applied in watches, clocks, sewing machines etc

Thin Film or Boundary Lubrication

In this mechanism lubricant oil forms a film of thickness of less than1000 . The lubricant should have high oiliness under working conditions. This type of mechanism is used under low speed and high loads. The lubricant applied is unable to keep the machine surfaces apart This mechanism is applied in tractors, rollers concrete mixers etc

Characteristics of Good lubricants

1 It should neither be very thin nor very thick. 2 It should have high oiliness. 3 It should have high boiling point to bear high temperatures. 4 It should not form gum. 5 It should not be squeezed out or stuck to moving parts. 6 It should form a continuous layer in the moving parts of the machine under pressure. 7 It should possess corrosion resistance, antifoaming and demulsification properties.

Properties 0f lubricants
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Viscosity Acid value or acidity Saponification value Coke number Volatility Oiliness Emulsification Flash point Fire point Cloud point Pour point

1. Viscosity
It is measure of flow ability of the lubricant at definite temperature Or It is the resistance offered by a liquid towards flow. Units are dynes/cm2 (poise) in c.g.s system and Nsec/m2 in S.I systems. Viscosity decreases with rise in temperature.

2. Viscosity Index The rate of change of viscosity of the lubricant with temperature is measured by a scale known as viscosity index. It is denoted by V.I V.I = Vs(o) Vt x 100 Vs(o) Vs(100)

Where Vs (o) is the viscosity at 100o F of the standard oil having V.I=0 Vs (100) is the viscosity at 100o F of the standard oil having V.I=100 Vt = Is the viscosity at 100o F of the test oil

2. Acid value or acidity

It is defined as the number of milligrams of KOH required to neutralize the free acid in 1 g of the oil. The presence of acid in the lubricating oil is harmful to the machine parts as it causes corrosion. Acid value tells us about the age of the oil as it increases with time due to the hydrolysis with moisture.

3. Saponification Value:
It is defined as the number of milligrams of KOH required to saponify the fatty materials present in 1 g of the oil. Saponification Value is used to distinguish between vegetable oil, animal oil and mineral oils etc.

4. Coke Number :
It is the percentage of carbon residue in a known weight of lubricating oil. A good lubricant has lower number of coke value. Coke No.= weight of carbon residue left x 100 Weight of oil

5. Volatility
It is tendency of the liquid to vaporize with increase in temperature. A good lubricant has low volatility.

6. Oiliness
It is the property of the lubricant by which it can stick to the surface of the machine parts operating under high pressure or load. A good lubricant should have high value of oiliness.

7. Emulsification
The property of the oil to mix with water to form emulsion which can be either oil in water or water in oil emulsion. A good lubricant should have low emulsion formation tendency.

8. Flash Point
It is the minimum temperature at which the lubricating oil gives enough vapours which can burn for a moment is known as flash point.

9. Fire Point
It is the minimum temperature at which the lubricating oil gives enough vapours which can burn for at least for five seconds is known as fire point. A good lubricant oil shouldnt possess fire point and flash point above their working temperatures. These points tell the maximum temperature upto which a lubricant can be used.

10. Cloud point

It is the temperature at which the lubricating oil becomes hazy or cloudy is known as cloud point.

11. Pour point

It is the temperature at which the lubricating oil ceases to flow is known as pour point. Lubricants should posses low cloud point and pour point otherwise they will solidify at low temperatures.

Different types of additives

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Extreme Pressure additives Viscosity index improvers Antioxidants Corrosion inhibitors Antifoaming agents Oiliness improvers Pour Point depressants

1. Extreme Pressure additives

These are additives like chlorinated esters, organic phosphates, organic chlorinated compounds which increase the capacity of the lubricant to work under extreme pressure conditions etc. 2. Viscosity index improvers
These are additives like polyacetates, polybutenes etc which can be added to the oil to improve its viscosity index.

3. Antioxidants
These are additives like aromatic phenols or amino compounds which are added to the oil so that they can be oxidized in preference to the oils.

4. Corrosion inhibitors
These are additives like compounds of sulphur and phosphorous which prevent the corrosion of the machine parts.

5. Antifoaming agents
These are additives like glycols, glycerol, silicone etc which prevent foaming and priming in the lubricating oils.

6. Oiliness improvers
These are additives like fatty acids, fats, vegetable oils which increase the oiliness of the lubricating oils.

7. Pour Point depressants

These are additives like polymethylacrylates which when added in the oil lowers the pour point of the oil.