"STUDY OF MECHANISM OF ACTION OF ENERGY EFFICIENT LUBRICANTS

Abstract

Energy conservation has been the major objective worldwide after the first oil crisis of 1973. Since then, great interest has been generated in saving energy through the use of specially formulated lubricants. The reduction of wear and friction losses in an internal combustion engine is largely a function of improved lubrication. Therefore, advanced lubricants are now being formulated to reduce the wear and friction of the tribological component of the engine. The development of modem lubricants and their proper use are of great importance for the national economy, individual and environment. Lubricants, optimally adjusted to a given task, can save billions of Rupees in the case of an industrialized nation, reduce wear, reduce maintenance requirements and the problem of air pollution. In order to enhance energy efficiency of engine oil specifications, polymeric additives are used to improve the viscometric properties of mineral and synthetic oil base stocks. By providing a proportionately larger contribution to the bulk viscosity at elevated temperatures, the additives essentially produce a blend with a "flatter" viscosity-temperature curve and hence a lubricant with more desirable film forming properties. Since the performance of lubricant oils is a function of the additive composition they contain, so, there is a definite need to understand the mechanism of action of V I Improvers, particularly, in improving viscometric properties of the blend for predicting their friction and lubrication behaviors and hence the detailed and in depth studies of all aspects of lubricant design components like base oil, V I Improvers etc. related to its friction behavior are important. So, therefore the influence of V I Improvers like PIB and PMMA on the friction and wear behaviour in base oil under different lubrication regimes using conformal and counterformal simulated contact conditions have been investigated with an aim to develop scientific basis for energy conserving optimum lubricant formulation.