Effect of Temperature on Lubricated Steel/Steel Systems With or Without Fatty Acids Additives Using an Oscillating Dynamic Tribometer

The friction behavior of steel/steel contacts lubricated with glycerol, 150NS and PAO4 is investigated using a new technique. Then, three additives are used in PAO4 lubricant: oleic, linoleic and stearic acids. The experiments are performed at different temperatures. Moreover, nearly all the systems operate in either the mixed or boundary lubrication regime. The experimental methodology is able, with a high accuracy and without any force transducer, two contributions of friction: μ ₀, velocity-independent contribution and μ ₁, velocity-dependent one. This study shows that glycerol is the most effective in reducing friction among the three pure lubricants. In addition, only glycerol affects the viscous damping of the system at some operating conditions. Using the additives in PAO4, the friction is reduced. More precisely, the unsaturated fatty acids are more significant in reducing the friction than saturated acids. Moreover, the viscous damping of the apparatus is slightly affected as additives are used in PAO4.