This study investigates the rheological properties, elastohydrodynamic (EHD) film-forming capability, and friction coefficients of low molecular mass poly-α-olefin (PAO) base stocks with varying contents of high molecular mass olefin copolymers (OCPs) to assess their shear stability and their potential for energy-efficient lubrication. Several PAO–OCP mixtures were blended in order to examine the relationship between their additive content and tribological performance. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy were used to characterize the molecular masses and structures, respectively. Density, viscosity, EHD film thickness, and friction were measured at 303 K, 348 K, and 398 K. Film thickness and friction were studied at entrainment speeds relevant to the boundary, mixed, and full-film lubrication regimes. The PAO–OCP mixtures underwent temporary shear-thinning resulting in decreases in film thickness and hydrodynamic friction. These results demonstrate that the shear characteristics of PAO–OCP mixtures can be tuned with the OCP content and provide insight into the effects of additives on EHD characteristics.

References

1.
Zolper
,
T. J.
,
Li
,
Z.
,
Chen
,
C.
,
Jungk
,
M.
,
Marks
,
T. J.
,
Chung
,
Y.-W.
, and
Wang
,
Q.
,
2012
, “
Lubrication Properties of Poly-Alpha-Olefin and Polysiloxane Lubricants: Molecular Structure-Tribology Relationships
,”
Tribol. Lett.
,
48
(
3
), pp.
355
365
.
2.
Sharma
,
S.
,
Snyder
,
C.
, and
Gschwender
,
L.
,
1993
, “
Tribological Behavior of Some Candidate Advanced Space Lubricants
,”
Tribol. Trans.
,
36
(
2
), pp.
321
325
.
3.
Mortier
,
R. M.
,
Orszulik
,
S. T.
, and
Fox
,
M. F.
,
1992
,
Chemistry and Technology of Lubricants
,
Springer
, Heidelberg, Germany.
4.
Dardin
,
A.
, 2000, “
Chemistry and Application of Viscosity Index Improvers
,” Proc. Proceedings of the 12th International Colloquium of Tribology, Ostfildern: Technische Akademie Esslingen, p. 631.
5.
Sklepic
,
V. M.
,
Podobnik
,
M.
, and
Bambic
,
J.
,
2008
, “
Engine Oil Viscosity Index Improver Behaviour at Extended Shear Stability Test
,”
Goriva Maziva
,
47
(
2
), p.
118
.
6.
Bair
,
S.
, and
Qureshi
,
F.
,
2003
, “
The High Pressure Rheology of Polymer-Oil Solutions
,”
Tribol. Int.
,
36
(
8
), pp.
637
645
.
7.
Zolper
,
T. J.
,
Li
,
Z.
,
Jungk
,
M.
,
Stammer
,
A.
,
Stoegbauer
,
H.
,
Marks
,
T. J.
,
Chung
,
Y.-W.
, and
Wang
,
Q.
,
2013
, “
Traction Characteristics of Siloxanes With Aryl and Cyclohexyl Branches
,”
Tribol. Lett.
,
49
(
2
), pp.
301
311
.
8.
Bronshteyn
,
L. A.
, and
Kreiner
,
J. H.
,
1999
, “
Energy Efficiency of Industrial Oils
,”
Tribol. Trans.
,
42
(
4
), pp.
771
776
.
9.
Coy
,
R.
,
1998
, “
Practical Applications of Lubrication Models in Engines
,”
Tribol. Int.
,
31
(
10
), pp.
563
571
.
10.
Taylor
,
R.
,
Dixon
,
R.
,
Wayne
,
F.
, and
Gunsel
,
S.
,
2005
, “
Lubricants and Energy Efficiency: Life-Cycle Analysis
,”
Tribol. Interface Eng. Ser.
,
48
, pp.
565
572
.
11.
Zolper
,
T. J.
,
Seyam
,
A. M.
,
Chen
,
C.
,
Jungk
,
M.
,
Stammer
,
A.
,
Stoegbauer
,
H.
,
Marks
,
T. J.
,
Chung
,
Y.-W.
, and
Wang
,
Q.
,
2013
, “
Energy Efficient Siloxane Lubricants Utilizing Temporary Shear-Thinning
,”
Tribol. Lett.
,
49
(
3
), pp.
525
538
.
12.
Ehret
,
P.
,
Dowson
,
D.
, and
Taylor
,
C.
,
1998
, “
On Lubricant Transport Conditions in Elastohydrodynamic Conjunctions
,”
Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A
,
454
(
1971
), pp.
763
787
.
13.
Hamrock
,
B.
, and
Dowson
,
D.
,
1981
,
Ball Bearing Lubrication: The Elastohydrodynamics of Elliptical Contacts
,
John Wiley and Sons
,
New York
.
14.
Guangteng
,
G.
, and
Spikes
,
H.
,
1996
, “
Boundary Film Formation by Lubricant Base Fluids
,”
Tribol. Trans.
,
39
(
2
), pp.
448
454
.
15.
Smeeth
,
M.
,
Spikes
,
H.
, and
Gunsel
,
S.
,
1996
, “
The Formation of Viscous Surface Films by Polymer Solutions: Boundary or Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication?
,”
Tribol. Trans.
,
39
(
3
), pp.
720
725
.
16.
Gunsel
,
S.
,
Korcek
,
S.
,
Smeeth
,
M.
, and
Spikes
,
H.
,
1999
, “
The Elastohydrodynamic Friction and Film Forming Properties of Lubricant Base Oils
,”
Tribol. Trans.
,
42
(
3
), pp.
559
569
.
17.
Bair
,
S.
, and
Winer
,
W.
,
1997
, “
A Simple Formula for EHD Film Thickness of Non-Newtonian Liquids
,”
Tribol. Ser.
,
32
, pp.
235
241
.
18.
Chapkov
,
A.
,
Bair
,
S.
,
Cann
,
P.
, and
Lubrecht
,
A.
,
2007
, “
Film Thickness in Point Contacts Under Generalized Newtonian EHL Conditions: Numerical and Experimental Analysis
,”
Tribol. Int.
,
40
(
10–12
), pp.
1474
1478
.
19.
Aderin
,
M.
,
Johnston
,
G.
,
Spikes
,
H.
, and
Caporiccio
,
G.
,
1992
, “
The Elastohydrodynamic Properties of Some Advanced Non Hydrocarbon-Based Lubricants
,”
Lubr. Eng.
,
48
(
8
), pp.
633
638
.
20.
Guangteng
,
G.
, and
Spikes
,
H.
,
1997
, “
The Control of Friction by Molecular Fractionation of Base Fluid Mixtures at Metal Surfaces
,”
Tribol. Trans.
,
40
(
3
), pp.
461
469
.
21.
Bair
,
S.
,
1998
, “
Elastohydrodynamic Film Forming With Shear Thinning Liquids
,”
ASME J. Tribol.
,
120
(
2
), p.
173
.
22.
Bair
,
S.
,
Vergne
,
P.
, and
Querry
,
M.
,
2005
, “
A Unified Shear-Thinning Treatment of Both Film Thickness and Traction in EHD
,”
Tribol. Lett.
,
18
(
2
), pp.
145
152
.
23.
Liu
,
Y.
,
Wang
,
Q.
,
Krupka
,
I.
,
Hartl
,
M.
, and
Bair
,
S.
,
2008
, “
The Shear-Thinning Elastohydrodynamic Film Thickness of a Two-Component Mixture
,”
ASME J. Tribol.
,
130
(
2
), p.
021502
.
24.
Biresaw
,
G.
, and
Bantchev
,
G.
,
2008
, “
Effect of Chemical Structure on Film-Forming Properties of Seed Oils
,”
J. Synth. Lubr.
,
25
(
4
), pp.
159
183
.
25.
Smeeth
,
M.
,
Spikes
,
H.
, and
Gunsel
,
S.
,
1996
, “
Boundary Film Formation by Viscosity Index Improvers
,”
Tribol. Trans.
,
39
(
3
), pp.
726
734
.
26.
Bair
,
S.
, and
Qureshi
,
F.
,
2014
, “
Time-Temperature-Pressure Superposition in Polymer Thickened Liquid Lubricants
,”
ASME J. Tribol.
,
136
(
2
), p.
021505
.
27.
Bair
,
S.
,
2006
, “
A More Complete Description of the Shear Rheology of High-Temperature, High-Shear Journal Bearing Lubrication
,”
Tribol. Trans.
,
49
(
1
), pp.
39
45
.
28.
Bair
,
S.
,
2006
, “
Reference Liquids for Quantitative Elastohydrodynamics: Selection and Rheological Characterization
,”
Tribol. Lett.
,
22
(
2
), pp.
197
206
.
29.
Cross
,
M. M.
,
1965
, “
Rheology of Non-Newtonian Fluids: A New Flow Equation for Pseudoplastic Systems
,”
J. Colloid Sci.
,
20
(
5
), pp.
417
437
.
30.
Tanner
,
R.
,
2000
,
Engineering Rheology
,
Oxford University Press
,
New York
.
31.
Bird
,
R. B.
,
Armstrong
,
R. C.
, and
Hassager
,
O.
,
1987
,
Dynamics of Polymeric Liquids: Fluid Mechanics
, Vol.
1
,
John Wiley and Sons
,
New York
.
32.
Yasuda
,
K.
,
Armstrong
,
R.
, and
Cohen
,
R.
,
1981
, “
Shear Flow Properties of Concentrated Solutions of Linear and Star Branched Polystyrenes
,”
Rheol. Acta
,
20
(
2
), pp.
163
178
.
33.
Bair
,
S.
,
2004
, “
A Rough Shear-Thinning Correction for EHD Film Thickness
,”
Tribol. Trans.
,
47
(
3
), pp.
361
365
.
34.
Carreau
,
P. J.
,
1972
, “
Rheological Equations From Molecular Network Theories
,”
J. Rheol.
,
16
(
1
), pp.
99
127
.
35.
Habchi
,
W.
,
Vergne
,
P.
,
Bair
,
S.
,
Andersson
,
O.
,
Eyheramendy
,
D.
, and
Morales-Espejel
,
G. E.
,
2010
, “
Influence of Pressure and Temperature Dependence of Thermal Properties of a Lubricant on the Behaviour of Circular TEHD Contacts
,”
Tribol. Int.
,
43
(
10
), pp.
1842
1850
.
36.
Habchi
,
W.
,
Vergne
,
P.
,
Fillot
,
N.
,
Bair
,
S.
, and
Morales-Espejel
,
G. E.
,
2011
, “
A Numerical Investigation of Local Effects on the Global Behavior of TEHD Highly Loaded Circular Contacts
,”
Tribol. Int.
,
44
(
12
), pp.
1987
1996
.
37.
Habchi
,
W.
,
Eyheramendy
,
D.
,
Vergne
,
P.
, and
Morales-Espejel
,
G.
,
2012
, “
Stabilized Fully-Coupled Finite Elements for Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication Problems
,”
Adv. Eng. Software
,
46
(
1
), pp.
4
18
.
38.
Habchi
,
W.
,
Bair
,
S.
, and
Vergne
,
P.
,
2012
, “
On Friction Regimes in Quantitative Elastohydrodynamics
,”
Tribol. Int.
,
58
, pp.
107
117
.
39.
Liu
,
Y.
,
Wang
,
Q.
,
Bair
,
S.
, and
Vergne
,
P.
,
2007
, “
A Quantitative Solution for the Full Shear-Thinning EHL Point Contact Problem Including Traction
,”
Tribol. Lett.
,
28
(
2
), pp.
171
181
.
40.
Akbarzadeh
,
S.
, and
Khonsari
,
M.
,
2008
, “
Performance of Spur Gears Considering Surface Roughness and Shear Thinning Lubricant
,”
ASME J. Tribol.
,
130
(
2
), p.
021503
.
41.
Zolper
,
T. J.
,
Shiller
,
P.
,
Jungk
,
M.
,
Marks
,
T. J.
,
Chung
,
Y.-W.
,
Greco
,
A.
,
Doll
,
G.
,
LotfizadehDehkordi
,
B.
, and
Wang
,
Q.
,
2015
, “
Correlation of Polysiloxane Molecular Structure to Shear-Thinning Power-Law Exponent Using Elastohydrodynamic Film Thickness Measurements
,”
ASME J. Tribol.
,
137
(
3
), p.
031503
.
42.
Bird
,
R.
,
Curtiss
,
C.
,
Armstrong
,
R.
, and
Hassager
,
O.
,
1987
,
Dynamics of Polymer Liquids, Volume 2: Kinetic Theory
,
Wiley
,
New York
.
43.
Martini
,
A.
,
Zhu
,
D.
, and
Wang
,
Q.
,
2007
, “
Friction Reduction in Mixed Lubrication
,”
Tribol. Lett.
,
28
(
2
), pp.
139
147
.
44.
Müller
,
M.
,
Topolovec-Miklozic
,
K.
,
Dardin
,
A.
, and
Spikes
,
H.
,
2006
, “
The Design of Boundary Film-Forming PMA Viscosity Modifiers
,”
Tribol. Trans.
,
49
(
2
), pp.
225
232
.
45.
Hargreaves
,
D.
, and
Planitz
,
A.
,
2009
, “
Assessing the Energy Efficiency of Gear Oils Via the FZG Test Machine
,”
Tribol. Int.
,
42
(
6
), pp.
918
925
.
46.
Montanari
,
L.
,
2000
,
Lube Products Molecular Characterization of Base Oils
,
Wiley
,
New York
.
47.
Kapur
,
G.
,
Sarpal
,
A.
,
Mazumdar
,
S.
,
Jain
,
S.
,
Srivastava
,
S.
, and
Bhatnagar
,
A.
,
1995
, “
Structure—Performance Relationships of Viscosity Index Improvers: I Microstructural Determination of Olefin Copolymers by NMR Spectroscopy
,”
Lubr. Sci.
,
8
(
1
), pp.
49
60
.
48.
Ghosh
,
P.
,
Das
,
M.
,
Upadhyay
,
M.
,
Das
,
T.
, and
Mandal
,
A.
,
2011
, “
Synthesis and Evaluation of Acrylate Polymers in Lubricating Oil
,”
J. Chem. Eng. Data
,
56
(
10
), pp.
3752
3758
.
49.
Stephenson
,
C. J.
,
McInnis
,
J. P.
,
Chen
,
C.
,
Weberski
,
M. P.
, Jr.
,
Motta
,
A.
,
Delferro
,
M.
, and
Marks
,
T. J.
,
2014
, “
Ni(II) Phenoxyiminato Olefin Polymerization Catalysis: Striking Coordinative Modulation of Hyperbranched Polymer Microstructure and Stability by a Proximate Sulfonyl Group
,”
ACS Catal.
,
4
(
3
), pp.
999
1003
.
50.
Blok
,
H.
,
1964
, “
Inverse Hydrodynamics
,”
International Symposium on Lubrication and Wear
, McCutchan Publishing Corporation, Berkeley, CA, pp.
1
151
.
51.
Roelands
,
C. J. A.
,
1966
, “
Correlational Aspects of the Viscosity-Temperature-Pressure Relationship of Lubricating Oils
,” Doctoral dissertation, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
52.
Hamrock
,
B.
, and
Dowson
,
D.
,
1976
, “
Isothermal Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication of Point Contacts: Part I—Theoretical Formulation
,”
ASME J. Lubr. Technol.
,
98
(
2
), pp.
223
228
.
53.
Hamrock
,
B.
, and
Dowson
,
D.
,
1976
, “
Isothermal Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication of Point Contacts: Part II—Ellipticity Parameter Results
,”
ASME J. Lubr. Technol.
,
98
(
3
), pp.
375
381
.
54.
Hamrock
,
B.
, and
Dowson
,
D.
,
1977
, “
Isothermal Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication of Point Contacts: Part III—Fully Flooded Results
,”
ASME J. Lubr. Technol.
,
99
(
2
), pp.
264
275
.
55.
Hamrock
,
B.
, and
Dowson
,
D.
,
1977
, “
Isothermal Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication of Point Contacts: Part IV—Starvation Results
,”
ASME J. Lubr. Technol.
,
99
(
1
), pp.
15
23
.
56.
Bair
,
S.
, and
Qureshi
,
F.
,
2002
, “
Accurate Measurements of Pressure-Viscosity Behavior in Lubricants
,”
Tribol. Trans.
,
45
(
3
), pp.
390
396
.
57.
Jakobsen
,
J.
,
Sanborn
,
D.
, and
Winer
,
W.
,
1974
, “
Pressure Viscosity Characteristics of a Series of Siloxane Fluids
,”
ASME J. Lubr. Technol.
,
96
(
3
), pp.
410
417
.
58.
Bair
,
S.
, and
Qureshi
,
F.
,
2003
, “
The Generalized Newtonian Fluid Model and Elastohydrodynamic Film Thickness
,”
ASME J. Tribol.
,
125
(
1
), pp.
70
75
.
59.
Kumar
,
P.
,
Bair
,
S.
,
Krupka
,
I.
, and
Hartl
,
M.
,
2010
, “
Newtonian Quantitative Elastohydrodynamic Film Thickness With Linear Piezoviscosity
,”
Tribol. Int.
,
43
(
11
), pp.
2159
2165
.
60.
Anghel
,
V.
,
Cann
,
P.
, and
Spikes
,
H.
,
1997
, “
Direct Measurement of Boundary Lubricating Films
,”
Tribol. Ser.
,
32
, pp.
459
466
.
61.
Greenwood
,
J.
, and
Kauzlarich
,
J.
,
1998
, “
Elastohydrodynamic Film Thickness for Shear-Thinning Lubricants
,”
Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng., Part J
,
212
(
3
), pp.
179
191
.
62.
Bair
,
S.
, and
Kottke
,
P.
,
2003
, “
Pressure-Viscosity Relationships for Elastohydrodynamics
,”
Tribol. Trans.
,
46
(
3
), pp.
289
295
.
You do not currently have access to this content.