Tribology tests of materials and fluids in gaseous controlled environment

Lubricants are complex fluids which are crucial to the efficiency and durability of machines. They consist of a base fluid and multiple functional additives. Some of these additives, including friction modifiers and antiwear additives, are surface actives and form protective films on rubbing surfaces.

It is now realized that the reactions by which these protective films are formed are driven by the enormous mechanical forces experienced by individual additive molecules within rubbing contacts, i.e. mechanochemistry. The ability of these additives to form tribofilms is thus determined by the way their molecular structure experiences, responds to applied forces and most important the gas involved.

The project that I am going to study will explore possible additives to be used in inert atmosphere that are comparable with commercial additives. It will employ advanced tribology test equipment to form and monitor in situ the kinetics of formation and composition of tribofilms using advanced laser spectroscopies. Based on this it will determine the possible mechanisms and additive candidate.