Lubricants

PCS Instruments is a leader in supporting lubricant research and development, with over 30 years of experience and expertise across a range of industries.

Lubricant drops

Where there is movement in a system you will almost always find a lubricant of some kind. From snowboards to CNC machines, and from your knee joint to the CV joint of a car, all require lubricants to operate reliably and efficiently. That lubricants are so widely used in so many different applications means that there is no single way to make a lubricant, as they often have to perform many different tasks. For some they must cool as well as reduce friction, for some they must stop foaming or corrosion, whilst others might need to survive extreme pressures or temperatures. With all these competing needs, lubricant design is highly application specific, so researchers utilise lab equipment such as the MTM, ETM, EHD and MPR to help develop lubricants and test them at representative conditions.

Going forward, tribology will be as important as ever in the design and development of lubricants. This innovative work is integral to improving efficiency and reliability in systems and making sure they can last the test of time. Tribologists play a key role in making systems more sustainable and environmentally friendly, and in doing so are helping to protect the future of the planet.

Lubricants industry research areas include:

  • Gearbox lubricants
  • Wind turbine lubricants (efficiency and WECs)
  • Biolubricants
  • Metalworking fluids
  • Greases for electric cars

Lubricants Industry includes the following:

Additives

Additives

Developing performance enhancing additives for lubricants. Includes anything from extreme pressure additives to viscosity index improvers.

Biolubricants

Biolubricants

Improving the performance of new, more environmentally friendly lubricants. Developing them to perform as well as, or better than traditional lubricants.

Grease

Grease

Greases have to perform in a range of applications such as gearboxes, trains, seals and bearings.

Oils

Oils

Found in every aspect of manufacturing from food conveyors to wind turbine gearboxes, oils have to perform optimally under a vast array of conditions.

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Lubricants Industry Articles & Papers

Article

Easy-Greasy: The New MPR GI

Testing grease in conditions that mimic real-world mechanical stresses has always been a significant challenge for researchers. Starvation during these …

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Paper

An Analytical Approach for Predicting EHL Friction: Usefulness and Limitations

The article studies the friction coefficient in elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) by means of analytically obtained equations for different contact geometries. …

The article studies the friction coefficient in elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) by means of analytically obtained equations for different contact geometries. The introduction of some simplifications allows for the simultaneous consideration of piezoviscous, pseudoplastic and thermal phenomena, resulting in complete and realistic models, which provide results in a quick and easy manner. The predictive potential of this analytical approach is analyzed by comparing the estimates of friction with full-EHL simulations and experimental data under different operating conditions. The results obtained allow us to discuss the influence of some assumptions taken into account and the scope of applicability of the models, in order to determine their usefulness and limitations.


Keywords: elastohydrodynamic lubrication; friction; analytical; pressure-viscosity coefficient

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Paper

Influence of PMA on the Anti-Scuffing Properties of AW/EP additives

Scuffing is becoming a quite common failure mode in gears and bearings. It has been shown that AW/EP additives are …

Scuffing is becoming a quite common failure mode in gears and bearings. It has been shown that AW/EP additives are effective in preventing scuffing, but only if they are able to form a thick tribofilm before encountering severe scuffing-type conditions. This study has employed a contra-rotating, step-sliding speed scuffing test to explore the impact of PMAs on the ability of ZDDP and a commercial SP additive-containing package to prevent scuffing when subjected to immediately severe conditions. It is found that some PMAs can greatly enhance the anti-scuffing performance of these AW/EP additives. They do this by forming thick, adsorbed boundary films that can withstand high speed sliding conditions and protect the rubbing surfaces long enough for tribofilms to form.


Keywords: Scuffing, Tribofilm, PMA, ZDDP

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