Unit 1

Unit-1
Introduction to Tribology
‘Tribology’ is derived from the Greek word ‘tribos’ meaning rubbing or sliding
Tribology focuses on friction, wear and lubrication of interacting surfaces in relative motion
Wear is the major cause of material wastage and loss of mechanical performance and any
reduction in wear can result in considerable savings.
Friction is a principal cause of wear and energy dissipation. Considerable savings can be made by improved
friction control. It is estimated that one third of the world's energy resources in present use is needed to
overcome friction in one form or another.
Lubrication is an effective means of controlling wear and reducing friction.
Tribology is a field of science which applies an operational analysis to problems of great economic significance such as
reliability, maintenance and wear of technical equipment ranging from household appliances to spacecraft
Types of wear
1. Adhesive wear 4. Fretting wear
2. Abrasive wear 5. Erosive wear
3. Surface fatigue 6. Corrosive and oxidation wear
Surface fatigue
Type of wear in which the surface of a material is weakened by cyclic loading. It is produced
when the wear particles are separated from the solid surfaces by the accumulation
of microdamage in the material. The wear mechanism in action combines the formation of
cracks and voids in the solid surfaces, which are amplified with the running of cycles.
Lubrication
 Knowledge of enhancing or diagnosing the effectiveness of fluid films interposed between two surfaces in
order to improve the smoothness of movement of one surface over another and to prevent damage in
solid contacts is commonly known as ‘lubrication’
 A lubricant is any substance that, when inserted between the moving surfaces, accomplishes these purposes.
Objective of lubrication
To reduce friction, wear, and heating of machine parts that move relative to each other.
Functions of lubrication
 To lubricate and to reduce friction and wear
 To carry away heat generated
 To prevent corrosion and contamination by dirt
Properties of Lubricants
 Viscosity – Viscosity is a measurement of a fluid’s thickness, or resistance to flow.
 The higher the viscosity of the fluid, the slower it flows.
 Viscosity form a lubricating film, cool machine components, seal and control oil
consumption.
 Viscosity Index – The viscosity index, or VI, of a lubricant describes how the oil’s
viscosity changes as its temperature changes.
 As temperatures increase, viscosities decrease, and vice versa.
 In the graph, notice that the slope of each line is different over the same temperature
range, depending on its viscosity: the lowest VI has the highest slope; the highest VI has
the least slope.
 Oiliness is an important character of lubricant which is a measure of its capacity to
stick onto the surfaces of machine parts, under conditions of heavy pressure or load.
 Mineral oils have got very poor oiliness
 Vegetable oils have good oiliness.
 Specific gravity (relative density) the ratio of the mass of a given volume of product and
the mass of an equal volume of water, at the same temperature.
 Specific gravity is an index used to measure the density of a liquid.
 Specific gravity is calculated as the ratio of the density of a liquid to the density of water.
 Specific heat - ratio of the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of a
substance one degree Celsius (or Fahrenheit) and the heat required to raise an equal
mass of water one degree.
 The specific heat is the heat capacity per unit mass of material.
 Flash Point- It is determined by heating the oil until vapours form; a flame is then
passed across the oil.
 The flash point is the temperature at which the oil sparks, but a flame is not sustained.
 The flash point for lubricating oils is typically 204°C (400°F) or above.
 The flash point is the minimum temperature at which an oil-vapor-air-mixture becomes
inflammable.
 Fire Point- Oil is heated until vapours form; a flame is then passed over the oil.
 The fire point is the temperature at which the oil sparks and the flame is sustained.
 The fire point for lubricating oils is typically 371°C (700°F) or above.
 Pour Point- Pour point is the lowest temperature at which an oil will flow under
prescribed test conditions.
 It is affected by the amount of wax particles removed during the processing of
crude.
 The more wax particles there are, the higher the pour point.
 The fewer wax particles there are, the lower the pour point.
 Foaming- Excessive foaming of lubricating oil due to churning of oil in the presence of
air may lead to inadequate lubrication and other problem.
 Foam is a collection of small bubbles of air that accumulate on or near the surface of the
fluid.
 Foam is an efficient thermal insulator.
 The presence of air bubbles in the fluid can lead to excessive oxidation, cavitation, the
reduction of lubricating properties of the oil.
 Oxidation Stability- Oxidation stability refers to the ability of a lubricant to resist the
chemical combination with oxygen.
 Oxidation is a reaction that occurs when oxygen is combined with lubricating oil.
 High temperatures, water and acids will accelerate the rate of oxidation.
 The total acid number (TAN) is a measurement of acidity that is determined by the
amount of potassium hydroxide in milligrams that is needed to neutralize the acids in one
gram of oil.
 It is an important quality measurement of crude oil.
 The base number BN is often referred to as “alkalinity.” it is the quantity of acid

expressed in terms of the equivalent number of milligrams of the alkaline potassium
hydroxide that is required to neutralize all alkaline constituents in one gram of sample.
 Demulsibility is the ability of oil to separate from water.

 This is important when the equipment is operating in humid climates.
 Paper mills, steel mills and food-processing operations
A good lubricant generally possesses the following characteristics
 A high boiling point and low freezing point

 A high viscosity index.
 Thermal stability.
 Hydraulic stability.
 Demulsibility.
 Corrosion prevention.
 A high resistance to oxidation.
Newton’s Law of Viscosity
 It states that, the shear stress between adjacent fluid layers is proportional
to the velocity gradients between the two layers.
 Viscosity or coefficient of viscosity The ratio of shear stress to shear rate is
a constant, for a given temperature and pressure
Newton’s Law of Viscosity
Dynamic Viscosity (μ)
 Viscosity is defined as the measure of fluid

resistance to the flow of one layer of fluid
over adjacent layer.
 Fig shows two fluid layers at distance y and
y+dy from the surface.
 They move with different velocities u and
u+du as shown in fig.
 The top layer causes a shear stress on lower
while lower layer causes shear stress on the
top layer.
 The shear stress τ is proportional to the rate
of change of velocity with respect y.
Dynamic Viscosity (μ)
 Constant of proportionality μ is known as the

coefficient of dynamic viscosity or the velocity
gradient.
 From the above equation
Unit of dynamic viscosity
In SI: Newton-Sec/m2 = NS/m2
In CGS: dyne-Sec/cm2
1 dyne-Sec/cm2 called one poise.
One poise = 0.1 NS/m2

Kinematic viscosity (ν)
 It is defined as the ratio between dynamic viscosity and density of the

fluid.
Units of Kinematic viscosity
In SI system: m2/s
In CGS: cm2/s
One cm2/s known as Stoke
One stoke = 10-4 m2/s

Unit 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Unit 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Unit 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Unit-1

Lubrication is an effective means of controlling wear and reducing friction.

 The base number BN is often referred to as “alkalinity.” it is the quantity of acid

 Demulsibility is the ability of oil to separate from water.

 A high boiling point and low freezing point

 Viscosity is defined as the measure of fluid

 Constant of proportionality μ is known as the

In SI: Newton-Sec/m2 = NS/m2

1 dyne-Sec/cm2 called one poise.

One poise = 0.1 NS/m2

 It is defined as the ratio between dynamic viscosity and density of the

One cm2/s known as Stoke

One stoke = 10-4 m2/s

You might also like