Wear Characteristics of Various Metal Materials Lubricated with 100 Vegetable Oils

摘要

To realize tribosystem which is environment-conscious and is safe from health damage, some vegetable oils are applied to base oils for commercial lubricants. However, performance of the vegetable oil tribosystem hasn't been clear yet. We investigated wear characteristics between a bearing steel ball and various metal plates lubricated with pure vegetable oils and a paraffmic mineral oil without additives at 40°C and 100°C by a high-frequency linear-oscillation test machine (SRV tribotester). Friction coefficients, specific wear rates, wear scar appearances observed by a laser microscope and enlargements of worn surfaces observed by a scanning electron microscope on each test plate were discussed in this report. The wear modes of bearing steel plate, cast iron plate, and phosphor bronze plate changed by the combination of test materials, the kind of test lubricants and the difference of test temperatures from slight adhesive wear like mild wear to abrasive wear.