Lubricants are by no means an invention of modern industry - even if the addition of numerous additives might make it seem that way - but were already used by our ancestors as a lubricant. Friction reduction utilised. The term "smearing" also has historical origins and is derived from the Middle High German word "smer", i.e. raw animal fat.
Today, the term "lubricants" covers all products that are used to lubricate and minimise the friction of sliding and rolling elements. However, products that are similar in composition, manufacture and properties are also categorised as lubricants, even if they are used as insulating oils, corrosion inhibitors or process oils as aids for industrial processes. Lubricants account for an average of around 0.8% of total mineral oil consumption worldwide, and around 1% in industrialised countries. In economic terms, however, lubricants are far more important than their relatively small share of the mineral oil market would suggest. 30% of all energy generated in the world is consumed through friction, and billions are lost every year due to wear. For design engineers, lubricants are therefore not just necessary operating materials, but design elements that help to increase energy efficiency, avoid machine downtime and reduce the costs of spare parts and maintenance. The development of lubricants is therefore constantly being driven forward by intensive research.
Lubricants can be divided into lubricating oils and lubricating greases, whereby lubricating oils derived from crude oil are used significantly more than lubricating greases, which are only used for very specific purposes in industry. In general, lubricants are used for a wide variety of tasks in the automotive sector or in industry. A distinction is made between
The tasks of automotive lubricants are diverse and serve to lubricate sliding parts to reduce friction and wear, to cool the engine, to seal, to protect against corrosion and to transmit pressure.
The main tasks of industrial lubricants include the extensive reduction of friction and wear on tooth flanks, the prevention of pitting and Micro Pittings and the dissipation of frictional heat. To make matters worse, the lubricants must also guarantee the reliability of the machines even under extreme temperature influences.
The starting product for all lubricants - whether mineral oil-based or synthetic - is crude oil, which is fragmented into different products in an atmospheric distillation process and then freed of excess by-products in further steps. Depending on the processing, either mineral oil of varying viscosity or the so-called hydrocracked mineral oil is produced as the base oil, whereby significantly more mineral oil raffinates are produced and used than hydrocracked mineral oils.
Hydrocracked oils can be based on both crude paraffin and vacuum gas oil. They are also known as HC synthetic oils and are characterised by a significantly higher viscosity index (120 to 150) and better low-temperature behaviour (pour point down to -21 degrees C) compared to mineral oil raffinates.
Synthetic oils are produced in a multi-stage chemical process by linking special hydrocarbon molecules. Synthetic oils are mainly polyalphaolefins (PAO), often also called synthetic hydrocarbons, or esters. The production of synthetic base fluids is more complex than the extraction of mineral oil-based fluids, meaning that synthetic oils are considerably more expensive than mineral oils, but also offer many advantages due to their production process.
Synthetic oils have a higher film thickness than mineral oils, i.e. their viscosity is very high even at high temperatures: wear protection is significantly higher, the necessary addition of viscosity index improvers is reduced and shear stability is optimised at the same time. But even at extremely low temperatures, synthetic oils are superior to mineral oils due to their very good low-temperature behaviour and thus enable improved cold starting and rapid lubrication of combustion engines. The absence of unstable components ensures better oxidation and thermal stability. Their low volatility and low evaporation loss reduce oil and fuel consumption, while higher thermal resistance ensures better engine cleanliness and extended oil change intervals.
Additives are added to lubricants to give them certain properties. The type and quantity should be precisely matched to the respective application; the additive content can be between 1% and 30%. Depending on their mode of action, these additives can be categorised into three types:
Lubricating greases are solid lubricants, usually containing mineral oil, which are produced in a wide consistency and penetration range from liquid to sebum-like solid. They are used when liquid lubricants are not suitable due to their fluidity and run away from the lubrication point, for example in rolling and plain bearings, open gears, wire ropes or chain drives. Lubricating greases consist of 70 - 95% of a base oil, 3 - 30% of thickeners and 0 - 5% of additives.
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