Effect of Oxidation on Boundary Friction of Steel in Hydrocarbon Media and Critical Friction Duties Under Which Cold and Hot Seizure (or Welding) Develop

Abstract

This paper, a further development of our earlier investigations of heavy boundary friction duties of steel in mineral oils, presents the results of a study of the antifriction, antiwear (and EP) properties of low-molecular individual hydrocarbons. The dependence of the lubricating action of low-molecular hydrocarbons on their nature and on the oxidative activity of the gas phase is such that it improves greatly with the intensity of oxidation in the friction zone. The effectiveness of higher fatty acids as lubricitors under heavy friction duties depends on the oxidative activity of the gas phase and the tendency of the hydrocarbons to oxidize. During a study of the boundary friction of steel in mineral oils in the air and in vacuum with sliding speeds varying over a 108 -fold range, it was established that under constant load and temperature both increasing and decreasing the sliding speed may result in seizure. Hot seizure occurs in the former case, cold seizure in the latter.