Fundamental Understanding of Antiwear Mechanisms in Real-World Applications: Part 1

Increasing pressure to deliver vehicle fuel efficiency without compromising engine durability places significant demands on engine lubricants. The antiwear capability of the formulation is extremely important as wear on engine parts can lead to engine inefficiency. The rapidly advancing and diversifying array of engine architectures creates ever more arduous conditions under which lubricant additives must perform. The evolution of engine design brings with it the propensity for a variety of wear mechanisms to occur. This paper reports research conducted to rapidly collect key information from which to begin to conceive the design of better screening technologies. An exploration of wear mechanisms using simple bench-top experiments was conducted using a variety of lubricants. A lab based oil-aging technique was used to attempt to create an oil sample with wear properties mimiking those of real engine drains. Engine testing was conducted in a novel manner to facilitate fundamental knowledge generation and leads to the conclusion that a deeper understanding of the specific antiwear mechanism at play is essential. From these engine tests, a hypothesis is made describing the requirements of successful anti-wear additive systems.