ONE method employed in a fundamental investigation of the composition of lubricating oils as it affects the viscosity characteristics has involved the synthesis of viscous oils by polymerizing a wide range of olefins with a condensing agent, such as aluminum chloride.
Many thousand gallons of synthetic lubricating oils have been made within the last two or three years from olefins produced by cracking paraffin waxes. Details of the process have been published previously and hence are not included.
The present paper deals with the characteristics of two such oils that have been synthesized in commercial quantities. The raw materials and the process of manufacture make these more expensive than ordinary motor oils, but their temperature-viscosity characteristics make them desirable for use in transmission and steering mechanisms and in hydraulic shock-absorbers, as they are less susceptible than the usual oil to viscosity changes with changes of temperature.
Comparative data on gearshifting resistance, steering effort, viscosity at different temperatures and change in viscosity, sludge and carbon formation, and oil consumption during a 50-hr. engine test are given.