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The application of polyalkylene glycol (PAG) as a base stock for engine oil formulation has been explored for substantial fuel economy gain over traditional formulations with mineral oils. Various PAG chemistries were explored depending on feed stock material used for manufacturing. All formulations except one have the same additive package. The friction performance of these oils was evaluated in a motored single cylinder engine with current production engine hardware in the temperature range 40°C-120°C and in the speed range of 500 RPM-2500 RPM. PAG formulations showed up to 50% friction reduction over GF-5 SAE 5W-20 oil depending on temperature, speed, and oil chemistry. Friction evaluation in a motored I-4 engine showed up to 11% friction reduction in the temperature range 40°C-100°C over GF-5 oil. The paper will share results on ASTM Sequence VID fuel economy, Sequence IVA wear, and Sequence VG sludge and varnish tests. Chassis roll fuel economy data will also be shared.

Amorphous carbon coatings with very low friction properties were recently developed at Argonne National Laboratory. These coatings have shown good promise in mitigating excessive wear and scuffing problems associated with low-lubricity diesel fuels. To reduce the negative effect of sulfur and other lubricant additives in poisoning the after-treatment catalyst, a lubricant formulation with a low level of sulfur may be needed. Exclusion of proven sulfur-containing extreme pressure (EP) and antiwear additives from oils will require other measures to ensure durability of critical lubricated components. The low-friction carbon coating has the potential for such applications. In the present study, we evaluated the friction and wear attributes of three variations of the coating under a boundary lubrication regime. Tests were conducted with both synthetic and mineral oil lubricants using a ball-on-flat contact configuration in reciprocating sliding.

A failure mode in engine components that undermines engine reliability is scuffing; defined as sudden catastrophic failure of sliding surfaces. Usually accompanied by a rapid rise in friction and temperature, occurrence of scuffing marks the end of the component's useful life. At Argonne National Laboratory, we recently developed low-friction amorphous carbon coatings with exceptional tribological properties. The present study evaluates the scuffing performance of three variations of the carbon coating deposited on H-13 steel surfaces and lubricated with base-stock and fully formulated synthetic Poly-alfa-olefin (PAO) lubricants. Using a ball-on-flat contact configuration in reciprocating sliding, we found that although the coatings reduced friction slightly, they increased scuffing resistance significantly when one of the sliding surfaces was coated when compared to uncoated steel-on-steel contact.

Preliminary research in our laboratory has demonstrated that boric acid is an effective lubricant with an unusual capacity to reduce the sliding friction (providing friction coefficients as low as 0.02) and wear of metallic and ceramic materials. More recent studies have revealed that water or methanol solutions of boric acid can be used to prepare strongly bonded layers of boric acid on aluminum surfaces. It appears that boric acid molecules have a strong tendency to bond chemically to the naturally oxidized surfaces of aluminum and its alloys and to make these surfaces very slippery. Recent metal-formability tests indicated that the boric acid films applied to aluminum surfaces worked quite well, improving draw scale performance by 58 to 75%.