• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.109-115
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• 2001

The lubricating performance of 23 kinds of polyol ester base oils 〔POEs〕 having different branch shapes was investigated by using a four ball tribometer under boundary lubrication condition. All the polyol ester base oils used in this study were made up of polyhydric alcohols of two-four valence and normal or branched fatty acids of different carbon number. The wear characteristics of polyol ester base oils are different from those of mineral oil, strongly affected by the branch shapes of fatty acids in their molecles. In particular, the polyol ester base oils having normal fatty acids such as n-octanoic acid, n-nonanoic acid etc. show much better wear performance than POEs having branched fatty acids such as 2-ethylhexanoic acid, 3,5,5-trimethyl hexanoic acid, etc. As the carbon chain length of normal fatty acids, in case of POEs of normal fatty acids, is increased, their wear rate is decreased and, in case of POEs of branched fatty acids, as the degree of branch of branched fatty acids is decreased, their wear rate is decreased. All the wear results of polyol ester base oils could be reasonably explained by comparing cohesive ability among fatty acid molecules in adsorption film by fatty acids obtained as POEs were decomposed.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.278-282
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• 2005

Deep groove ball bearing is installed in a control element of an integral nuclear reactor, where water is used as coolant and lubricant. This bearing is made of STS440C stainless steel for the raceways and the balls to use in radioactive environment and water. It is known that the retainer design affects ball bearing operability and endurance life, however there is no verified retainer design and material for water lubricated ball bearing. Four kinds of retainers are manufactured for the endurance test of water lubricated deep groove ball bearing. Three of them are commercially developed types and the other is designed for this research. It is verified that ball bearings with steel pressed and general plastic retainer can not survive to required life in the water, however bearings with machined type and cylinder type retainer can survive. This proves that one of the major design parameters for water lubricated ball bearing is retainer type and material. In this paper, experimental research of endurance test for water-lubricated ball bearing are reported.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.146-152
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• 2001

Environmentally adapted synthetic base oils of polyalkylene glycols (PAGs) and polyol esters (POEs) show a high polarity because of their functional groups containing oxygen atom. The lubricating performance of these polar base oils was investigated by using a four-ball tribometer under boundary lubrication condition. Four polyalkylene glycols and five polyol ester base oils were used as sample base oils of high polarity. A mineral oil (MO) and alkylnaphthalene (AN) were used as low polarity base oils. Tricrecylphosphate (TCP) was added to all the base oils, in the range of 10 mmol/L-2000 mmol/L, as an antiwear additive. All the TCP-for-mutated base oils showed optimum concentration characteristics for minimizing wear. The order of optimum concentration of all the base oils was in a good accordance with the order of relative stability of TCP in base oils. The interaction model on solvation between additive and different polar base oils can expect the stability order of TCP. Thus, the model on solvation can explain well the order of optimum concentration of all the base oils, by using the effect of polarity (dielectric constant, $\varepsilon$) and molecular size (molecular weight, MW) of them on stability of TCP in polar base oils. Finally, a good correlation of the optimum concentration for all the base oils was obtained when it was arranged as a function of C∝(M $W_{Base Oil}$/M $W_{TCP}$)$^{-2}$.71/.($\varepsilon$$_{Base Oil}$)$^{3.38}$ by these two parameters.s..