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A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, transporting foreign particles, or heating or cooling the surfaces.
Lubrication is the process or technique of using a lubricant to reduce friction and wear and tear in a contact between two surfaces. The study of lubrication is a discipline in the field of tribology.
Dry lubricants or solid lubricants are materials that, despite being in the solid phase, are able to reduce friction between two surfaces sliding against each other without the need for a liquid oil medium. [1] The two main dry lubricants are graphite and molybdenum disulfide. They offer lubrication at temperatures higher than liquid and oil ...
Friction modifiers are added to lubricants in order to reduce friction and wear in machine components. They are particularly important in the boundary lubrication regime, where they can prevent solid surfaces from coming into direct contact, substantially reducing friction and wear .
[citation needed] [1] The main function of motor oil is to reduce friction and wear on moving parts and to clean the engine from sludge (one of the functions of dispersants) and varnish (detergents). It also neutralizes acids that originate from fuel and from oxidation of the lubricant (detergents), improves the sealing of piston rings, and ...
The lubricity of a substance is not a material property, and cannot be measured directly. Tests are performed to quantify a lubricant's performance for a specific system. This is often done by determining how much wear is caused to a surface by a given wear-inducing object in a given amount of time. Other factors such as surface size ...
Generally, the least viscous lubricant which still forces the two moving surfaces apart to achieve "fluid bearing" conditions is desired. If the lubricant is too viscous, it will require a large amount of energy to move (as in honey); if it is too thin, the surfaces will come in contact and friction will increase. [2]
Finally there are the processes at the contact interface: compression and adhesion in the direction perpendicular to the interface, and friction and micro-slip in the tangential directions. The last aspect is the primary concern of contact mechanics. It is described in terms of so-called contact conditions. For the direction perpendicular to ...