Abstract

Ionic Liquids have emerged as effective lubricants and additives to lubricants, in the last decade. Halogen-free ionic liquids have recently started to be considered as more environmentally stable than their halogenated counterparts, which tend to form highly toxic and corrosive acids when exposed to moisture. Most of the studies using ionic liquids as lubricants or additives of lubricants have been done experimentally. Due to the complex nature of the lubrication mechanism of these ordered fluids, the development of a theoretical model that predicts the ionic liquid lubrication ability is currently incomplete. In this study, a suitable and existing friction model to describe lubricating ability of ionic liquids in the elastohydrodynamic lubrication regime is identified and compared to experimental results.

Two phosphonium-based, halogen-free ionic liquids are studied as neat lubricants and as additives to a Polyalphaolefin base oil in steel-steel contacts using a ball-on-flat reciprocating tribometer. Experimental conditions (speed, load and roughness) are selected to ensure that operations are carried out in the elastohydrodynamic regime. Wear volume was also calculated for all tests. A good agreement was found between the model and the experimental results when [THTDP][Phos] was used as an additive to the base oil, but some divergence was noticed when [THTDP][DCN] was added, particularly at the highest speed studied. A significant decrease in the steel disks wear volume is observed when 2.5 wt. % of the two ionic liquids were added to the base lubricant.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Friction--Mathematical models; Lubrication and lubricants; Fused salts--Industrial applications

Publication Date

5-31-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Mechanical Engineering (MS)

Department, Program, or Center

Mechanical Engineering (KGCOE)

Advisor

Patricia Iglesias

Advisor/Committee Member

Rui Liu

Advisor/Committee Member

Stephen Boedo

Comments

Physical copy available from RIT's Wallace Library at TJ1077.5.E43 J36 2016

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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