Investigation of Aliphatic Alcohols as Lubricating Additives for Aluminum on Steel Contact

The antiwear ability and load carrying capacity of a range of aliphatic alcohols as lubricating additives in liquid paraffin were evaluated using a Timken tester. The effects of additive concentration and chain length were investigated. It has been found that the antiwear ability of aliphatic alcohols for aluminum on steel system is closely related to the concentration and the molecular chain length. The best lubrication and antiwear behaviors are obtained at an additive concentration of 2.22%, 1.30%, and 0.93%, for 1 butanol, 1 octanol, and 1 dodecanol, respectively. The intermolecular force of the additive governs the lubricating function, while the lubrication and wear resistant behaviors of the additives are correlated with their protection chemical corrosion balance on the lubricated metal surface.