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Micro-scratch behaviour of adsorbed film formed by aqueous copolymer lubricants with phosphate ester additive on Ti-coated surface

Bingjing Lin (School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, China, and School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia)
A. Kiet Tieu (School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia)
Hongtao Zhu (School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia)
Buyung Kosasih (School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia)
Oyong Novareza (School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia, and Industrial Engineering, Department of Engineering, University of Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia)

Industrial Lubrication and Tribology

ISSN: 0036-8792

Article publication date: 13 November 2017

259

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to assess the adsorption behaviour and the adhesion strength of lubricant films formed by polypropylene oxide-polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide (PPO-PEO-PPO) with phosphate ester additive on Ti-coated surface and to identify the influence of molecular architecture and phosphate ester additive.

Design/methodology/approach

The thickness of the adsorbed PPO-PEO-PPO with phosphate ester lubricant films on Ti surfaces was measured by ellipsometry. The adhesion strength of the copolymer and the copolymer with phosphate ester lubricants was studied by the micro-scratch tests; the scratch tracks on the surfaces were observed by atomic force microscopy and scanning electronic microscopy.

Findings

The copolymer with a higher weight percentage of PPO not only formed a thicker film but also showed stronger adhesion and better lubrication performance. The added phosphate ester increased the film thickness and improved the tribological behaviour. The finding reveals that the adsorbed film thickness which depends on the PPO chain length and the presence of phosphate ester has a considerable effect on the scratch behaviour.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils the studies about adsorption behaviour and lubrication mechanism of this new lubricant which has not been adequately investigated on the metal surface.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from Xiamen University of Technology (Grant No. YKJ16006R) and Fujian Provincial Department of Science and Technology (Grant No. 2017J01494), and China Scholarship Council (CSC) and a top up scholarship from the University of Wollongong.

Citation

Lin, B., Tieu, A.K., Zhu, H., Kosasih, B. and Novareza, O. (2017), "Micro-scratch behaviour of adsorbed film formed by aqueous copolymer lubricants with phosphate ester additive on Ti-coated surface", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 69 No. 6, pp. 881-890. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILT-07-2016-0161

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited

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