Effects of Some Solid Lubricants Suspended in Oil Toward Controlling the Wear Performance of a Cast Iron

The present investigation deals with the examination of the sliding wear response of a gray cast iron in oil lubricated condition over a range of applied pressure. The composition of the oil lubricant was changed by adding 5.26 wt % solid lubricant particles. The solid lubricants used were graphite, talc, MoS2, and lead. The observed wear response of the samples has been substantiated through the characteristics of wear surfaces, subsurface regions, and debris particles and discussed in terms of specific response of different microconstituents, such as ferrite, pearlite, and graphite present therein. Operating wear mechanisms were assessed through the observed features of wear surfaces, subsurface regions, and debris. The wear rate increased with applied pressure. The slope of the wear rate versus pressure plots was low up to a critical pressure. This was followed by a sudden rise in the slope at higher pressures irrespective of the test environment. The frictional heating was affected by pressure in a manner practically identical to that of the wear rate. The presence of graphite, MoS2, and lead in the oil led to a substantial decrease in the wear rate and severity of frictional heating. The oil plus lead lubricant mixture was observed to offer best results in terms of reduced wear rate and lower frictional heating. This was followed by the ones containing graphite and MoS2 while talc caused the wear performance of the samples to deteriorate over that of the bare oil. However, the severity of frictional heating decreased in general in the oil containing solid lubricant particles. Seizure brought about high frictional heating and wear rate.