Comparison of tribological performance of zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) in poly-alpha-olefin (PAO) and palm oil-based trimethylopropane (TMP) ester

• Main Authors: Zahid, Rehan, Hassan, Masjuki, Munusamy, Mahendra Varman, Mufti, Riaz Ahmad, Kalam, Md. Abul, Gulzar, Mubashir, Yunus, Robiah
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: Malaysian Tribology Society 2015
• Online Access: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/64286/1/p201_202.pdf; http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/64286/

Due to environmental legislations, automotive industry is striving hard to shift from mineral/synthetic oils to environmental friendly ones such as vegetable oils. In this study, effectiveness of ZDDP in enhancing the tribological properties of steel/steel contact, when used in combination with palm-oil based TMP ester, has been investigated and the results are compared with that of PAO. Friction and wear experiments were carried out using four-ball tribo-testing machine. TMP and TMP+PAO offered low values of friction compared to PAO. In addition, ZDDP-derived tribofilm was detected on the interacting surfaces, when TMP+PAO+ZDDP lubricant was used, resulting in decreased wear.