Minimising wear and friction of new engine materials with polymeric organic friction modifiers

Transport contributes approximately 25% of global CO2 emissions and is expected to increase to nearly 50% by 2030 and more than 80% by 2050. In order to deal with ever increasing emissions more stringent legislation is being brought into effect in many parts of the world.

In order to improve vehicle fuel economy and to reduce emissions, OEMS and lubricant formulators have adopted many solutions and continue to invest heavily in the development of evermore efficient engineering and lubrication solutions.

One example of lubricant development is the use of lower viscosity engine oils but reducing viscosity can lead to increased wear and sometimes even friction. This has led some OEMs to use non-conventional coatings for some specific engine components, such as diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings. DLC coatings are typically applied to provide a more durable surface, especially where a high degree of boundary lubrication is experienced.

DLC surfaces require special consideration when formulating lubricants, as they respond very differently to lubricant additives which are typically used to lubricate ferrous-based engineered components.

In this presentation we will show how polymeric friction modifiers can reduce friction and wear on DLC coated surfaces and compare their performance against conventional organic friction modifiers, like GMO and inorganic friction modifiers, specifically MoDTC.