ASB Industries, Barberton, Ohio, announces that an industry-university team of researchers recently concluded a project that examined the relationship between lubricant additives and ferrous and nonferrous surfaces. These additives are widely used, but very little research had previously been done into how additives interact with metal surfaces. In fact, almost no experimental data had been collected about the mechanisms by which anti-wear and extreme-pressure additives in lubricants actually protect surfaces.
The team’s project was commissioned last year by the Industrial Advisory Board of the Center for Surface Engineering Lubrication Research (CSELR), located at the University of Akron. Dr. Paul Schiller, a research scientist for Timken Engineered Surface Laboratories (also located at the University of Akron), was chosen as lead researcher.
Jonathan Fouts, ASB’s Director of Research & Development and a PhD candidate at the University of Akron, and fellow PhD student Marisa Seeley conducted research into reactions between sulfur-based additives and ferrous and nonferrous surfaces as functions of temperature and/or pressure.
The team made several significant findings. For example, the catalytic nature of ferrous surfaces appears to drive the formation of Fe-S (iron-sulfur) bonds, with temperature as a critical parameter affecting the process. The research also supported an existing hypothesis regarding increased wear rates of certain specialized materials when exposed to sulfur-based additives.
The findings of the CSELR study provide new insights into the tribochemical mechanisms that lubricated surfaces experience during operation. It also gave Dr. Fouts the opportunity to gain experience in cutting-edge experimentation for surface coatings. As Dr. Fouts himself stated, he has “grown stronger in research skills” through the project, which will undoubtedly be of great benefit in his role at ASB Industries.
Founded in 2014 by STLE (Tribology and Lubrication Engineering Society) Fellow and Timken Professor for Surface Engineering Gary Doll, CSELR itself was commissioned by several likeminded corporations. CSELR’s mission is to provide pre-competitive research on projects that are conceived and overseen by the CSELR Industrial Advisory Board.
