Fabricating fluorosilane self-assembled molecular film on Babbitt alloy and its tribological performance
Industrial Lubrication and Tribology
ISSN: 0036-8792
Article publication date: 15 October 2021
Issue publication date: 22 April 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to improve the tribological performance of Babbitt alloy under oil lubricant condition. Thus, the surface was treated into oleophobic state by modifying with low surface energy fluorosilane (1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane). It is believed that the oleophobic surface offered excellent wear resistance of Babbitt-based tribo-pairs.
Design/methodology/approach
By modifying the Babbitt alloy with low surface energy fluorosilane and measuring the oil contact angle, the wetting behavior was evaluated. Using Pin on Disk tribometer, the tribological properties of bare Babbitt and modified Babbitt were quantified. The samples after the friction test were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the anti-wear performance was evaluated under dry and oil lubrication conditions.
Findings
Results showed that oil contact angle of modified Babbitt was109° which was tripled compared to that of prime surface, which indicates the oleophobic behavior was greatly improved. Under dry conditions, the friction coefficient of the modified surface with different load conditions is slightly lower than that of the bare surface, while the friction coefficient of the modified surface under lubrication conditions is significantly decreased compared to that of the bare surface. Interestingly, under low load and high load, the wear rate of the modified Babbitt alloy surface is only 1/4 and 1/3 of that of the bare surface, respectively.
Originality/value
The work proposed an effective method to improve the Babbitt tribological performances and will lighten future ideas for the Babbitt alloy bearing with high wear resistance, which is beneficial to improve the service life of sliding bearings and has huge promotion and application value in the manufacture of sliding bearings.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Key Laboratory of Road Construction Technology and Equipment (Chang’an University) (300102250502), the China Scholarship Council, National Natural Science Foundation of China (51975458 and 51605370), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation funded project (2020M673377 and 2020T130510) and the Natural Science Fund of Shaanxi Province (2020JM-010).
Citation
Qin, L., Yang, H., Ni, Y. and Dong, G. (2022), "Fabricating fluorosilane self-assembled molecular film on Babbitt alloy and its tribological performance", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 74 No. 4, pp. 402-410. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILT-08-2021-0322
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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