Preparation And Tribological Performance Of The Conductive Lubricant For Steel-Steel And Copper-Copper Tribopairs

Friction,wear and corrosion are some main causes of material loss and equipment failure in mechanical devices,especially in electrical equipment.The quality of electrical contact performance has a significant impact on the reliability and safety of electrical equipment and even the entire mechanical system.The current and friction between the contact surfaces can cause a series of complex physical and chemical phenomena such as thermal effects,mechanical effects,and electrical effects,leading to severe wear of the contact area,excessive contact resistance,and corrosion,which sharply reduces the electrical contact performance.Conductive lubricants are commonly produced by introducing conductive particles into conventional lubricants and subjecting them to processes such as dispersion.This yields lubricants that exhibit electrical conductivity,lubricating properties,and resistance to corrosion.Currently,conductive lubricants have been widely used in transportation,aerospace,and other fields,but their production complexity and other drawbacks have limited their application.This article will focus on the research of novel conductive lubricants with the specific research content as follows:(1)Hexadecyl imidazolium urate ionic liquid additive(IL-16)was prepared and used as an additive to water-based lubricants.Their physicochemical properties,tribological performance,and conductivity were studied.The results showed that IL-16 ionic liquid additives can significantly enhance the conductive lubrication ability of water-based lubricants.Compared to dry friction and water lubrication,the friction pairs lubricated with IL-16 ionic liquid have lower friction coefficients,wear rates,and contact resistance,and exhibit good cushioning effect on steel.The anions and cations in the IL-16 ionic liquid additive is adsorbed on the friction surface by electrostatic attraction under conductive conditions.At the same time,the IL-16 ionic liquid additive participates in frictional chemical reactions with metals to form friction films,and the urate groups in the IL-16 ionic liquid additive form complexes with iron to ensure the lubricating performance and corrosion resistance of the metal.(2)Ricinoleic acid is a promising additive as a lubricant due to its excellent lubricating properties.In this study,based on PAO 10 as the base oil,the reaction product of ricinoleic acid and tetraethylenepentamine was used as a thickener to prepare basic conductive grease.Graphene oxide was further added to prepare the composite conductive grease.The physical and chemical properties,friction behavior,and conductivity of the lubricants were studied.The experimental results showed that both the basic and composite lubricants exhibited excellent anti-friction and wear resistance as well as conductivity properties.Compared with the PAO 10 lubricating base oil,the basic and composite lubricants were able to reduce the friction coefficient,wear rate,and contact resistance by more than half under different loads,currents,and motion speeds.This may be due to the synergistic effect of the hydrogen bond network and reduced graphene oxide in the lubricant.