A Study of Wear Properties of Different Soybean Oils

Environmentally friendly lubricants have been gaining interests worldwide. Vegetable oils have potential to be used as the base stock for these lubricants when blended with proper additives. This study shows parameters affecting on friction and wear scar diameters of three different soybean oils including conventional soybean oil, epoxidized soybean oil, and high-oleic soybean oil. The parameters include speed, temperature, and the additive (ZDDP) with a fixed load at 25 lbs. The results from a four-ball wear tester show that speed and ZDDP significantly affect wear scar diameters of conventional soybean oil. The wear scar diameters of epoxidized soybean oil and high-oleic soybean oil are affected by ZDDP, temperature, speed, and the interactions among these parameters.