Study of the influence of non-toxic additives in rape seed oil in experimental studies of machine friction units

Increasing of the environmental requirements to transport and industry poses to tribology a priority task related to the development of environmentally friendly lubricants and technologies. Vegetable oils and synthetic esters are most commonly used as biodegradable base oils. The fundamental constraints associated with their direct application are related to two main parameters: resistance to oxidation and their tribological characteristics, that is, anti-friction, wear-resistant and extreme pressure properties. To increase oxidation stability, low unsaturated fatty acids contents are used, and the reduction of friction and wear is achieved by developing compatible composite additives towards the base vegetable oil. The second problem originates from a specific feature of the tribosystems, which is the fact that their functional characteristics, being dependent on the combined complex influence of many factors, and moreover these are changing during the course of theirexploitation. Researchers try to find a solution by elaborating compatible composite additives to the basis bio-degradable vegetable and synthetic oil. However, many researchers have found that in regard to their physical-chemical and tribological characteristcs the vegetable oils satisfy the exploitational requirements only under certain conditions. The present study presents results from a comparative investigation of friction characteristics and oil temperature in two tribosystems “Rolling Bearings” and “Sliding Bearing” when lubricated with pure rapeseed oil and rapeseed oil containing 4% non-toxic and ashless additive. The new additive is designed for biodegradable base oils. The research was conducted in tribology laboratories in Southern Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Russia, and at the Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria layer.