Optimization of wear and friction characteristics of Phyllanthus Emblica seed oil based lubricant using response surface methodology

Abstract

The escalating prices, rapid diminution of fossil fuels, tenacious regulations of the authorities, etc. enforced towards the alternate biogenic fuel for lubrication. The present study assessed the lubricity characteristics of Phyllanthus Emblica seed oil based lubricants by using a pin on disc (POD) tester. The design of experimentations has been carried out using response surface methodology (RSM). The value of parameters such as blend ratio, load and sliding speed ranges from 0 to 20%, 50 to 100 N and 1.3 to 3.8 m/s, respectively, are used to assess the value of specific wear rate (SWR) and coefficient of friction (COF). Test results illustrate that the adhesive wear occurred during the experiments. It has been observed that AB10 shows the probable results in terms of wear and friction characteristics as compared to other lubricant variants at low load and high sliding velocity conditions and perform as an excellent lubricant additive. This contributes towards the replacement of petroleum based lubricants. Analytical ferrography and total acid number (TAN) analysis of the used oil was also done to study the wear debris in the oil. Keywords: Bio-lubricant, Ferrography, Lubricity, Optimisation, Response surface methodolog