Optimization of tribological behavior of Pongamia oil blends as an engine lubricant additive

• Main Authors: Singh Yashvir, Garg Rajnish, Kumar Suresh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: De Gruyter 2015-10-01
• Series: Green Processing and Synthesis
• Subjects: anova; friction coefficient; pin weight loss; taguchi; wear rate
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1515/gps-2015-0056

This investigation reports on the effect of Pongamia oil doped with lube oil on tribological characteristics of Al-7% Si alloy using the Taguchi method. The control factors involved were Pongamia oil percentage (PB 0%, PB 15%, PB 30%), sliding velocity (1.3 m/s, 2.5 m/s, 3.8 m/s) and load (50 N, 100 N, 150 N) which was optimized for weight loss, friction coefficient and wear rate characteristics of Al-7% Si alloy. The conventional lubricant SAE 40 was used for the experiment and for contamination. In this study, L9 orthogonal was used to obtain optimum results. It is observed that the Pongamia oil percentage control factor has a significant influence on the weight loss, friction coefficient and wear rate of the pin. The optimum result was A2B3C1 for pin weight loss, friction coefficient and wear rate. The experimental results obtained were in good agreement with the theoretical model. The lubricants were characterized by viscosity using a viscometer. From the experimental results, it is found that wear scar diameter (WSD) is increased with the increase of load for lube oil and reduced by addition of percentage of Pongamia oil. The flash temperature parameter (FTP) also studied in this experiment and results shown that 15% addition of Pongamia oil would result in less possibility of film breakdown. The overall results of this experiment reveal that the addition of 15% Pongamia oil with base lubricant produces better performance and antiwear characteristics. This blend can be used as lubricant oil which is environmentally friendly in nature and would help to reduce petroleum-based lubricants substantially.