This study deals with metalworking fluids (MWFs). According to DIN 51385, depending on their base, the fluids are divided into oil and water fluids. The oil bases include, among others, mineral, synthetic, vegetable and paraffin oils. This division does not comprise surfactant solutions which can be successfully used in metalworking. Due to the fact that this type of fluid was not qualified, a new type of lubricant based on the aqueous solutions of surfactants has been proposed. Two new notions have been introduced: surfactant working fluids (SWFs) for working fluids and surfactant lubricants (SLs) for all kinds of lubricants as a broader term. The effect of the physicochemical properties of aqueous solutions of sodium lauroyl sarcosinate (SLS), also known as sodium N-dodecanoyl-N-methyl glycinate, on tribological properties determined using a four-ball machine (Tester T-02) (Łukasiewicz Research Network—The Institute for Sustainable Technologies, Radom, Poland) was analyzed. On the basis of aqueous SLS solutions a composition of working fluids was developed and their functional properties were verified by means of tribological and stand tests as well as during operation. The test results obtained clearly indicate that functional properties of 2% solutions of sodium lauroyl sarcosinate with a foam inhibitor (0.05%) and a biocide (0.1%) are comparable to those of a quality commercial hydraulic fluid.

From the large group of surfactants with branched chains, sulfosuccinate derivatives obtained based on 2-ethylhexyl alcohol were selected. The surfactant of reference was ethoxylated sulfosuccinate with an alkyl chain (C12-C14). Tests regarding foam-forming ability (V0) and foam stability (V10) for selected solutions of the three surfactants were performed. Foam stability of the solutions of sterically specific surfactants (P13, P14) decreased by up to a factor of ten as compared with the equivalent linear alkyl chain (P19). This was achieved with the high surface activity of the solutions of these compounds as represented by surface tension and wettability of the surface of the bearing steel. The consequence of the high surface activity of the compounds were low friction and wear in tribological tests at constant load and excellent anti-seizure properties. On the cooperating friction pairs, adsorption layers were formed, effectively separating the two materials and able to transfer the high loads [L. 3]. Summing up, there is the possibility of using solutions of sterically specific surfactants as model cutting fluids with low foaming ability.

In earlier studies, it has been postulated that solutions of surfactants should be used as an original solution for formulation of Metal Working Fluids (MWF) compositions. The negative feature of some of the fluids was their excessive foamability whose reduction, by introducing hydrophobic foam inhibitors, was limited. Therefore, a synthesis of new oxyalkylated derivatives of 2-ethylhexyl alcohol and sulfosuccinate obtained from this alcohol was planned. Due to steric hindrance, these compounds exhibit low foamability. Aqueous solutions of these surfactants were subjected to physicochemical and tribological tests.

The study aimed to confirm the hypothesis that aqueous solutions of polymers with surfactants meet the criteria of ecological lubricant bases. An oat hydrolysate was used as the macromolecular substance, and the surfactants were successively: sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate (SLES), Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate (SLS). The research was carried out for two-component solutions (water, hydrolysate) and three-component solutions (water, hydrolysate, surfactant). In order to document this thesis, tribological tests were performed with a constant and increasing load as a function of time. Stationary tests with loads of 2, 3, and 4 kN confirmed the predictions that active substances in two- and three-component solutions create a lubricating film that transfers high loads with relatively low motion and wear resistance. The stability and durability of the lubricating film were confirmed under the conditions of increasing load at a speed of 409 N/s. An approximately 12-fold increase in the seizing load for the hydrolysate solutions in relation to water was found, and the maximum load value for the T02 tester (7200 N) was achieved. The durability of the lubricating film was mainly determined by the adsorption of the hydrolysate, which was confirmed by physicochemical tests.

Tribological characteristics of shoe sole in a friction pair with the walking surface are important parameters due to the safety of shoe exploitation and time of its durability. The footwear industry methods of analysing friction coefficient are obsolete, and, on the other hand, modern tribological equipment that allows credible results requires long data processing. The authors suggest using a previously developed formula that binds tribological characteristics with energetic condition of the walking surface. By doing so, this formula evaluates the force of friction and wear of shoe – walking surface pair. It may shorten the time needed to evaluate the basic parameters of shoe exploitation in variable conditions of their utilization and, thus, contribute to the formulation of material resolutions aiming to improve the quality of shoe usage while reducing the costs of performing required examinations.