A method for the tribological assessment of lubricants under conditions of scufing is presented. The method uses a four-ball tester, and allows one to assess the effect of lubricant on scuffing intensity through an analysis of changes in thefriction torque and wear of the stationary balls, at continuously increasing load. The behaviour of a lubricant under scufing conditions can be characterised using the so-called limiting pressure of seizure poz, which depends on the load at which the balls seize and the average value of the wear area calculatedfrom the wear-scar diameters measured on the stationa y balls.A comparison is made -from the point of view of the resolution, time consumption, and costof the new method with the existing, standard tests, using a four-ball tester and a gear test rig (FZG). It is concluded that the proposed mefhod, unlike standard FZG and certain four-ball tests, enables one to differentiate between gear oils, in agreement with their APl GL performance level. The very short run-time of the new method enables one to perform more tests and obtain a low standard deviation. The new method is much cheaper than the standard four-ball and FZG methods.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.