Current and Future Trends in Grease Lubrication

Abstract

The traditional greases are composed of mineral or synthetic oil, thickening agent, additives and fillers. Thickeners having fibrous matrix are generally made of fatty acid soaps (calcium, lithium, aluminum, sodium) and non-soaps (clay, PTFE, polyurea, silica). The tribological performance of the grease is depends upon the viscosity of the base oil, type and its concentration of thickening agent. A variety of additives and fillers were added to the grease to obtain the desired properties of the grease. Lubricating greases are widely used in numerous automotive applications such as gears, cams, ball and roller bearings. A significant amount of power is lost due to the friction (i.e. friction in brakes, engine, tires, and transmission) in the automotive components. By reducing the frictional losses, the significant amount of power can be saved and this will improve the efficiency of the parts. The lubrication by the grease help in separation of the contacting surfaces to achieve low friction, wear, and long life. In the last decades, the researchers have contributed for enhancing the tribological performance of the grease with different fillers. In recent time the nano-additives is gaining importance for improving the tribological performance of the mating surface. Further, due to environmental concern, bio-based greases are explored in the formulation of the lubricating grease. This chapter enumerates the recent developments in the formulation of grease and their important aspect for improvising the tribological performance of automotive components. © 2019, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.