Influence of IC engine tribology on friction reduction and ecology

Abstract

Influences of up-to-date design trends and ecology requirements on working conditions of actual lubricants in internal combustion engines were considered in the paper. Designs with reduced dimensions and designs with high thermal and mechanical efficiency are favourised in IC engine development. The increase of diesel engine break power for commercial trucks is continuing. At the same time, requirements for further increase of reliability and lifetime are established. Additionally, demands for further emission reduction require low oil consumption (0,5 g/kWh and lower), even for charging diesel engines. All this implies that very high thermal loads can be expected. The trend of the lubricant use decrease appeared in developed countries in the early 1990s. This is not surprising, because the ecotoxicological impact of lubricants became a big problem. Thus, an intensive research for new principles of lubrication, based on new lubricants and new friction materials, is in progress.