Perspective for the use of industrial waste in lubricating compositions to reduce wear in friction pairs

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the mechanisms of lubricating action used to reduce the wear of rails and wheels. A review of lubricant compositions that increase the service life of the wheel-rail pair showed that graphite is the main filler used to create rail lubricants. Since the production of synthetic graphite requires high energy costs, this material is relatively expensive. Replacing graphite with cheaper analogs will help reduce the cost of operating rails without losing lubricating properties in friction pairs. Today, there are many lubricant compositions. Many of them require experimental research since they are based only on theoretical knowledge in the field of tribology. In addition, the adhesion properties of a wheel to a rail depend not only on the action of the lubricant but also on weather and climatic conditions. When choosing a rational lubricant, it is worth focusing on a set of factors, and not only on the properties of an individual filler. The data obtained in theoretical analysis cannot always be verified experimentally. The reasons may be economic inexpediency, the complexity of experimental research, or lack of time. The analysis carried out in the course of this work showed that the study of the effect of lubricant components could be optimized using mathematical and digital modeling. The application of these methods will help to select a rational area for research, simulate the behavior of lubricants containing production wastes, and make the mathematical forecast of the operation of friction pairs more accurate.