Boundary Lubrication with Tricresylphosphate (TCP). Importance of Corrosive Wear

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Abstract
The wear of 52100 steel in boundary lubrication condition is controlled by the formation of nonhomogeneous, thin films. When tricresylphosphate is used as an antiwear additive, the buildup of the film is due to a chemical reaction process involving the bearing surface and the lubrication on or near the bearing surface. A plane-on-plane-type tribometer using a 52100 steel specimen was used to determine the rate of wear and to follow the development of films by the use of the electrical contact resistance method. The results are correlated with the chemical analysis of the additive (polarographic method), with surface analysis of the film (AES and XPS spectroscopies) and finally with the surface topography (surface replicas and electron transmission spectroscopy). During the mild wear test, several phases of wear are evidenced and the observed relation with TCP decomposition suggests a corrosive wear model proposed in the discussion. Explanations of observed phenomena are offered. (ECR increase, wear reduction, film formation).