The work will improve the stability of machine lubricants. The grant will purchase computer equipment and software to execute numerical calculations that will mathematically model various phenomena such as the changes in properties caused by degradation of polymers in lubricant fluids due to applied stresses and temperature variations during use in moving machine elements. The goals of the study are to identify the fundamental parameters that affect lubricant degradation and determine how to improve the stability of lubricant properties which are affected by lubricant chemical degradation. In a car engine, when the pistons move, the polymers in the engine oil are stretched, said Kudish, as time passes, movement and temperature changes stress the polymers and they break into smaller pieces and become less effective.
Similar processes take place in bearings and gears.
Due to small working volumes, and generally poor accessibility, the easiest and cheapest way to study such phenomena is by using mathematical modeling. Our goal is to identify those properties that cause the polymers to fail and identify ways to improve their performance. Dr. Kudish will collaborate with two experimentalist researchers, a chemist from Purdue University and a chemist from the Lubrizol Corp. Dr. Kudish s theoretical modeling component will be applied to physical test results to predict which additives, in what amounts, will improve the stability of machine lubricants.