Friction and wear performance of MoDTC-containing and ester-containing lubricants over steel surfaces under reciprocating conditions

Lubricant oil can be regarded as a complex mixture of base oils and additives, each one with its specific functions and behaviour. In this paper, the interaction of a molybdenum dialkyldithiocarbamate (MoDTC)-based additive and combinations of a polyalphaolefin and a synthetic ester is investigated. A reciprocating ball-on-disc configuration was used for tribological tests. The effect of MoDTC is seen as a sharp drop in the coefficient of friction. This friction reduction is affected by the base fluid: the effect is more intense and lasts longer when the ester content is decreased. The applied normal force also affects the MoDTC effect, which is not sustainable at higher loads. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.