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BP Europa SE; lubricants; - BP - Mönchengladbach - Erkelenzer Straße 20 -Germany on 03.12.2014
03.12.2019 | Research

Project Start: Distribution of Constituents in Lubricating Greases

The quality of use of lubricating greases is strongly defined, in addition to the chemical and physical properties determined by the recipe, by the grease structure that forms during the manufacturing process. The structure of the lubricant system consisting of thickener and oil should be as "homogeneous" as possible. Up to now, the distribution of the thickener has been investigated randomly using mostly microscopic methods. For a meaningful determination of the homogeneous distribution, a correspondingly large number of random samples is required.

The aim of the research project, which was launched on 01.12.2019, is to identify disruptive factors in pasty media. The aim is to establish a detection method that can detect the corresponding contaminants. It can be assumed that the test methods to be tested are sensitive to different areas and characteristics of the interfering factors. Thus, purely structural differences such as soap knots, oil-rich or oil-poor areas as well as chemical differences can be identified.

In addition to the representation of disturbances, it is also necessary to investigate the most promising methods used with regard to potential limitations.

The determination of the distribution of substances in pasty media can be used in lubricant production and can significantly reduce the time and cost of the cooling and homogenisation process. This also reduces the development costs of lubricating grease formulations and facilitates initial tests of thickener modifications.

Research Center:

OWI Oel-Waerme-Institut gGmbH
An-Institut der RWTH Aachen

The IGF project 20867 N of the Research Association DGMK is funded via the AiF within the framework of the programme for the Industrial Collective Research (IGF) by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy on the basis of a resolution of the German Bundestag.