What is a friction modifier and how does it work? - Rymax Lubricants

Friction modifiers are oil soluble chemicals used as additives in lubricants for internal combustion engines and transmissions. Friction modifiers are initially used for applications like transmission fluids, power steering, limited slip gear oils, and tractor fluids. Their main purpose is to smoothen the motion in moving parts to prevent the wear on metal surfaces. They can also be called boundary lubrication additives. This is mainly due to the fact that they can prevent direct contact of the solid surfaces reducing friction and wear. This in turn helps improve the fuel economy of the engine.

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A friction modifier molecule consists of two parts; namely a polar end (head) and an oil-soluble end (tail). The head attaches itself to the metal surface to create a cushion for the metal surface against another metal surface. The tails stand up like a roll. These molecules hold up when cushioned surfaces come in light contact with each other. This forms a thick boundary film that is softer than metal surfaces.

Getting into detail with this, we come across anti-wear (AW) and extreme pressure (EP) additives. Both of the additives work by developing a durable film on the metal surface when there is a reaction. AW additives should be used when there are low loads and high speeds to reduce the rate of continuous wear. Commonly used AW additives in the lubricants are zinc dialkyldithiophosphates (ZDDP). But when the load is very heavy and is run at high temperature and lower speeds, EP additives must be used to prevent the damage of the engine. Commonly used ones are molybdenum disulfide.

As vehicle emission regulations are getting more and more challenging, restrictions are likely to be placed on engine oil additives. Although modern engine oils are heavily reliant on ZDDP to provide anti-wear, anti-oxidation and anti-corrosion, they are a likely target for the emission control as they contain phosphorous, sulphur, and zinc. 

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The impact of these elements are already studied by the emission control and they are not necessarily positive. This will most likely lead to innovations such as the reduction of ZDDP in engine oils to make sure the performance of the engine is not harmed and use of the friction modifier is still used through other alternative additives.

Friction modifiers are added to lubricants in order to reduce friction and wear in machine components. They are particularly important in the boundary lubrication regime, where they can prevent solid surfaces from coming into direct contact, substantially reducing friction and wear.

Several classes of friction modifier additives exist, the main examples being organic friction modifiers (OFMs), oil-soluble organo-molybdenum additives, functionalized polymers, and dispersed nanoparticles.[1]

• OFMs are amphiphilic surfactants, such as fatty acids, often derived from fats and vegetable oils. OFMs are important additives in modern engine oils and are also employed in fuels.[1] They adsorb on metal surfaces and self-assemble to form incompressible monolayers which prevent asperity contact and reduce friction and wear.[2]
• Organo-molybdenum compounds, were initially developed as antiwear additives but were later recognized to be very effective in reducing boundary friction.[3] They are currently used in many engine oils and, more recently, in gear oils.[1] They reduce friction by forming two-dimensional molybdenum disulphide layers on rubbing surfaces.[4]
• Functionalized polymers, which can be tailored to adsorb specifically on polar surfaces, have been shown to markedly reduce friction and wear.[5]
• Dispersed nanoparticles have been shown to reduce boundary friction,[6] but they have not yet found widespread employment in industrial applications.[1]

Reduction of frictional losses and through more efficient lubrication is a key target in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.[7] One approach has been to progressively reduce lubricant viscosity to minimize hydrodynamic shear, churning and pumping losses.[1] However, this means that an increased number of components operate under boundary lubrication conditions. This has led to a resurgence in interest in friction modifier additives, particularly OFMs. For example, recent tribology experiments[8] and molecular dynamics simulations[9] have given new insights into their behaviour under boundary lubrication conditions.

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See also

• Oil additive – Chemical compounds that improve the lubricant performance of base oil

• Lubricant – Substance introduced to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact
• Tribology – Science of rubbing surfaces