Tribological behaviour of an elastomer aged in different oils

This paper presents the influence of aging the nitrile rubber, the most popular seal material, in various base fluids on sliding friction and abrasive wear. The lubricants used are synthetic esters, natural esters, different types of mineral base oils, poly-α-olefins and very high viscosity index oils. Friction has been studied for two directions of motion with respect to lay on the elastomer sample by using the SRV Optimol test machine. These findings show that as compared to all other lubricant formulations, ageing the elastomer in polyol ester leads to the maximum reduction of friction coefficient especially in perpendicular sliding to the initial lay on the surface. The abrasive wear studies were carried out by using a two-body abrasive wear tester against dry and lubricated elastomer. It was interesting to note that two-body abrasive wear of elastomeric material was higher during rubbing in presence of the fluids as compared to that in dry condition. Further, aging the elastomer in these base fluids especially in ester base fluids, results in more abrasive wear.