Tribological Performances of Two White Lubricants in Hot Steel Forging

Abstract:

The tasks of a lubricant used in the hot forging of steel is to reduce friction, cool down tool surfaces, and limit tool surfaces pollution by wear debris and oxides scales transferred from work piece surfaces. The most widely used lubricants in hot forging are dispersions of graphite particles in water or in oil. The graphite is involved to reduce friction. The liquid is used, first, to carry the graphite solid particles to the tool surfaces and, second, to reduce tool surface temperature. But graphite and vapours resulting from the lubricant deposition on hot surfaces lead to dirty workspaces. Some new lubricants are then developed in order to reduce friction in a cleaner way. When they are graphite free, those new lubricants are called “white lubricants”. The aim of the present work is to test two different white lubricants. The first one is a mineral salt; the second one is an organic salt. Lubricant performances are classified using the Warm and Hot Upsetting Sliding Test (WHUST). This friction bench simulates tests with contact pressure, sliding velocity, contactor and specimen temperatures similar to industrial ones. Before performing friction tests, work piece are heated up to 1200°C, contactors are heated up to 200°C, and lubricants are sprayed on contactor surfaces. Then the contactor slides against the specimen with a constant penetration, leaving a residual deformed track on its surface. Direct WHUST results are tangential and normal loads measured on contactor, surface roughness and chemical compositions on specimen and contactor surfaces. “Wear markers” are derived from those direct results, and provide useful information on the ability of the tested lubricants to reduce friction and protect tool surfaces. In the present study, tests are performed with different sliding speed and different contact pressure. The two white lubricants are compared to a generic graphite in water dispersion. Results show the tested white lubricants lead to coefficient of friction in the same range of the graphite lubricant one, but white lubricants lose their ability to reduce friction as soon as the sliding lengths becomes greater to 10 mm, where graphite lubricants can undergo sliding length greater than 30 mm.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volumes 504-506)
• Pages: 561-566
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.504-506.561
• Online since: February 2012
• Authors: André Dubois, Mirentxu Dubar, Laurent Dubar, Brahim Tlili
• Keywords: Friction Test, Hot Forging, Steel, White Lubricants

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