TY - JOUR
T1 - Tribological performance comparing different refrigerant-lubricant systems
T2 - The case of environmentally friendly HFO-1234yf refrigerant
AU - Akram, M. Wasim
AU - Polychronopoulou, Kyriaki
AU - Polycarpou, Andreas A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors wish to acknowledge the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Center, an Industry University Cooperative Research Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign consisting of more than 30 members, to support this research work. Micromechanical and mechanical analyses were performed at the Frederick Seitz Material Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which is funded by U.S. Department of Energy under Grant DEFG02-96-ER45439 . The HFO-1234yf refrigerant was provided by Honeywell International. The authors are also grateful to Dr. Chris Seeton.
PY - 2014/10
Y1 - 2014/10
N2 - We report on the tribological performance of gray cast iron with different lubricants, namely PAG (Polyalkylene glycol), POE (Polyolester), and Mineral oil, in the presence of environmentally friendly HFO-1234yf refrigerant. Two operating temperatures (24 °C and 110 °C) were used to investigate the mutual solubility of lubricant/refrigerant systems. PAG/HFO-1234yf exhibited better tribological performance compared to the other systems. The better performance was attributed to lower solubility of PAG in HFO-1234yf refrigerant, thus allowing the lubricant and refrigerant to preserve their unique properties. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy, plastic flow associated with adhesive wear was revealed for PAG/HFO-1234yf, where an anti-wear film over the surface was also identified. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy identified a fluorine enriched protective layer in the case of PAG/HFO-1234yf at 110 °C.
AB - We report on the tribological performance of gray cast iron with different lubricants, namely PAG (Polyalkylene glycol), POE (Polyolester), and Mineral oil, in the presence of environmentally friendly HFO-1234yf refrigerant. Two operating temperatures (24 °C and 110 °C) were used to investigate the mutual solubility of lubricant/refrigerant systems. PAG/HFO-1234yf exhibited better tribological performance compared to the other systems. The better performance was attributed to lower solubility of PAG in HFO-1234yf refrigerant, thus allowing the lubricant and refrigerant to preserve their unique properties. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy, plastic flow associated with adhesive wear was revealed for PAG/HFO-1234yf, where an anti-wear film over the surface was also identified. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy identified a fluorine enriched protective layer in the case of PAG/HFO-1234yf at 110 °C.
KW - Compressor
KW - Environmentally friendly refrigerant
KW - HFO-1234yf
KW - Scuffing
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84903140128
U2 - 10.1016/j.triboint.2014.05.015
DO - 10.1016/j.triboint.2014.05.015
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84903140128
SN - 0301-679X
VL - 78
SP - 176
EP - 186
JO - Tribology International
JF - Tribology International
ER -