Editorial

Citation

Taylor, J. (2002), "Editorial", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 54 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ilt.2002.01854eaa.001

Editorial

In this Issue we have six papers covering different aspects of the tribological world. Maria Eklund of Nynäs Naphthenics in Sweden reports on her work in evaluating the oxidation inhibitor response of typical industrial lubricant base stocks. Traditionally naphthenic oils have been associated with poor anti-oxidation performance. However, this interesting piece of work shows that it is very important to match the inhibitor used to the type of base oil involved. A satisfactory performance can then be obtained but it is still important to understand how different oxidation tests can result in the wrong conclusion being drawn about a base oil and inhibitor combination. This paper will be of interest to all industrial lubricant formulators.

Steve Boyde and colleagues from Uniqema Lubricants in the UK have carried out some very practical work concerned with the use of the correct lubricant to reduce vibration and noise in rotating machinery. When faced with a noisy gearbox the usual remedy is to change to a heavier lubricant. This will not of course solve the mechanical problem but will reduce the severity of the symptom. However, the Uniqema team have applied some analytical techniques to the problem with some interesting conclusions. Their work is continuing in this real world problem area.

Michelle Rioux and Diane Ciccognani of Arch Chemicals Inc. of Connecticut, USA report on their work in optimising biocides for metal-working fluids. They concentrate on evaluating the performance of the widely used IPBC fungicide and why field results are not always as successful as laboratory tests would have predicted. A number of parameters are studied and discussed in this paper, leading to important conclusions.

Sharief Weeder and Petr Vavruch of Engen Petroleum Limited of Cape Town in South Africa describe their work on improving the anti-rust properties of EP industrial gear oils. Basically the work covers the company's introduction of a superior gear oil range that needed to meet higher rust protection requirements for some applications. Different laboratory test methods were developed to reproduce the field problem and, although this was a very time-consuming process, it did lead to achievement of the desired field performance.

These four papers were originally presented at the Technische Akademie Esslingen International Colloquium in Germany in January. This was of course a major platform for paper presentations that your Editor believes are worthy of wider circulation.

Piet Hoffman of the Sishen Iron Ore Mine in Kathu, South Africa, describes how he converted tribological theory into practice, when looking to improve the maintenance performance of mine equipment. This paper covers the current maintenance policy at the Mine and how going back to basic principles and understanding them have helped reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Finally Rainer Schramm from Spectro Analytical Instruments of Kleve in Germany reports on the advantages obtained from using polarised X-rays in EDXRF elemental analysis. Clearly this development will be of great interest to those involved with lubricant development, lubricant manufacture and of course condition monitoring.

Are you involved in project work similar to that covered in this Issue?

If so, let me know, as we may well be interested in including your work for the benefit of other researchers.

John Taylor