# Tribological Performance of Bronze Engineering Materials with Environmentally Friendly Lubricants Under Starved Lubrication Conditions

## TL;DR

This study shows that eco-friendly lubricants like glycerol–water-based oil can reduce wear and stabilize friction in bronze materials as effectively as traditional oils.

## Contribution

The study introduces glycerol–water-based oil as a sustainable alternative with superior tribological performance under starved conditions.

## Key findings

- Glycerol–water-based oil reduced wear of bronze samples by several times compared to semi-synthetic and rapeseed oil-based oils.
- Glycerol–water-based oil provided a stable friction coefficient of 0.05–0.06, unlike rapeseed oil which showed fluctuations.
- The results support the use of glycerol–water-based oil in industrial applications for sustainable lubrication.

## Abstract

This article demonstrated that environmentally friendly lubricants—glycerol–water-based oil (GWB) and rapeseed oil-based oil (RSB)—would provide comparable conditions (wear of node components, friction resistance) in a friction node as a commercial semi-synthetic gear oil (REF). Wear tests were performed on a block-on-ring model friction node stand using GBZ12 (CuSn12), BA1032 (CuAl10Fe3Mn2), and BA1054 (CuAl10Ni5Fe4) bronze samples. Glycerol–water-based oil (GWB) significantly reduced the wear of the samples by several times, compared to semi-synthetic oil (REF) and rapeseed oil-based oil (RSB). The (GWB) oil also provided a stable friction coefficient value at the lowest level of 0.05–0.06. The main disadvantage of the (RSB) oil was the temporary fluctuation of the friction coefficient value (increase above 0.1), which indicated the lack of stability of the boundary layer. The results highlight the potential of (GWB) oil in reducing wear and stabilizing friction under extreme conditions, supporting the shift toward sustainable lubricants in industrial applications.