Viscosity Characterization of Ester Blends in API Group III Base Oil

Example 2

All esters including the CO were blended at 1% by weight into a commercially available isoparaffinic API Group III base oil (NEXBASE 3043) and found to be readily soluble. The base oil technical data from the manufacturer has been provided in Table 2. Dynamic viscosity was characterized from 20-50° C. using an AR 2000 rheometer (TA Instruments) outfitted in a parallel plate (25 mm diameter) configuration at a constant shear rate of 120 s⁻¹ and gap distance of 500 μm. Three replicates for each treatment were performed. Kinematic viscosity was then calculated from known densities, and results demonstrated similar values between all ester blends as seen in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 illustrates kinematic viscosity of various ester blends (1% by weight) as a function of temperature. It was thus determined that each lubricant's viscosity would not factor into their respective friction or wear performance. Rather, differences in tribological behavior would be solely dependent on chemical composition.