Engine Lubrication by UV Radiation

Jan. 21, 2011 - PRLog -- Background

In automobile engines, the anti-wear additive zinc dialkyldithio-phosphate (ZDDP) is incorporated into lubricants to form surface films that protect piston-cylinder surfaces from  rubbing. Although in use for over 70 years, the mechanism by which the ZDDP films form is unknown. Experiments show ZDDP films rapidly form submicron (~ 100 nm) thick irregular shaped pads of long polyphosphate chains separated from each other by regions of shorter chains. Currently, the ZDDP pads are thought to form at high temperature by thermochemical reaction with cross-linking induced by changes in zinc bonding at extreme pressure exceeding 150,000 bars. http://www.apmaths.uwo.ca/~mmuser/Papers/TL05.pdf

ZDDP Films by Photochemical Reactions

Photochemical reactions differ by allowing the ZDDP pads to form by cross-linking of polyphosphate chains at relatively low temperature and pressure, but require a source of electromagnetic (EM) radiation.  Certainly, there are no lasers in the buried interface between pistons and cylinders. Even if so, the lasers would require EM radiation beyond the ultraviolet (UV) necessary to induce the polymerization. For UV curing, see http://www.sqpuv.com/uvcuringtheory.php

The proposed UV radiation source in the buried interface is a consequence of QM where the pads are induced by QED to produce EM radiation at UV levels or beyond. QM stands for quantum mechanics and QED for quantum electrodynamics. QM requires the submicron pads have vanishing specific heat, and therefore frictional heat absorbed in rubbing cannot be conserved by an increase in temperature. Instead, conservation proceeds by creating QED photons at levels beyond the UV inside the ZDDP pads that in combination with the zinc catalyst allow pad formation by the photochemical cross-linking of polyphosphate chains. For a background on QED induced radiation, see
http://www.nanoqed.org at 2009- 2011.

Tribology Tester with UV Source

To date, the literature is absent data for UV induced cross-linking of ZDDP polyphosphate chains by photochemical reaction. Therefore, a Tribology Tester with a UV source is under development to demonstrate that ZDDP films may form by cross-linking, even at ambient pressure and temperature. In this way, the Tribology Tester supports the argument that UV radiation induced by QED in the submicron thick ZDDP pads is the mechanism by which low level UV is produced in the buried interface between pistons and cylinders. Alternatively, UV induced polymerization obviates the need for exotic cross-linking by changes in zinc bonding under extreme pressures. Ibid, at “Tribology Tester with UV Source”, 2011.

Conclusions

1. The polymerization of ZDDP in lubricants need not rely on exotic cross-linking by extreme pressures beyond 150,000 bar. UV induced polymerization is a far more efficient mechanism to induce cross-linking of polymer chains.

2. A Tribology Tester with a UV Source is under development to demonstrate that photochemical reactions may form the ZDDP pads, even at ambient temperature and pressure.

3. Absent UV lasers, the source of UV radiation in the buried interface between pistons and cylinders finds basis in the QM requirement that the specific heat of the submicron ZDDP pads to vanishes, and therefore friction heat from rubbing cannot be conserved by an increase in temperature. Conservation proceeds by QED inducing the creation of UV photons inside the ZDDP pads that in combination with zinc catalyst is the mechanism by which the ZDDP pads form by photochemical reaction.

4. Tribology Tester results in support of engine lubrication by UV radiation induced ZDDP polymerization are forthcoming.

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About QED Indcued EM Radiation: Classically, absorbed EM energy is conserved by an increase in temperature. But at the nanoscale, temperature increases are forbidden by quantum mechanics. QED radiation explains how absorbed EM energy is conserved at the nanoscale by the emission of nonthermal EM radiation