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Lubricants
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Friction and Wear Mechanism Under Extreme Environments
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Friction and Wear Mechanism Under Extreme Environments

A special issue of Lubricants (ISSN 2075-4442).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 December 2025) | Viewed by 6038

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Pengpeng Bai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Tribology in Advanced Equipment, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Interests: high-temperature lubrication technology; lubricating mechanism

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the rapid development of the aviation, aerospace, and cutting-edge equipment manufacturing industries, there are increasingly stringent performance requirements for mechanical equipment and their components. The service conditions for moving parts have become progressively more demanding, with extreme environments involving high temperatures, high speeds, and heavy loads that are more likely to result in lubrication failure at mechanical interfaces. Such failures can lead to abnormal wear and, in severe cases, equipment breakdown. Ensuring effective lubrication of moving interfaces in high-temperature environments is crucial for maintaining the safe operation of components and enhancing the reliability and longevity of equipment systems. Despite technological breakthroughs in high-temperature lubrication technologies and high-temperature-resistant alloys, research on lubrication material systems under extreme working conditions remains insufficient. There is a critical need for further investigation into the mechanisms of friction and wear at high temperatures and in extreme environments.

We are honored to collaborate with the editorial team of Lubricants to launch a Special Issue entitled “Friction and Wear Mechanism Under Extreme Environments”, which aims to advance our understanding of tribology under extreme working conditions. This Special Issue will focus on tribological research related to aerospace, industrial applications, vehicles, and other fields where components are exposed to special working conditions, particularly high temperatures. Topics will include the friction and wear behavior of bearings, gears, and other components under extreme conditions, such as high temperature and high pressure, as well as the latest developments in tribology for these challenging environments. We welcome all research related to tribology under special conditions and other relevant work for inclusion in this Special Issue.

Dr. Pengpeng Bai
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Lubricants is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • lubrication
  • high temperature
  • friction mechanism
  • tribology

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 13479 KB  
Article
Friction and Wear of Extrusion Dies Under Extreme Transient High-Temperature Conditions in the Extrusion of a Novel Nickel-Based High-Temperature Powder Alloy
by Baizhi Sun, Jinhui Wang, Yanzhuo Liu, Kongyan Zhang, Yuhua Zhang, Zifeng Liu, Falin Zhang, Guangyun Duan, Hongqiang Du, Yongsheng Wei, Yingnan Shi and Xinmei Hou
Lubricants 2026, 14(2), 55; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants14020055 - 27 Jan 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 879
Abstract
During the extrusion of novel nickel-based powder superalloy bars, the die is subjected to elevated temperatures, high pressures, and severe friction, which readily lead to abrasive wear and thermal-fatigue damage. These failures deteriorate the quality of the extruded products and significantly shorten the [...] Read more.
During the extrusion of novel nickel-based powder superalloy bars, the die is subjected to elevated temperatures, high pressures, and severe friction, which readily lead to abrasive wear and thermal-fatigue damage. These failures deteriorate the quality of the extruded products and significantly shorten the service life of the die. Frequent repair and replacement of the tooling ultimately increase the overall manufacturing cost. This study investigates the friction and wear behavior of H13 and 5CrNiMo hot-work tool steels under extreme transient high-temperature conditions by combining finite element simulation with tribological testing. The temperature and stress distributions of the billet and key tooling components during extrusion were analyzed using DEFORM-3D. In addition, pin-on-disk friction and wear tests were conducted at 1000 °C to examine the friction coefficient, wear morphology, and subsurface grain structural evolution under various loading conditions. The results show that the extrusion die and die holder experience the highest loads and most severe wear during the extrusion process. For 5CrNiMo tool steel, the wear mechanism under low loads is dominated by mild abrasive wear and oxidative wear, whereas increasing the load causes a transition toward adhesive wear and severe oxidative wear. In contrast, H13 tool steel exhibits a transition from abrasive wear to severe oxidative wear. In 5CrNiMo steel, friction-induced recrystallization, grain refinement, and softening lead to the formation of a mechanically mixed layer, which, together with a stable third-body layer, markedly reduces and stabilizes the friction coefficient. H13 steel, however, undergoes surface strain localization and spalling, resulting in persistent fluctuations in the friction coefficient. The toughness and adhesion of the oxide film govern the differences in wear mechanisms between the two steels. Owing to its higher Cr, V, and Mo contents, H13 forms a dense but highly brittle oxide scale dominated by Cr and Fe oxides at 1000 °C. This oxide layer readily cracks and delaminates under frictional shear and thermal cycling. The repeated spalling exposes the fresh surface to further oxidation, accompanied by recurrent adhesion–delamination cycles. Consequently, the subsurface undergoes alternating intense shear and transient load variations, leading to localized dislocation accumulation and cracking, which suppresses the progression of continuous recrystallization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction and Wear Mechanism Under Extreme Environments)
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23 pages, 8724 KB  
Article
Comparative Analysis of Emulsion, Cutting Oil, and Synthetic Oil-Free Fluids on Machining Temperatures and Performance in Side Milling of Ti-6Al-4V
by Hui Liu, Markus Meurer and Thomas Bergs
Lubricants 2025, 13(9), 396; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants13090396 - 6 Sep 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1806
Abstract
During machining, most of the mechanical energy is converted into heat. A substantial part of this heat is transferred to the cutting tool, causing a rapid rise in tool temperature. Excessive thermal loads accelerate tool wear and lead to displacement of the tool [...] Read more.
During machining, most of the mechanical energy is converted into heat. A substantial part of this heat is transferred to the cutting tool, causing a rapid rise in tool temperature. Excessive thermal loads accelerate tool wear and lead to displacement of the tool center point, reducing machining accuracy and workpiece quality. This challenge is particularly pronounced when machining titanium alloys. Due to their low thermal conductivity, titanium alloys impose significantly higher thermal loads on the cutting tool compared to conventional carbon steels, making the process more difficult. To reduce temperatures in the cutting zone, cutting fluids are widely employed in titanium machining. They have been shown to significantly extend tool life. Cutting fluids are broadly categorized into cutting oils and water-based cutting fluids. Owing to their distinct thermophysical properties, these fluids exhibit notably different cooling and lubrication performance. However, current research lacks comprehensive cross-comparative studies of different cutting fluid types, which hinders the selection of optimal cutting fluids for process optimization. This study examines the influence of three cutting fluids—emulsion, cutting oil, and synthetic oil-free fluid—on tool wear, temperature, surface quality, and energy consumption during flood-cooled end milling of Ti-6Al-4V. A novel experimental setup incorporating embedded thermocouples enabled real-time temperature measurement near the cutting edge. Tool wear, torque, and surface roughness were recorded over defined feed lengths. Among the tested fluids, emulsion achieved the best balance of cooling and lubrication, resulting in the longest tool life with a feed travel path of 12.21 m. This corresponds to an increase of approximately 200% compared to cutting oil and oil-free fluid. Cutting oil offered superior lubrication but limited cooling capacity, resulting in localized thermal damage and edge chipping. Water-based cutting fluids reduced tool temperatures by over 300 °C compared to dry cutting but, in some cases, increased notch wear due to higher mechanical stress at the entry point. Power consumption analysis revealed that the cutting fluid supply system accounted for 60–70% of total energy use, particularly with high-viscosity fluids like cutting oil. Complementary thermal and CFD simulations were used to quantify heat partitioning and convective cooling efficiency. The results showed that water-based fluids achieved heat transfer coefficients up to 175 kW/m2·K, more than ten times higher than those of cutting oil. These findings emphasize the importance of selecting suitable cutting fluids and optimizing their supply to enhance tool performance and energy efficiency in Ti-6Al-4V machining. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction and Wear Mechanism Under Extreme Environments)
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14 pages, 4258 KB  
Article
Synergistic Tribological Performance of Phosphorus- and Sulfur-Based Extreme Pressure and Anti-Wear Additives
by Jingyu Wang, Jinhua Zheng, Jun Wang, Xiao Yao, Xing Xiong and Haipeng Huang
Lubricants 2025, 13(2), 55; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants13020055 - 28 Jan 2025
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2388
Abstract
Higher demands on extreme pressure lubrication performance are posed by stringent working conditions. In this study, the synergistic tribological properties of phosphate ammonium salt in combination with active sulfurized olefin (S1) and non-active sulfurized fatty acids (S2) were investigated to meet the needs [...] Read more.
Higher demands on extreme pressure lubrication performance are posed by stringent working conditions. In this study, the synergistic tribological properties of phosphate ammonium salt in combination with active sulfurized olefin (S1) and non-active sulfurized fatty acids (S2) were investigated to meet the needs under stringent working conditions. The anti-wear mechanisms were further explored using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with EDS, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), and focused ion beam microscopy. The experimental results indicate that P-S2 demonstrates superior friction reduction and wear resistance under low loads, potentially attributable to its higher polarity, whereas P-S1 exhibits better wear resistance under high loads. P-S1 also shows superior extreme pressure performance attributed to its higher active sulfur content and stronger film-forming ability, evidenced by a thicker friction film (82.62 nm vs. 24.28 nm for P-S2). The study highlights that the variations in the synergistic tribological performance of phosphorus- and sulfur-based additives may link to differences in molecular structure, active sulfur content, polarity, and corrosiveness, with P-S1 demonstrating enhanced extreme pressure performance possibly through the formation of a multi-layered friction film of polyphosphate, sulfide, oligophosphate, and sulfate layers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction and Wear Mechanism Under Extreme Environments)
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