Vehicular gear system friction reduction
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsHiroko Ohtani, Kevin Richard John Ellwood, David Karl Bidner, Arup Kumar Gangopadhyay, Mathew John Fast, Phillip Bonkoski
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An automotive axle includes a housing including gears and a bath lubricating the gears, the bath including gear oil and about 0.1 to 5 wt. % secondary alcohol ethoxylate based on total weight of the bath such that during automotive operation at temperatures less than a threshold, reverse micelles form to trap air bubbles in the bath, emulsifying the bath, and at temperatures greater than the threshold, the reverse micelles dissipate.
Claims19
An automotive axle comprising:
- a housing including gears and a bath lubricating the gears, the bath including gear oil and 0.1 to 5 weight %, based on total weight of the bath, of one or more ethoxylate surfactants including an propylene ethoxylate surfactant such that during automotive operation
- at temperatures less than a threshold, reverse micelles form to trap air bubbles in the bath, emulsifying the bath, and
- at temperatures greater than the threshold, the reverse micelles dissipate.
A vehicular gear system comprising:
- a housing including a plurality of gears being lubricated by a wet bath, the wet bath including gear oil and an emulsifier solution including a surfactant selected from the group consisting of cocamide, polyvinyl alcohol having 5 to 50% vinyl acetate units, alkylaryl polyglycol ethers, adducts of alkylamines having alkyl radicals of 8 to 22 carbon atoms with ethylene oxide or propylene oxide, fatty acids having 6 to 24 carbon atoms, alkylpolyglycosides, lecithin, lanolin, saponins, cellulose alkyl ethers, carboxyalkylcelluloses, and secondary propylene ethoxylate such that during vehicular operation
- at temperatures less than a threshold, the wet bath forms an emulsion with gas bubbles and has a reduced first kinematic viscosity compared to a second kinematic viscosity of an otherwise same wet bath devoid of the emulsifier, and
- at temperatures greater than the threshold, the wet bath has a third kinematic viscosity within 10% of a fourth kinematic viscosity of an identical wet bath without the emulsifier.
An automotive non-pressurized system comprising:
- a wet bath lubricating a plurality of driveline devices and including a base oil having a viscosity index of 120 or more and 0.1 to 5 weight % non-ionic surfactant including a secondary propylene ethoxylate surfactant, based on total weight of the wet bath, such that during automotive operation
- at temperatures less than a threshold, a monolayer of reverse micelles forms at an air-oil interface of the wet bath to stabilize ambient air bubbles in the wet bath, resulting in a reduced first kinematic viscosity compared to a second kinematic viscosity of an otherwise same wet bath devoid of the non-ionic surfactant, and
- at temperatures greater than the threshold, the reverse micelles destabilize and the wet bath releases the air bubbles, resulting in a third kinematic viscosity within 10% of a fourth kinematic viscosity of an identical wet bath without the non-ionic surfactant.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.