Effect of the Bio-Lubricant on the Lubricatingproperties and Surface of the Friction Zone

Tests carried out on a rotational rheometer with a tribological cell enabled the simultaneous designation oflubricating and viscosity characteristics depending on temperature and load as a function of variable slidingspeed. The analysis of the dependence of the coefficient of friction on the sliding speed provided the basis forevaluating the effectiveness of lubrication of steel tribosystems with bio-lubricants. Spectroscopic methodswere used to monitor changes in the microstructure of the bio-lubricants after tests. The scanning electronmicroscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were used to characterise the morphologyand structure of the surfaces of the tribosystem elements. The instrumental methods used confirmed that thetest conditions did not destabilise the chemical structure of the lubricant and did not accelerate the oxidationprocess of the vegetable grease.