EXPERIMENT NO.

5
Hardness and Melting Point of Grease

I. Title: Hardness and Melting Point of Grease

II. Objectives: At the end of experiment the students should be able to measure the hardness ofgrease
and its melting point.

III Theory and Analysis

In all types of greases from fluid to solid, the lubricating properties of the grease are entirely determined by
the lubricating properties of the unsaponified oils and hydrocarbon oils contained in them. The question then is, "Why
manufacture any greases at all?'' The reason is that there are no satisfactory commercial lubricants of hydrocarbon or
fatty-oil origin which are sufficiently thick or have the characteristics required for the lubrication of all types of
transmissions; hence it has been necessary to find a means of artificially thickening available oils to the desired degree.
Various classes of grease (thickened oils) are manufactured to meet this need.

Greases are usually made from the combination of a mineral oil with a soap formed by saponifying an animal
or a vegetable oil with an alkali. The soaps are formed from any combination of horse fat, tallow, lard, stearic acid, oleic
acid, lard oil, cottonseed oil, etc. These soaps possess the remarkable property of holding in combination the
hydrocarbon oils to such an extent as to hide their presence. The soap gives the requisite body or consistency and does
not lubricate to any material extent, although in gear lubrication it may serve as a cushion if tooth pressures are not too
high.

Petroleum oil products are practically insoluble in water. They have a characteristic greasy touch and low
surface tension. The low surface tension permits the oil to spread readily and penetrate pores of dry substances. When
certain oils are boiled in solution of caustic alkalines, one class remains unaffected and the other breaks down into
fatty acid and glycerin and is then said to be saponified. Petroleum oils are unaffected by boiling caustic. Vegetable and
animal oils are readily saponified.

The quality and the characteristics of grease depend upon the characteristics of the oil used, the alkali used for
saponification, the amount of water incorporated, and the method of manufacture. It is claimed that the manner of
manufacture of any grease has a greater influence upon its quality and characteristics than does its chemical composition.
Unless grease is skillfully and scientifically mixed, and unless the proper temperatures and heating rates are used in the
mixing process, a separation of the oil and the soap constituents will result. The thickness of the grease is determined by the
quantity and viscosity of the hydrocarbon oil added to the soap.

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 Greases are classified according to the kind of soap used as the base, viz., lime-base greases, soda-base
greases, and special greases. The lime-soap-base greases (most extensively used as cup greases) are emulsions of
mineral oil and water, stabilized by the soap base. The presence of an excess amount of water in lime-base grease will
cause a dull or cloudy appearance. If the water content is not sufficient, the grease will show a granular composit io n.
Lime-base grease should be bright and water resistant and should have a buttery consistency. The stability of the
emulsions should be such as to permit of no oil separation from the grease while in storage. Most cup greases use oils of 200
to 500 SSU viscosities at 100°F; but special greases may be made with oils of 700 to 2,000 SSU viscosities at 100°F. Certain
types of calcium greases are now procurable, in the manufacture of which high-boiling-point materials are used instead
of water. This permits the use of higher temperatures in service.

Soda-base greases are as a rule formed from an intimate mixture of soap and oil, free from any water content.
They are not, therefore, emulsions. Since caustic-soda-soap greases are partly soluble in water, these greases should
not be used where water contact is present. These greases will in most cases show an acid reaction, but no corrosion will
result except when water is present, as the acid is quite inactive.

Aside from the standard line of straight-run greases with the lime- and soda-soap bases, special greases for
abnormal service conditions are manufactured. Some of these are lime- or soda- soap greases loaded with such materials
as talc, soapstone, mica, graphite, and asbestos. These loading materials are soft and nonabrasive, but they function
only to a limited degree as lubricants themselves. They do assist lubrication by filling in the uneven or porous structure
of the bearing surface, making it smooth and thus aiding in the formation and maintenance of the necessary lubricat ing
film. These greases serve effectively where extremely high-pressure and -temperature conditions prevail.

The adaptability of a grease as a lubricant for a given service is based upon the governing characteristics of
hardness and melting point.

The quality of grease is determined from the properties of: (1) consistency or hardness, (2) melting point, (3)
solubility in water, (4) texture, (5) acidity, (6) quality of mineral oil.

No satisfactory standard has been devised for a number of these tests.

Definitions:

Consistency, —of lubricating grease, the degree of resistance to movement under stress. The term
consistency is used somewhat synonymously with penetration. Generally, consistency refers to the worked penetration
of a grease.
Lubricant, —any material interposed between two surfaces that reduces the friction or wear between them.

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 Lubricating grease, —a semi-fluid to solid product of a dispersion of a thickener in a liquid lubricant. The
dispersion of the thickener forms a two-phase system and immobilizes the liquid lubricant by surface tension and other
physical forces. Other ingredients imparting special properties are often included.
Penetrometer, —an instrument that measures the consistency or hardness of semiliquid to semisolid
materials by measuring the depth to which a specified cone or needle under a given force falls into the material
Thickener, —in lubricating grease, a substance composed of finely divided particles dispersed in a liquid
lubricant to form the product’s structure. The thickener can be fibers (such as various metallic soaps) or plates or spheres
(such as certain non-soap thickeners) which are insoluble or, at the most, only very slightly soluble in the liquid lubricant.
The general requirements are that thesolid particles be extremely small, uniformly dispersed, and capable of forming a
relatively stable, gel- like structure with the liquid lubricant.

IV. Apparatus/ Equipment:

Penetrometer, the instrument shall be capable of indicating depth in tenths of a millimetre. A sketch of a generic
penetrometer is shown in Fig. 1.

Standard Cone, for measuring penetrations up to 475, consisting of a conical body of magnesium or other suitable
material with detachable, hardened steel tip, shall be constructed to conform to the tolerances in accordance with Fig. A1.1.
The total mass of the cone shall be 102.5 ± 0.05 g and that of its movable attachments shall be 47.5 ± 0.05 g; the
attachments shall consist of a rigid shaft having a

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mechanical stop at its upper end and suitable means, at the lower end, for engaging the cone. The interior construction of
the cone can be modified to achieve the specified weight, provided that the general contour and weight distribution are
not altered. The outer surface of the cone is to be polished to a smooth finish. A surface finish in the range from 0.10 to
1.12 µm (4 to 44 µin.) root mean square (RMS) has been found to have no measurable effect on penetration results.

Optional Cone, for measuring penetrations up to 400, consisting of a conical body of brass or corrosion-resist a nt
steel with detachable, hardened steel tip, shall be constructed to conform to the tolerances shown in Fig. A1.2. The
total mass of the cone shall be 102.5 ± 0.05 g and that of its movable attachments shall be 47.5±0.05 g; the attachm e nt s
shall consist of a rigid shaft having a mechanical stop at its upper end and suitable means, at the lower end, for engaging
the cone. The
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interior construction of the cone can be modified to achieve the specified weight, provided that the general contour
and weight distribution are not altered. The outer surface of the cone is to be polished to a smooth finish. A surface finish
in the range from 0.18 to 1.50 µm (7 to 59 µin.) RMS has been found to have no measurable effect on penetrat io n
results.

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 V Procedure:

The ASTM has designed a special cone-shaped plunger apparatus as a means for measuring the hardness of grease.
The depth of penetration of the cone, as indicated by a pointer read in millimeters, gives the hardness factor. The cone is
built to the dimensions indicated, with a hardened stainless-steel tip and a brass body.

Total moving weight in the test shall be 150 g. If the plunger weighs 47.5 g, the cone or the cone plus an
attached weight must weigh 102.5 g. It is in general desirable to make the cone as light as possible so that it will have a
wide range of usefulness and to add a weight to give the desired totalfor the grease tested. If the conditions of the tests
are not specified, the penetration of a grease shall be understood to refer to the results of this test made at 77°F.

The cone is inserted in a standard penetrometer (ASTM). The cone is lowered until the tip just touches the grease
surface. Watching the shadow of the tip aids m accurately setting the cone. The scale is then set to zero, and the plung er
released suddenly and kept released for 5 sec. The penetration is read from the scale in tenths of a millimeter. The
average of five tests on each sample shall be reported as the consistency if the mean deviation does not exceed 3 per cent;
otherwise the average of 10 determinations shall be reported as the consistency.

Drop Test. To determine the melting point by drop test, a small amount of grease is smeared on the bulb of a
thermometer, which is then suspended in an empty test tube. The tube is immersed in a light oil bath, which is heated
gradually at a rate of 5°F per min. The temperature reading corresponding to the point at which the grease melts and
drops off the bulb is recorded as the melting point of the grease.

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VI Data and Result

Name:_____________ ________________ Group:____ ________________ _______

Date Perform ed: _________ _______________ _ Schedule:_ ________________ ________

Hardness Melting Point

0C
Trial Trial

1 1

2 2

3 3

4 4

5 5

6 6

7
8
9
10

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 VII. Research Questions

Grease function and specification.

1. What is the difference between grease and oil in terms of function and application?

2. Define and discuss the grease specification in terms of:

a) Base oil
b) Thickeners, and
c) Additives

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