Authors: J. Barriga, A. Aranzabe, P. Galda, M. Kruse, S. Jumaine, M. Andret

There is a great consumption of grease in an excavator. This large amount of lubricant is poured directly to the environment in specially sensitive areas. A grease based in sunflower oil and polymer thickener has been developed. An extensive tribological characterisation has been carried out in order to ensure a good compromise between EP and AW properties so that the grease could be used in two different applications: in the reduction gear (crown) and in the articulations (bushing/pin). The performance of the grease has been compared with two reference mineral lubricants.

J. Barriga1, A. Aranzabe1, P. Galda2, M. Kruse3, S. Jumaine4, M. Andret5
1Tribology Unit, FUNDACION TEKNIKER, Spain; 2Rhein Chemie, Germany,
3Axel Christiernsson AB, Sweden, 4HEF, France, 5Liebherr, France.