Shell Lubricants Believes Lubricants be considered a design component.

Shell Lubricants Believes that Lubricants should be considered as a design component — Lubricant should be considered as a design component” – Shell Lubricants Innovation Technology manager, Bob Mainwaring photo: just-auto.com

Lubricants has being identified as a major component that should be part of the initial designs of machineries the reasons are attributable to the benefits, lubricants should be selected and specified in conjunction with other design materials. In practice, however, lubricants are often added at the end of the design cycle. The result can be unexpected material incompatibility and premature failure.

Unfortunately guesswork can only lead to wrongly specifying components or costly redesigns according to (sustainability in design engineering by Anthony Johnson, Andy Gibson).

Taking time upfront to specify a lubricant and ensure its compatibility with other materials pays off in the long run. Lubricant and material suppliers can offer compatibility guidance, but only component testing can provide real assurance. Why? A single category of elastomer, Nitrile, for example, can have as many as 100 possible formulations, each with different compatibility issues. So it is virtually impossible to make accurate, all-inclusive compatibility recommendations without actually testing a lubricant on a material.

When testing compatibility, materials should be exposed to lubricants under various temperatures, speeds and loads. For the most accurate evaluation of lubricant/material compatibility, test at the expected operating extremes. For further assurance, test materials of nearby components in case of oil migration or outgassing and condensation.

When the lubricant is set as a design priority, the need for re-lubrication can be limited or even eliminated. Wear can be greatly reduced, extending a product’s lifetime, and material incompatibility can be avoided — all of which increase quality and end-user satisfaction.

Shell Lubricants recognises this shortcoming and advices.

Shell Lubricants’s Simon Warburton says its lubricants should be viewed in the same light as the most essential component with its input aiding the drive for ever-greater fuel efficiency. The energy supplier made the comments at the Shell Technology Centre in Hamburg, where it showcased its Project M collaboration with The Gordon Murray Design Group and engine specialist, Geo Technology to improve fuel burn and powertrain efficiency.

“Lubricant should be considered as a design component, co-engineer hardware and fluids for optimal efficiency,” said Shell Lubricants Innovation Technology manager, Bob Mainwaring in Hamburg. “Treating lubricants in isolation would be wrong. Bringing everything together gives you the best chance to get to the fuel economy goals. One fifth of total fuel your are burning is to overcome friction.

Affordable is key – you want it to be low priced – not only to the Western world but to emerging economies as well. Our [view] in Shell is internal combustion engines will still form a significant part of transport to 2050 and beyond.”

Shell is providing the fluids for the car specifically ‘designing’ the motor oil to enhance overall efficiency.

The energy producer notes it would be a normal assumption that oil, greases and fuels are added at the end of a concept-car build project such as the T25S, but Project M Shell aims to show what can be achieved when its products are integrated into the design, right from the start.

The three parties last collaborated in 1988 on Formula 1 drivers, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost’s Honda-powered, Shell-fuelled race cars, which won all but one Grands Prix that season, a record which still stands

Epoxy Oilserv Limited is Shell Lubricants distributor in Nigeria.

Shell Lubricants Believes Lubricants be considered a design component.

Shell Lubricants Believes Lubricants be considered a design component.

Shell Lubricants recognises this shortcoming and advices.

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