ON THE LUBRICATION OF FIBRE WITH FATTY ACIDS

The investigation were made of the friction of fibres lubricated with linear chain fatty acids, and the relations between the number of carbon atoms in fatty acid and the friction coefficient are discussed.1) The friction coefficient diminishes as the number of the carbon atoms increases, reaches a minimum value, and then increases slightly. The number of carbon atoms for the minimum value (i.e. transition carbon number) depends on the temperature, the higher the temperature the larger the carbon number at which the minimum value will be reached.It seems that the relation between the carbon number and the friction coefficient corresponds with the relation between the temperature and the friction coefficient. This means that the transition carbon number corresponds with the transition temperature.2) The static friction is higher than the kinetic friction, and the transition carbon number for the static friction is larger than that in the kinetic friction. It seems that the relation between the sliding speed and the transition carbon number corresponds with the relation between the sliding speed and the transition temperature.3) The transition carbon number increases as the pressure at the true area of friction contact increases.This fact corresponds with the relation between the load and the transition temperature.