The lubrication principle of air compressor oil is to reduce the friction between the surfaces in the air compressor. The so-called friction refers to the existence of a relative contact surface, called friction surface, when two relative moving surfaces have relative displacement under the action of external force. There are many kinds of friction phenomena, including external friction, internal friction, sliding friction, rolling friction, dry friction, boundary lubrication friction, fluid lubrication friction, mixed lubrication friction, etc. The surface phenomena caused by friction, such as high temperature, high pressure, noise, wear and so on. Among them, the most harmful is wear. There are adhesive wear, abrasive wear, corrosion wear, surface fatigue wear and other types of wear, which directly affect the normal operation of the air compressor or even failure.
The function of air compressor oil is to form a protective film between two friction surfaces to avoid direct contact between metal and metal, so as to buffer the friction, play a lubricating role, reduce wear and make the air compressor operate normally. The protective film can be a physical adsorption film, a chemical adsorption film or an oxide film. The thickness and strength of the film directly affect the lubrication.
The lubrication function of common air compressor oil is mainly to form an oil film between the friction surfaces for protection. The lubrication theory of air compressor oil relies on the formation of an adsorption film on the friction surface to protect it. The base oil itself only plays the role of sealing between the additive carrier and the friction surface, and the lubrication function of the oil film has dropped to a secondary position.