This page is a review of the physical and chemical properties of mineral oils that affect lubrication. A few properties may have both physical and chemical effects. Recognition of these properties is useful for designing lubrication systems, choosing lubricating oils, diagnosing lubrication, friction and wear problems, and selecting appropriate testing methods. The material is limited to industrial lubricating and hydraulic mineral oils and is written for people entering the field of Tribology. We would like to thank the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) for publishing this article.
In each section the authors have: defined each property according to the Organization For Economic Co-operation and Development (Reference 1); stated how the property is measured by ASTM methods (Reference 2); described its application to industrial lubrication; and used SI units given in "Standard Practice For The Use Of The International System of Units - Modernized" (Reference 3). The information came from many unnamed authors. However, we specifically wish to acknowledge the authors cited in the references, from whom most of the information was obtained. The reader is referred to the references for further details. We also acknowledge obtaining specific lubricant properties from the bulletins of several lubricant suppliers.
