Quote:
Originally Posted by humfrz
About "breaking down" the oil. Do you mean like "cracking" the oil as in breaking down the long chain hydrocarbons ..... ??
If so, at what temperature and pressure do you think it would take to perform that process .. ??
Now, how could a transmission do that .. ??
humfrz is fading fast ...... I had a hard day ..... the two older daycare-ees were in a pissy mood and the 3 month old one has a cold. However, I'm finally getting the hang of these new fangled diapers ..... 
humfrz |
Heat plus air plus mechanical pressure, doesn't physically break moecules, but it accelerates degradation through oxidation. It doesn't need to be all that hot for that.
Oxidation is what I'm referring to when I say breaking down.
This happens in many ways, with heat and mechanical work, and especially with air entrainment.
This slowly turns your nice oil into a mixture of aldehydes, ketones, peroxides and carboxylic acids that don't do a great job lubricating things.
Oxidation in oils accelerates quadratically at temperatures above approximately 75 C. The rate doubles every 10 degrees. In theory, it will oxidize with ambient air, but not fast. Fast oxidation comes from rapid adiabatic heating of entrained air bubbles. Like when they get crushed between gear teeth.