Morphology Analysis of Friction Particles Generated in Tractor Transmission Oils

The aim of the study was the examination of the morphological and compositional attributes of wear particles of tested universal tractor transmission oil (UTTO) samples by means of automatic particle counter and classifier LaserNetFines^TM-C, which is an ideal tool to establish the dynamic equilibrium concentration and hence to set the alarm limits for any type of machine. Such limits can be based on wear type and particle size ranges. The samples of two UTTO (mineral oil and biodegradable fully synthetic oil) were taken from the rear gearboxes of the wheel tractor during a long-term experiment. The measurement results showed that there was faster increase in the particle wear of mineral oil in comparison to biodegradable transmission oil. Considering the increase in the percentage of particles over 20 μm, the biodegradable oil seems to be more favourable for usage. Regardless of this, it can be concluded that the biodegradable oil is equivalent to petroleum-based oils.