Disadvantages of silicone oil

Silicone oil, as a commonly used lubricating material, has been widely used in many fields. However, it also has some drawbacks.

Firstly, the lubricity of silicone oil is poor, especially for steel friction pairs. This means that when using silicone oil for lubrication, the friction between steel parts will increase, leading to increased friction loss and energy consumption, and may even lead to mechanical failures.

Secondly, the thermal expansion coefficient of silicone oil is relatively high, which may cause overpressure problems. In high-temperature environments, silicone oil can cause an increase in pressure in the lubrication system due to thermal expansion and contraction, which may exceed the designed capacity, leading to safety hazards such as leakage and rupture.

In addition, the gas solubility of silicone oil is relatively high, which brings difficulties to the design of gas sealing devices. Due to the easy dissolution of gas in silicone oil, when using silicone oil in sealing devices, gas may dissolve from the lubrication system and enter the silicone oil, resulting in a decrease in airtightness and affecting the normal operation of the equipment.

In addition, silicone oil has a certain degree of hygroscopicity, when the water content is higher than 100 × At 10-6 hours, the electrical performance of silicone oil will sharply decrease. This is an issue that cannot be ignored for equipment that requires the use of silicone oil in humid environments, as the presence of moisture can lead to a decrease in the insulation performance of silicone oil and may cause electrical faults.

Finally, the surface tension of silicone oil is low, which makes it prone to leakage from the machine. Due to the low surface tension of silicone oil, there is a risk of leakage when using silicone oil in lubrication systems. This not only causes waste of resources, but may also cause environmental pollution, and requires frequent replenishment of silicone oil, increasing maintenance costs and workload.

In summary, silicone oil as a lubricating material has some drawbacks, such as poor lubricity, high thermal expansion coefficient, high gas solubility, hygroscopicity, and low surface tension. When using silicone oil, it is necessary to fully consider these shortcomings and take corresponding measures to make up for them, in order to ensure the normal operation and safety of the equipment.