JPH0528756B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention is a high-drop rope grease composition, which is particularly suitable for use as a rope grease for infiltrating and lubricating cord products such as wires and wire ropes (hereinafter collectively referred to as wire ropes). The present invention relates to a rope grease composition with high dripping point. [Conventional technology and problems] Description of wire rope and rope grease Wire rope is used as a core material in all industrial fields such as steel, machinery, civil engineering and construction, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, ships, airplanes, transportation, ports, and leisure sports. ing. This wire rope is made by twisting several or dozens of strands (also called wires) together. book) is twisted together. It is essential to prevent rust and reduce friction and wear by sufficiently impregnating and applying rope grease as a protection and lubricant to the inside and outside of the wire rope, which is a multi-layered structure made up of a large number of cables twisted together. As a result, the lifespan of wire rope will be several times longer than that without oil, and it will fulfill its mission as a key material for various industries. Necessary properties of rope grease The most basic properties required of such wire rope grease are (1) retention properties)
(RETENTION), the applied oil film is retained on the inside and outside of the rope and does not easily run off, and for this reason rope grease must have a soft solid film at room temperature. Second, (2) thermoreversibility, which means that in order to sufficiently soak the grease into the complex structure of the wire rope, it is necessary to heat the grease to infiltrate it to a low viscosity state, and then cool it to solidify after application. It is from. Furthermore, (3) it has a high drop point property, which is due to the fact that the usage conditions for wire ropes have become more severe in recent years, such as heat generation due to increased speeds and higher loads, and long-term exposure to high temperature atmospheric conditions. This is because it needs to be resistant to dripping. Countermeasures for this purpose Conventionally, rope greases have traditionally used oils that are soft solids at room temperature, such as petrolatum or microwax, as the main carrier. Moreover, in order to raise the dropping point, a larger amount of wax rich in relatively hard microwax fractions with as high a melting point as possible is required, but this increases the price and is economically disadvantageous. Furthermore, solidification increases, leading to peeling during the winter. Under such circumstances, conventional rope greases had a high dropping point, which was limited to about 70 to 80°C. Therefore, the addition of melting point improvers and gelling agents was considered as a method that does not depend solely on the physical properties such as the melting point of waxes, which are the main materials. Examples include metal soaps, oil-soluble polymers such as olefin polymers such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyisobutylene, fatty acid waxes such as amides and ketones, animal and vegetable waxes with high melting points such as carnauba wax and beeswax, commonly known as bentones. Organic powders such as lipophilic treated bentonite powder, inorganic powders such as silica gel, and lipophilic asbestos powders (such as CALIDRIA RG-
244) etc. have been considered. However, if you use this product, the dropping point of the grease will be 80~
Although it is possible to achieve a grease of 100℃ or even a no-dropping point, on the other hand, some base oils are difficult to miscible with, and the melt viscosity increases, so rope manufacturers raise the temperature of the grease to a higher temperature during use. This requires equipment to insulate and distribute the heat of this highly viscous, high-temperature liquid, which also poses a risk of burns to workers and requires time and effort in terms of work efficiency and safety. Furthermore, there are physical and scientific changes in the grease itself due to high temperatures, which can be described as ``difficult'' for users. Also, depending on the type of gelling agent, it may not be possible to heat the grease, and in order to impregnate the complex structure of the wire rope mentioned above, a device that uses pressure to push the grease is required, increasing manufacturing costs. What matters is the current situation. As mentioned above, rope grease is desired to have a high dropping point and to have as low a viscosity as possible when melted. The inventor has completed the present invention after extensive research for this purpose. [Means for Solving the Problems] That is, the present invention uses mineral oil or hydrocarbon-based synthetic oil alone or in combination as a base oil agent, and a fiber-shaped polyolefin resin is heated and dissolved therein together with the base oil agent. This is a high-dropping rope grease composition that is semi-solid or solid at room temperature and is characterized by containing the following: The base oil used in the present invention is petrolatum,
In addition to mineral oils such as microwaxes, synthetic oils with a hydrocarbon structure, such as alkylbenzene, α-olefin oligomers, polybutene, polybutadiene, liquid polypropylene, and liquid polyisoprene, have similar effects. On the other hand, ester-based synthetic oil, glycol-based synthetic oil, silicone-based synthetic oil,
Vegetable oils are not compatible and tend to cause oil separation. The polyolefin resin used in the present invention is
For example, polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene, polymethylpentene, polystyrene, etc. are polymers that are relatively compatible with natural and synthetic hydrocarbon base oil agents, and are in the form of fibers. It also has a pulp-like multi-branched structure, with a fiber diameter of 0.1 to 30 μm and a fiber length of 100 to 10,000 μm.
m, 1 to 10% by weight based on the base oil
It is particularly preferable to include it. Regarding the content, if it is less than 1% by weight based on the base oil, the effect of improving the dropping point will be small, and if it is more than 10%, the effect of just adding it will be somewhat weak, so the above range is desirable. In conventional technology, it is customary to add polyolefin resins, but in that case, they are in the form of powder, pellets, lumps, pastes, and waxes, and even if these are used, they cannot be used for ropes. The dropping point of grease is 80 to 90°C, and if it is added beyond that, the consistency will become extremely hard and the melt viscosity will increase. However, when the fiber-like polyolefin used in the present invention is heated together with a base oil agent serving as a carrier,
It melts easily at a melting point of 120 to 140℃, and absorbs oil without losing its fiber-like properties. When cooled, it envelops the oil phase and solidifies to form a grease structure, and the dropping point of the grease is 110～
It has a high dropping point of around 130°C, but on the other hand, the consistency does not become extremely hard, and the melt viscosity is about 20% of the base oil viscosity.
It is reduced to about 4 times, which is much lower than when using other gelling agents. Furthermore, when this grease is reheated to return to a liquid state and cooled again, the fiber shape of the polyolefin resin is restored and the grease state is restored, exhibiting so-called thermoreversibility. The above-mentioned polyolefin resin having a pulp-like multi-branched structure was jointly developed by Crown Zerabank and Mitsui Petrochemicals, Inc. in the United States, and there are many patents on its manufacturing method (e.g.
USP3882095 Special Publication Showa 46-39483, etc.). In the product name
It is commercially available under the name SWP (registered trademark).
It is sometimes referred to as "synthetic pulp." Normally, this polyolefin resin has a moisture content of 40~40% during production.
Precipitates are formed when 50% of the coexistence is present, but a product obtained by evaporating water, drying, and pulverizing is preferably used in the present invention. For example, in the case of polyethylene, it is preferable to have a melting point of 120° C. or higher, a high density to medium density of 0.92 or higher, and a molecular weight of 20,000 or higher.
In the case of polypropylene, the diameter and length of the fibers are also the same as in the case of polyethylene described above.
The molecular weight is preferably 100,000 or more. Other polyolefin resins have a similar structure, but so-called C ₂ and C ₃ polymers are preferred because they require time and effort to dissolve in oil and are likely to be more economical. In addition, in the present invention, it is of course possible to add various additives such as rust preventive agents, thickeners, oiliness improvers, EP agents, solid lubricants, etc. to each rope grease as necessary, as in the past. Therefore, these do not interfere with the effects of the above-mentioned fiber-like polyolefin resin. The means for improving the dropping point according to the present invention can be applied to wax products under similar conditions, such as anti-rust petrolatum, candle products, polishing wax, etc.
It can be applied to wax for heat sealing, etc. If, for example, 5 g of the product of the present invention is taken and extracted with 150 c.c. of n-hexane in a Soxhlet extractor for 6 hours, a fiber-like resin as a thickener will be obtained as an extracted component. Although this material undergoes a heating history, it undergoes some deformation, but when observed under a microscope, it exhibits a fibrous shape, making quality confirmation and quality control easy. Examples are shown below. Example 1 Conventional rope grease composition (Comparative Example A) 96%
, fiber-like polyethylene (manufactured by Mitsui Petrochemical Industries, Ltd.,
Chemivest FD-380) Mineral oil-based rope grease made by adding 4%. Example 2 Conventional rope grease composition (Comparative Example A) 98%
A mineral oil-based rope grease made by adding 2% fiber-like polypropylene with a fiber length of 500μ and a melting point of 160℃. Example 3 α-olefin oligomer (viscosity 100 cSt) 85%,
10% micro wax, 5% additives and fiber length
Fiber polyethylene of 100μ, melting point 130℃, density 0.96 (manufactured by Mitsui Petrochemical Industries, Ltd., Chemivest)
Synthetic oil-based rope grease consisting of 4% FD-ss5). Example 4 Mineral oil 62%, polybutene 20%, petrolatum 10
%, additive 5%, fiber length 700μ, melting point 130℃,
A mineral oil/synthetic oil mixed rope grease consisting of 3% fiber-like polyethylene (Kemibest FD-380, manufactured by Mitsui Petrochemical Industries, Ltd.) with a density of 0.96. Example 5 15% asphalt, 16.5% petrolatum, 35% microwax, 25% mineral oil, 5% additives, fiber length 100μ, melting point 130°C, density 0.96 fiber polyethylene (manufactured by Mitsui Petrochemical Industries, Ltd.) , Chemivest FD-ss5) Mineral oil-based black rope grease consisting of 3.5%. Comparative Example A: Conventional rope grease consisting of 20% petrolatum, 45% microwax, 30% mineral oil, and 5% additives. Comparative Example B A soap-containing rope grease consisting of 85% petrolatum, 10% aluminum soap, and 5% additives. Comparative Example C Polymer-containing rope grease consisting of 20% petrolatum, 30% microwax, 15% mineral oil, 30% attack polypropylene (molecular weight 10,000), and 5% additives. Comparative Example D An amide/polymer mixed rope grease consisting of 55% petrolatum, 15% microwax, 10% amide wax, and 20% polybutene.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the table examples above, according to the present invention, not only the conventional rope grease (Comparative Example A) but also rope greases that are currently said to have relatively high dropping points (Comparative Examples B, C, and D) can be used. ), this rope grease has lower viscosity when melted and has a dropping point of 100°C or higher, has the ability to prevent sagging at high temperatures, has high dropping point properties, and is also economically advantageous. Therefore, the effect as a high-dropping composition is extremely large. Further, one of the features of the present invention is that the structure of the fiber-like polyolefin resin is hardly destroyed even when repeatedly heated and cooled in the carrier base oil, so that there is little change in the dropping point of the rope grease.
The dropping point of the grease does not easily drop even if heated for a long time, for example, 100 hours at 130℃.
In practice, it can withstand the manufacturing and lubricating conditions of wire ropes, which are repeatedly heated and cooled in the lubricating box during actual use and remain melted for a long period of time.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Mineral oil or hydrocarbon synthetic oil alone or in combination is used as a base oil agent, and a fiber-shaped polyolefin resin is contained therein by heating and dissolving it together with the base oil agent. A high-dropping rope grease composition that is semi-solid or solid at room temperature. 2 The fiber-like polyolefin resin has a pulp-like multi-branched structure, and the fiber diameter is 0.1 to 30μ.
2. The high-dropping point rope grease composition according to claim 1, which is semi-solid or solid at room temperature, and has a fiber length of 100 to 10,000 μm. 3. A rope grease composition with a high dropping point that is semi-solid or solid at room temperature according to claim 1 or 2, which contains a fiber-like polyolefin resin in an amount of 1 to 10% by weight based on the base oil agent. .