Diesel engines produce soot, i.e. particulates as a residue of the combustion process. Lubricants contaminated with soot may result in an increased rate of wear. Numerous investigations have, therefore, been conducted to elucidate the mechanism of soot wear from different viewpoints. However, this important and complicated problem is still being debated. In this article, the mechanism of soot wear is discussed on the basis of the direct observations of soot behaviour among contact surfaces, the wear pattern obtained with a four-ball tester, and the wear mode observed with a newly developed two-roller testing machine. It is consequently proved that soot acts as an abrasive.
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