Week #3: Group Ideas

The needs for a penetrating oil alternative are in high demand for developing nations, such as the various nations in Africa.  Apparently, many nations in Africa use kerosene as a form of penetrating oil.  Unfortunately, kerosene in not in abundance and can be costly.  The main goal the team has come up with is to find a way to produce a cheaper penetrating oil that greatly outperforms kerosene. 

After analysis of the project needs for developing nations, the team has come up with some initial designs.  The main design considered is a mixture of transmission oil, acetone, and paraffin.  Acetone and transmission oil produce a powerful penetrating oil, but the reaction between them can be somewhat unstable, this problem is solved by adding paraffin to the mixture.  Another possibility the group has come up with is to use the same mixture above, but replacing transmission oil with vegetable oil.  This may produce a good penetrating oil that can be environmentally safer and might support the current “green” movement.  Overall the team plans to test various amounts of the above mixtures and test them on rusted fasteners to see if they can develop a useful penetrating oil.

Week #2: Initial Research and Basic Info

What is penetrating oil, such as WD-40, and what is its purpose?
Penetrating oil is a type of substance used to prevent the formation of rust or sever the bondage the rust has formed between two metals. It is usually associated with smaller metallic parts, such as nuts and bolts. Penetrating oil can also have various scattered uses based on the type, such as being a lubricant or cleaning agent.
Penetrating oil, also known as penetrating fluid, attains its "penetrating" ability through its components and its unique properties. The oil is said to be low-viscosity, which is essentially the "thickness" or "fluidity" of the liquid. The primary components of these substances are usually a mixture between a solvent and an oil. A solvent is a compound that can have any physical state of matter that dissolves a solute, which is any compound that can be dissolved. The oil can also sometimes contain a fuel based gas that may be incorporated with small amounts of other components.
There are many types of penetrating oils other than WD-40, and each has its own benefits. WD-40 is just considered to be the most versatile of the oils, because it has so many uses that it's known as a magical "cure-all" for anything that is broken. The downside is that WD-40's penetrating abilities can be somewhat weaker than others. Stronger types of penetrating oils were produced to be used on older, more corroded objects. One common type is formed between mixing equal amounts of the solvent acetone with automatic transmission fluid. This resulting mixture is dangerous to use without protection, but it can many times more effective than WD-40. Many cheaper alternatives are available for penetrating oil, but they can prove to be more dangerous than beneficial.