What term describes the increase in lube oil viscosity?

What term describes the increase in lube oil viscosity?

• A. Viscosity rise
• B. Gelation
• C. Thickening
• D. Polymerization

Answer: (C)

When a lubricant becomes more resistant to flow, the overall change is described as thickening. This term covers the general process by which the oil’s viscosity increases, often due to chemical changes or reactions that produce larger, higher‑molecular‑weight species or networks that slow movement. Viscosity rise is too vague to name the change precisely. Gelation would mean the oil turns into a gel, losing fluidity altogether, which is a different state. Polymerization is a specific chemical mechanism that can cause thickening, but the broad way to describe the observed increase in viscosity is simply thickening.

When a lubricant becomes more resistant to flow, the overall change is described as thickening. This term covers the general process by which the oil’s viscosity increases, often due to chemical changes or reactions that produce larger, higher‑molecular‑weight species or networks that slow movement. Viscosity rise is too vague to name the change precisely. Gelation would mean the oil turns into a gel, losing fluidity altogether, which is a different state. Polymerization is a specific chemical mechanism that can cause thickening, but the broad way to describe the observed increase in viscosity is simply thickening.