In light of diminishing natural resources, global climatic change and increased environmental sensitivity, renewable-based lubricants are being considered potential alternatives to petroleum-based lubricants. Understanding the tribological performance of vegetable-based lubricants in relation to their chemical composition is essential for their industrial implementation. This study focuses on the friction and abrasion rate characteristics of soybean and sunflower oils in comparison to a base mineral oil under sliding wear at ambient conditions for various applied loads. It was found that the abrasion rate and friction were the least severe for the soybean, followed by the sunflower oil. The observed trends were attributed to differences in their fatty acid compositions, in particular, a lower percentage of linoleic and oleic acids within the soybean oil.
Boron carbide (B 4 C) is well known for its high hardness and wear resistance. It has been found to polish its mating surface, thereby providing fatigue resistance to the coated part. Employing such run-in coatings demands a thorough understanding of the abrasiveness changes that the coatings undergo during the polishing process. Both the coating asperity height and angle of attack were investigated as a function of sliding distance and were correlated with changes in the coating abrasiveness. Furthermore, a semi-empirical equation relating the coating abrasiveness, the asperity height and the asperity angle of attack was presented.
a member of Purdue's Teaching Academy. Since 1999, she has been a faculty member within the FirstYear Engineering Program, teaching and guiding the design of one of the required first-year engineering courses that engages students in open-ended problem solving and design. Her research focuses on the development, implementation, and assessment of modeling and design activities with authentic engineering contexts. She is currently a member of the educational team for the Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN).
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