A ball-on-disk tribometer was employed to evaluate the lubrication performance and mechanisms of innovative TiO 2 nano-additive water-based lubricants. Two experimental methods were applied to determine the optimal mass fraction of TiO 2. In the method I, lubricants were added onto the worn disk tracks at a predetermined time interval. In the method II, the disks were immersed in the lubricants continuously during the whole process of tribological tests. The results both indicate that the water-based lubricants can significantly reduce the coefficient of friction (COF). The 0.8 wt% TiO 2 lubricant demonstrates excellent tribological properties including the lowest COF and the strongest wear resistance under all lubrication conditions. The lubrication mechanisms are attributed to the rolling and mending effects of the TiO 2 nanoparticles.

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Friction and wear characteristics of TiO2 nano-additive water-based lubricant on Friction and wear characteristics of TiO2 nano-additive water-based lubricant on ferritic stainless steel ferritic stainless steel

The spatio-temporal distribution pattern of malaria in Yunnan Province, China was studied using a geographic information system technique. Both descriptive and temporal scan statistics revealed seasonal fluctuation in malaria incidences in Yunnan Province with only one peak during 1995-2000, and two apparent peaks from 2001 to 2005. Spatial autocorrelation analysis indicated that malaria incidence was not randomly distributed in the province. Further analysis using spatial scan statistics discovered that the high risk areas were mainly clustered at the bordering areas with Myanmar and Laos, and in Yuanjiang River Basin. There were obvious associations between Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodoium falciparum malaria incidences and climatic factors with a clear 1-month lagged effect, especially in cluster areas. All these could provide information on where and when malaria prevention and control measures would be applied. These findings imply that countermeasures should target high risk areas at suitable times, when climatic factors facilitate the transmission of malaria.

The aim of this study is to optimise the stainless steel oxidation behaviours during hot rolling. The high temperature oxidation behaviours of ferritic stainless steels B443NT and B445J1M were studied over the temperature range from 1000 to 1150 °C in a humid atmosphere containing 18% water vapour, as measured by a thermogravimetric analyser (TGA). The results indicate that breakaway oxidation occurs at 1090 °C for the B443NT steel, which is 60 °C lower than that for the B445J1M steel. The occurrence of iron oxide nodules on the steels marks the onset of breakaway oxidation; however, the breakaway oxidation phenomenon of B445J1M is different from that of B443NT due to a compact and continuous Mn-Cr spinel which is formed on the surface of B445J1M. The oxide nodules with regenerated Cr2O3 scale underneath the Fe-Cr spinel display better adhesion without showing pores at the metal-scale interface.