Tribological properties of Al₂O₃/WS₂ oil-based composite lubricant utilized on steel-brass frictional couples

Abstract

The tribological properties of Al2O3/WS2 composite lubricant were examined by using a ball-on-plate reciprocating sliding wear test configuration utilizing PAO6 base fluid and oleic acid as surfactant. The morphology and chemical composition of the wear tracks were examined by using a scanning electron microscope and a x-ray energy dispersive spectrometer. It was found that the coefficient of friction was reduced by 46.6% after adding 0.5 wt% Al2O3/WS2 composite particles. The wear width and wear depth were reduced by 37% and 59.6% after adding 3 wt% Al2O3/WS2 composite particles. In orthogonal tests, it was proposed that the best tribological performance of Al2O3/WS2 composite lubricant could be achieved while using the normal load of 50 N, frequency of 2 Hz and temperature of 65 °C. Frequency could be considered as the primary factor affecting the tribological properties of compsite lubricant. The excellent lubricating performance could be attributed to the formation of WS2 tribo-film with low shearing resistance, and a portion of the Al2O3 particles were embedded by external force to prevent surface contact between the steel ball and brass plate.

Orthogonal tests of the lubricating performance of SnO2 nanoparticles in poly-alfa-olefine oil

“…The SnO 2 nanoparticle concentrations were 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 wt% based on pretests and previous studies. [22][23][24] The normal load was 70 N. The motion frequency was 1 Hz. The surface roughness of the brass plates was between 100 and 200 nm, which was measured using a stylus surface profilometer.…”