Tribological Performance and Lubrication Mechanism of Alumina Nanoparticle Water-Based Suspensions in Ball-on-Three-Plate Testing

Authors

Anshun He, University of Queensland
Shuiquan Huang, University of Queensland
Jung-Ho Yun, University of QueenslandFollow
Hui Wu, University of WollongongFollow
Zhengyi Jiang, University of WollongongFollow
Jason Stokes, University of Queensland
Sihai Jiao, BaosteelFollow
Lianzhou Wang, University of QueenslandFollow
Han Huang, University of Queensland

RIS ID

112404

Publication Details

He, A., Huang, S., Yun, J., Wu, H., Jiang, Z., Stokes, J., Jiao, S., Wang, L. & Huang, H. (2017). Tribological Performance and Lubrication Mechanism of Alumina Nanoparticle Water-Based Suspensions in Ball-on-Three-Plate Testing. Tribology Letters, 65 (2), 40-1-40-11.

Abstract

The lubrication performance of alumina (Al₂O₃) nanoparticle water-based suspensions was systematically investigated using a ball-on-three-plate testing configuration with alloy steel on stainless steel contact. The size and concentration of Al₂O₃ nanoparticle were varied to obtain optimal performance. The effects of testing load, sliding speed and contact surface roughness on the lubrication performance of the Al₂O₃ suspensions were investigated. It was found that 1 to 2 wt.% 30 nm Al₂O₃ nanoparticle suspensions showed up to 27% friction and 22% wear reduction, in comparison with water glycerol solution. Under different testing conditions, the suspensions also showed noticeably more stable and improved tribological performance. Wear mark analysis revealed that during tribological testing the nanoparticles formed a layer of dynamically balanced tribo-thin film, preventing the direct contact between asperities of alloy steel ball and stainless steel plate. The nanoparticles were also believed to fill up the trenches of the plate surface through mending effect and carry the wear debris induced in running-in period to avoid abrasive wear.