Various carbon-based particles such as graphite, carbon black, graphite nanofibers and carbon nanotubes were dispersed in mineral oil to systematically examine the effect of the size and shape of particles on the properties of friction performance. As the results of friction tests using a disc-on-disc tribotester, the friction coefficient of a disc specimen was significantly reduced when nano-sized spherical particles were suspended in mineral oil. This was attributed to the presence of spherical nanoparticles, which prevented direct contact between frictional surfaces. However, the fibrous nanoparticles with high aspect ratios deteriorated the lubrication performance between friction surfaces due to a higher degree of agglomeration.
In this article, the tribological properties of fullerene nanoparticles-added mineral oil were investigated as a function of volume concentration of fullerene nanoparticle additives (e.g., 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.5 vol.%). The lubrication tests were performed at the disk-on-disk type tester under the various normal forces and fullerene volume concentrations. Tribological properties were evaluated by measuring the friction surface temperature and friction coefficient, and then interpreted in terms of Stribeck curves. At the same time the friction surfaces tested were evaluated by observing their SEM images, surface roughness, and AFM images. The results showed that the nano-oil containing the higher volume concentration of fullerene nanoparticles resulted in the lower friction coefficient and less wear in the fixed plate, indicating that the increase of fullerene nanoparticle additives improved the lubrication properties of regular mineral oil.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.