Study of behaviour of aluminium oxide nanoparticles suspended in SAE20W40 oil under extreme pressure lubrication

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to include investigation on extreme pressure lubrication behaviour of Al2O3 nanoparticles suspended in SAE20W40 lubricating oil. Effects of nanoparticles size (40-80 nm) and its concentration (0-1 per cent) on the coefficient of friction is studied using pin-on-disc tribotester. Design/methodology/approach – Taguchi technique is used to optimize the process parameters for lower coefficient of friction. L18 orthogonal array involving six levels for one factor and three levels for remaining three factors is selected for the experimentation. The parameters selected for the study are sliding speed, normal load, nanoparticles size and its concentration in base oil. Findings – It has been found that the presence of nanoparticles in proper concentration shows excellent tribological improvement in frictional characteristics compared to the base oil. The optimal combination of the parameters for minimum coefficient of friction is found to be 0.8 per cent concentration of 60 nm sized Al2O3 nanoparticles, 1,200 rpm sliding speed and 160 N of normal load. The mechanism of friction reduction in presence of nanoparticles is investigated using scanning electron microscopy. Originality/value – This is the original work.