The Effect of Nanoparticles on the Real Area of Contact, Friction, and Wear

Abstract

Although nanoparticle additives have been the topic of multiple studies recently, very little work has attempted to explicitly model the third body contact of nanoparticles. This work presents and uses a novel methodology to model nanoparticles in contact between rough surfaces. The model uses two submodels to handle different scales of contact, namely the nano-sized particles and micrometer-sized roughness features. Silicon nanoparticles suspended in conventional lubricant are modeled in contact between steel rough surfaces. The effect of the particles on contact force and real area of contact has been modeled. The model makes predictions of the coefficient of friction and wear using fundamental models. The results suggest that particles would reduce the real area of contact and, therefore, decrease the friction force. Also, particles could induce abrasive wear by scratching the surfaces. The implications of the model are also discussed, and the arguments and results have been linked to available experimental data. This work finds that particle size and distribution are playing a key role in tribology characteristics of the nanolubricants.