Friction and Wear of Nanoadditive-Based Biolubricants in Steel-Steel Sliding Contacts: A Comparative Study

The present work deals with the study of tribo-pair interaction in lubricated sliding contacts. By considering the environmental issues, the sunflower oil was extracted from the sunflower seeds and used as a base lubricant. The two types of the nanoadditives, i.e., CuO and CeO2, varying concentrations from 0.10 to 0.50% w/v were used to formulate the nanolubricants. The compatibility/synergism of the nanoadditives was examined from antifriction and antiwear behavior study with four-ball tester. Also, sunflower oil was modified by the chemical method to improve its fatty acid structure. A comparative tribological and compatibility study was also done in modified oil at similar concentration levels with both types of nanoparticles. The tribological test result exhibits 0.10% w/v concentration of the nanoadditive as optimum due to lowest wear scar and coefficient of friction. Higher concentration of the nanoparticles impaired the base oil performance. Different analytical tools were used to characterize the oil modification and worn surfaces. Moreover, the role of subsurface of the contacting material with the tribological performance has been reported.