Experimental Investigation of Tribological Properties of Two Fully Formulated Engine Oils with Additional Nanoscale Spherical Zirconia Particles

Abstract

Decreasing harmful emissions of vehicle engines is becoming more and more challenging due to stricter standards. A possible solution is to improve the tribological attributes of lubricants, which can be achieved through the application of appropriate additives. According to preliminary studies conducted by the authors, ZrO2 (zirconium-dioxide) nano-sized ceramic particles as lubricant additives have overwhelmingly positive tribological attributes in the presence of non-metallic superficial materials. Additive concentration, as well as cross-effects with other additives were investigated in order to determine a formulation resulting in optimal tribological attributes. In this paper, the experimental investigation of ZrO2 nano-ceramic powder as a lubricant additive is presented. The tribological performance of individually samples were experimentally investigated on a ball-on-disc translational tribometer. The experiments revealed an optimal additive content of 0.3 wt%. Increasing the quantity of additives further ruined friction and wear properties of the examined tribological system.

Keywords

• ZrO₂ nano-ceramic
• lubricant
• tribology
• engine oil