International Journal on Theoretical and Applied Research in Mechanical Engineering (IJTARME)

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Experimental Investigation of Tribological Properties of Engine oil

with CuO nanoparticles

Ajinkya S. Pisal1, D. S. Chavan2

1
PG Student, Mechanical Engineering Department, R.I.T. Islampur, India-415414
2
Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, R.I.T. Islampur, India-415414
Email: ajinkyasp23@gmail.com1, durgeshkumar.chavan@ritindia.edu2

addition of a dispersing agent or the use of a surface

Abstract – Nanoparticles can be used as an additive in the
engine oil to improve its Lubrication properties to reduce modification preparation technique, inorganic
wear and friction of the engine. In this research copper nanoparticles have received considerable attention in the
oxide (CuO) nanoparticles are added to engine oil 20W40 lubrication field [7].
and Tribological properties are investigated. Samples were
Nanoparticles have received considerable attention
prepared of varying percentage of CuO nanoparticles in
engine oil (0.2, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 wt. %). The wear and because of their special physical and chemical
friction experiment was carried on Pin on Disc Tribometer properties. The preparation of organic–inorganic
and the tests were performed with varying load, speed and complex nanoparticles was causing more interest in
varying concentration of nanoparticles in engine oil. The science and industry. Now, a number of these
obtained results show that CuO nanoparticles added in nanoparticles have been synthesized and many of them
engine oil exhibits good friction reduction and anti-wear have been studied as lubrication oil additive [6].
properties and also decreased the coefficient of friction by However, few of them were used and studied as water
24% and 53% at 0.5wt% concentration respectively, as base lubrication additives. In recent years, with the
compared with standard engine oil without CuO
development of nanomaterials, many scientific
nanoparticles. This tribological behaviour is closely related
to the deposition of nanoparticles on the rubbing surfaces. researchers added nanoparticles into lubricating oils to
In addition, the topography of worn surfaces was analyzed improve extreme pressure, anti-wear and friction
by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). reducing properties, and the efficiency and service life
of machinery were improved and prolonged. The
Keywords – CuO nanoparticles, tribological properties,
application of advanced nanomaterials has played an
engine oil, friction coefficient
active role in improving and reforming traditional
I. INTRODUCTION lubrication technology [10].
Nanotechnology is regarded as the most revolutionary Y.Y. Wu et al. examined the tribological properties of
technology of the 21st century. It can be used in many two lubricating oils, API-SF engine oil and Base oil,
fields and ushers material science into a new era. In with CuO, TiO2, and Nano-Diamond nanoparticles used
recent years numerous investigations have been carried as additives. The experimental results show that
out on the tribological properties of lubricants with nanoparticles, especially CuO, added to standard oils
different nanoparticles added in it. A large number of exhibit good friction-reduction and anti-wear properties.
papers have reported that the addition of nanoparticles to The addition of CuO nanoparticles in the API-SF engine
lubricant is effective in reducing wear and friction [1- oil and the Base oil decreased the friction coefficient by
10]. Among those that were added into oils, Cu 18.4 and 5.8%, respectively, and reduced the worn scar
nanoparticles have received much attention and depth by 16.7 and 78.8%, respectively, as compared to
exhibited excellent applications for their good friction the standard oils without CuO nanoparticles. In addition,
reduction and wear resistance properties [1-5]. The investigations were performed using TEM, OM, SEM,
reduction of wear depends on interfacial conditions such and EDX to interpret the possible mechanisms of anti-
as normal load, geometry, relative surface motion, friction and anti-wear with nanoparticles [1].
sliding speed, surface roughness, lubrication, andIn particular, the tribological properties of metal oxides,
vibration. In addition, anti- wear properties, load-
rare earth compounds, metals, metal borates and metal
carrying capacities, and friction reduction are mainly
sulfide used as lubricate additives have been
controlled by the chemical additives in lubricating fluid
investigated. The anti-wear mechanism of a metal oxide
under boundary lubrication conditions. Since nanoparticulate additive was tribo-sintering of
stabilization of nanoparticles has been resolved by the
nanoparticles on the wear surfaces. That process reduced
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the metal-to- metal contact and created a load bearing
film. Also the summarized mechanisms of the friction-
reduction and anti- wear of nanoparticles in lubricants as
the result of colloidal effect, rolling effect, protective
film, and third body. The results of these investigations
show that nanoparticles deposit on the rubbing surface
and improve the tribological properties of the base oil,
displaying good friction and wear reduction
characteristics [7].
In the present study we have synthesized stable CuO
nanoparticles with an „oleic acid‟ surface modifier
which gives very good dispersibility in organic solvents.
In order to estimate the ranges of applications of CuO
nanoparticles, it was necessary to investigate its
tribological behaviour under increasingly severe contact
conditions.
II. EXPERIMENTAL
2.1 Materials
The SAE 20W40 engine oil (Pure lubricants, Chennai,
India) was used as the base oil. The Pure lubricants
engine oil contains some additives for friction reduction
and anti-wear, but the Base oil purchased does not. Pure
lubricants are manufacturers of industrial lubricant,
automobile oil and greases. It is a British Standards
certified company. The properties of base oil are given
in table no.1.
2.2 Preparation of Nano-oil
One of the most effective factors of the nanofluid
properties is the rate of dispersion and stability of
nanoparticles inside the base fluid. When dispersion of
particles inside the base fluid is not good, it is possible
that agglomeration and precipitation of nanoparticles
occur; which may cause damage of the frictional
surfaces. In the present research, to disperse
nanoparticles inside the base oil, we used oleic acid as
surface modifier and by preparing lubricant samples in
concentrations of 0.2 wt%, 0.5 wt%, 0.75 wt% and
1wt% using an ultrasonic probe for 45 min. These
concentration values were obtained from the results of
bibliographic research, where concentration of
nanoparticles is in the range 0.2-1 wt%. The results
confirm that the existence of the surface modification
layer can effectively prevent the agglomeration of Cu
nanoparticles and provide good oil-dispersion ability.
The materials used in the experiments and their
properties are shown in Table 2.
Nanoparticles Properties
Copper oxide Morphology: nearly spherical,
(CuO) Purity:99.95+%, APS: 25-55 nm,
Bulk Density: 0.79 g/cm3, True
Density: 6.4 g/m3

Properties Range Specimens Properties

Appearance Br & clear
Disks Grey Cast Iron, hardness=130-
Color 1.5 ASTM
180BHN, d=160 mm, t=8mm, E=66-
Density @ 29.5 D.C. 0.880 gm/ml 157GPa, ν=0.26
K. V. @ 40 D.C. 94 cSt
K. V. @ 100 D.C. 10.54 cSt Pins Aluminium alloy hardness=100-
150BHN, d=10 mm, l= 30mm,
Viscosity Index 94 (MIN) E=73GPa, ν=0.33
Flash Point (oC) 252
Table 2 Properties of the materials
Aniline Point (oC) 105.5.
L-6 2.3 Anti-Wear Test Procedure
Pour Point All test-section components were cleaned thoroughly.
Table 1 Properties of Base oil Testing was conducted using a Magnum‟s Tribotester.
The friction and wear testing machine was set for pure
CuO nanoparticles, Figure 1 were purchased from sliding contact, with a pin-on-disk configuration. The
Sigma Aldrich Company, India. manufactured test pins were run against a counter face
of the manufactured disk (properties given in Table 2).
All wear tests were carried out at loading condition 30N,
50N and 65N. The disk was rotated at constant speed of
1000 rpm at room temperature for 10 minute time. The
coefficient of friction and wear rate was recorded using
strain gauge in tribotester. Wear surfaces on pin were
characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy
(SEM).
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Anti-wear Properties
`The anti-wear properties are examined according to the
Figure 1 Copper oxide (CuO) in form of nano powder results obtained from computerized data acquisition
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system in the form of graph. The wear in microns of
base oil without nanoparticles is shown in fig. 2, which
gives a similar pattern for different experimental values,
and a maximum standard deviation of 7, 15 and 25 with
respect to load conditions 30N, 50N and 65N among all
sets of test data.
The anti-wear property is a function of additive
concentration in base oil. Fig. 3 shows the graph of wear
verses time in which 0.5 wt% concentration of base oil
sample drastically improved the wear reduction at 30N
and 65N loading conditions of 3μ and 18μ. But at 50N
the wear rate slightly increased by 0.8 μ than that of the
base oil.
So as per the above discussion nanoparticle at 0.5% can
be reduce wear compared with pure base oil. Since base
oil does not contain any anti-wear additive, the
tribochemical reaction film cannot be produced on
rubbing surfaces. Therefore, lower wear might be
attributed to rolling effect of the nanoparticles.
Figure 2 Wear in micron with base oil without
nanoparticles
Figure 3 Wear of base oil with and without nanoparticles
at 0.5% concentration
3.2 Friction-reduction properties
In order to confirm the repeatability of experimental
data, the coefficient of friction was measured in
triplicate using the pin on disk tribotester under 30N,
50N and 65N load conditions for 10 minute. The friction
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coefficients of base oil without nanoparticles are
displayed in fig. 4, which show a similar trend for
different experimental results, and a maximum standard
deviation of 0.114, 0.028 and 0.059 with respect to 30N,
50N and 65N load conditions among all sets of test data.
The Coefficients Of Friction of the base oil with and
without nanoparticles are shown in fig. 5. The x-
coordinate shows the time elapse from start to end of
single test. The coefficient of friction of base oil
containing nanoparticles, CuO are slightly lower than
those of base oil without nanoparticles.
The addition of CuO nanoparticles reduced coefficient
of friction with respect to pure base oil. The best results
were found for the suspensions with a nanoparticle
concentration of 0.5%. Fig. 3 shows the suspensions
with 0.5 wt% of base oil sample exhibited 24% and 53%
of friction coefficient reduction with respect to the base
oil without containing nanoparticles at, 50N and 65N
load condition respectively. But for 30N load there was
observed to be slight increase in friction coefficient by
1% for 0.5%wt. As can be seen fig. 5 the base oil
containing nanoparticles yields better friction reduction
behavior which helps the lubrication regime to change
from boundary lubrication into mixed or hydrodynamic
lubrication, as a result the lower coefficient of friction is
observed.
Figure 4 coefficient of friction of base oil without
nanoparticles
3.3 Analysis of Specimen surfaces
The SEM morphology was employed to investigate the
worn surface of the specimens lubricated by the base oil
with and without CuO nanoparticles. Fig. 6 - a and b
represents SEM images of rubbed surface lubricated by
base oil without nanoparticles. All photographs taken at
load are 30N, 50N and 65N at 1000rpm disk speed.
 International Journal on Theoretical and Applied Research in Mechanical Engineering (IJTARME)
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But the comparison with base oil with nanoparticles was

shown by small wear depth. As shown in fig 7-c and d
worn surfaces appear much smoother without severe
scuffing. The fiber removal was gradually and fully
contributed to the wear resistance of the composites. As
the result, the specific wear of the material was much
more stable, and load carrying capacity of the material
was significantly improved.

Figure 5 coefficient of friction of base oil with and

without nanoparticles at 0.5% concentration
By observing fig.6 the surface appears to have many c)
thick and deep furrows and pits or spalls because of
contact fatigue and adhesive fatigue. Also gradual
removal process of metals fibers is observed, normally
occurring in the sequence of fiber thinning, fiber fracture
and final removal of broken fiber pieces.

d)
Figure 7-c and d SEM images of worn surfaces with
base oil with CuO nanoparticles
In this study an interesting result was obtained from the
wear surface analysis that with increase in the
a) concentration of nanoparticles, some of the properties of
engine oil improved, but it was noticed that an increase
in concentration causes a reduction in lubricating
properties of engine oil due to agglomeration and
precipitation of nanoparticles and as a result causes
damage to frictional surface on the wear surfaces. So
determining the appropriate concentration to achieve
better properties is a very important issue. The
tribological performance of base oil could be remarkably
improved by using nanoparticles as additional fillers.
Meanwhile, a three body mild abrasive wear was
suggested due to the presence of hard nanoparticles in
the contact region. However, the three-body contact
problem is very complex and depends on many
b) variables, including particle characteristics such as size,
Figure 6-a and b SEM images of worn surfaces with hardness and shape and properties of the counterparts
base oil without nanoparticles such as surface topography and lubricating and loading
conditions. The presence of so many factors, and the
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interactions among them, makes a full characterization
of the roles of these factors in friction and wear very
difficult. Up to now, there is still a lack of fundamental
understanding of the wear mechanisms when using
nanoparticles in such wear conditions. This means that
systematic investigation of all the relevant
characteristics and properties of nanoparticles is still a
matter of further research.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
The following conclusions have been drawn from the
conducted research work:.
1. As a lubricant, friction-reduction properties of
base oil are enhanced by the addition of CuO
nanoparticles to a moderate concentration.
2. Dispersing nanoparticles inside engine oil, due to
the base oil's high viscosity, is a very difficult
work. The nanoparticles modified by oleic acid
exhibited good dispersibility and stability in base
oil.
3. Base oil with CuO nanoparticles improved
tribological properties in terms of load carrying
capacity, anti-wear and friction reduction than
base oil without nanoparticles. The results
showed that 0.5wt% concentration was an
optimum concentration.
4. For the friction reduction test, when CuO
nanoparticles were added into base oil, the
coefficient of friction reduced by 24% and 53%
at 0.5wt% concentration as compared to oil
without nanoparticles.
5. The deposition of nanoparticles on the worn
surface can decrease the shearing stress, and
hence reduce friction and wear.
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