Date of Graduation
5-2014
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor/Mentor
Malshe, Ajay P.
Committee Member/Reader
Spearot, Douglas E.
Committee Member/Second Reader
Couvillion, Rick J.
Abstract
In the dynamic nature of today’s engineering components the use of nanolubricants and the control of micron and sub-micron surface texture features can greatly aid in reducing frictional losses and thus reduce energy consumption. The primary purpose of this paper is to define texture and analyze the effects of an isotropic surface texture and lubrication on the frictional response of contacting surfaces in boundary lubrication. This experiment was carried out using a steel ball-on-disk tribometer set-up where the steel disk had a sandblasted surface texture using 40-60 grit glass beads to produce an average roughness, Sa, of 2.120 μm uniformly distributed as shown by an Str value of 0.9. The disks were tested in the tribometer using three different lubrications: without the presence of a lubricant, with PAO base oil, and with MoS2 nanoparticle lubricant. The MoS2 nanolubricant frictional response showed the lowest amount of observable and quantifiable wear based on the areal surface texture parameters measured using a profilometer.
Citation
Bird, E. H. (2014). Characterization of Isotropic Surface Texture in the Boundary Lubrication Regime and the Frictional Response. Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/meeguht/34