Investigation of Dispersion, Stability, and Tribological Performance of Oil-Based Aluminum Oxide Nanofluids.

摘要

The term nanofluid was first proposed by Choi in 1995 and has been studied ever since due to their unique characteristics. Despite their great promise for thermal and tribological properties, the issue of preparing stable and well-dispersed solutions has been the major problem with this new classification of fluid. In this study, the effects of different dispersion procedures and methods on the stability of oil-based Al2O3 nanofluids were investigated. Sample concentration of surfactant and nanoparticles was studied for solution stability. Sample stability was also compared using a different stabilizing agent. The experimentally determined tribological performance for stabilized alumina nanofluids was investigated. Ball-on-disk tests were conducted and friction data was collected over time. The resulting wear data was analyzed using an optical surface profiler. The stabilized nanofluid was tested for enhanced thermal properties. A semi-transient hot plane method was used to acquire thermal conductivity data.