Effect of Using Zinc Oxide Nano-particles as Anti-wear and Anti-friction Additive in Mineral Oil for a Tribo-pair operating in Mixed Lubrication Regime

Experimental investigations have been conducted in the present research work to determine the effectiveness of Zinc oxide nano-particles as anti-wear and anti-friction additive in a mineral oil. The nano lubricants containing 0.5%, 1.0% and 1.5% quantity of zinc oxide nano-particles (% by weight) were prepared in two different base oils using the same surfactant to study these effects. The effectiveness of Zinc oxide nano-particles as anti-wear and anti-friction additive is shown to be dependent on the properties of the base oil. The wear tests were conducted on block on disk test setup to determine the anti-wear performance of the nano lubricants. The wear of the block is measured in terms of its weight loss. The results of the experimental investigations are reported. The addition of Zinc oxide nano-particles in low viscosity lubricant reduces the wear by about 94% and coefficient of friction by 59%. However, addition of Zinc oxide nano-particles in high viscosity lubricant reduces the wear by about 92% but increases the coefficient of friction by up to 71%.