Informatics and Engineering Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-5-2023
Abstract
Recently, environmentally friendly and sustainable materials are being developed, searching for biocompatible and efficient materials which could be incorporated into diverse industries and fields. Natural esters are investigated and have emerged as eco-friendly high-performance alternatives to mineral fluids. This research shows the evaluations on thermal transport and tribological properties of halloysite nanotubular structures (HNS) reinforcing natural ester lubricant at various filler fractions (0.01, 0.05, and 0.10 wt.%). Nanolubricant tribotestings were evaluated under two configurations, block-on-ring, and 4-balls, to obtain the coefficient of friction (COF) and wear scar diameter (WSD), respectively. Results indicated improvements, even at merely 0.01 wt.% HNS concentration, where COF and WSD were reduced by ~66% and 8%, respectively, when compared to pure natural ester. The maximum significant improvement was observed for the 0.05 wt.% concentration, which resulted in a reduction of 87% in COF and 37% in WSD. Thermal conductivity was analyzed under a temperature scan from room temperature up to 70 °C (343 K). Results indicate that thermal conductivity is improved as the HNS concentration and testing temperature are increased. Results revealed improvements for the nanolubricants in the range of 8–16% at 50 °C (323 K) and reached a maximum of 30% at 70 °C (343 K). Therefore, this research suggests that natural ester/HNS lubricants might be used in industrial applications as green lubricants.
Recommended Citation
Taha-Tijerina, J.J.; Aviña, K.; Padilla-Gainza, V.; Akundi, A. Halloysite Reinforced Natural Esters for Energy Applications. Lubricants 2023, 11, 65. https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants11020065
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Publication Title
Lubricants
DOI
10.3390/lubricants11020065
Comments
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.