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Effects of Graphene Nanoadditive on the Lubrication Performance of Lithium Grease

Author(s)

Ibrohim Rustamov1,2 *, Lehong Xiang1, Yinshui Xia1, Wenfei Peng1, Jianming Zhan1

Affiliation(s)

1Loctek Ergonomic Technology Corp, Ningbo, China 2Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China *Corresponding Author.

Abstract

In this study, graphene nanoplatelets were blended with lithium base grease in the range of 0 wt%-1 wt% amount, and lubrication behaviors were examined by means of four-ball friction test system. First, the graphene and grease materials were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Raman spectroscopy. Friction and wear tests were carried out at ambient temperature with 392 N normal load and 1200 rpm speed. Results show that the grease containing 0.5 wt% of graphene reached to the optimum lubrication behavior with minimum friction and wear. Based on the friction test results and wear surface microscopy analysis, the mechanism of lubrication was discussed for better understanding the grease element interactions during frictional shearing actions. It is concluded that the graphene nanoplatelets promote the formation of protective tribofilm in the contact interface, as indicated by EDS and Raman spectroscopy, which is crucial to the improvement of anti-friction and anti-wear behavior.

Keywords

Graphene; Lithium Grease; Characterization; Friction; Wear

References

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