A Comprehensive Investigation on Tribological Performance of Nano-Silver and Nano-Gold Additivated Fluids on Wearing Surfaces

Abstract In this study, the tribological performances of the colloidal suspensions with the additives of nano-silver and nano-gold were examined via wear experiments of AA7075-T6 material. The nanoparticles were penetrated in the wear region using suspensions prepared in distilled water and ethylene glycol environment. The wear experiments were performed under 30 N load and 20 rpm speed condition in 1000 m wear distance using the ball-on-plate method. The worn surfaces were analyzed with a three-dimensional profilometer, scanning electron microscope/energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and atomic force microscope (AFM) methods. According to the results, the colloidal dispersed nano-gold particles in ethylene glycol performed 28.85% better on reducing the surface roughness, 2.32% on reducing the weight loss, 4.85% on increasing the heat transfer, and 1.22% on reducing the friction coefficient than the nano-silver particles.