Tribological Performance of Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) Nanoparticles as an Additive for Engine Lubrication Oil

Authors

  • Siti Hajar Saimi, Shahrul Azmir Osman, Mas Fawzi, Putradamazman

Abstract

A comparative oil degradation test was undertaken to determine the reliability of lubricating oil when additional SiO2 nanoparticles were incorporated. A blend of palm biodiesel at 20 percent was used as fuel for a single-cylinder diesel engine. The test cycle consisted of running the engine with B20 biodiesel fuel alongside lubricating oil (SAE15W40) for 160h.  With the aim to observe the effects of lubricating oil’s tribological properties when the additional additive was incorporated, a similar test cycle was repeated by adding SiO2 nanoparticles together with the lubricating oil (SAE15W40). Various tribological properties of lubricating oil, such as kinematic viscosity, density, total base number, and moisture content recorded at regular intervals to correlate the effect of fuel chemistry on lubricating oil performance and engine life. When comparing the two different setups, it was evident that lubricating oil (SAE15W40) with SiO2 nanoparticles exhibited greater kinematic viscosity and density versus the lubricating oil (SAE15W40) without SiO2 nanoparticles. The amount of debris resulting from engine wear was measured using the Rotating Disk Electrode – Atomic Emission Spectroscopy. By analyzing the lubricating oil samples drawn from the engine, it was observed that lubricating oil (SAE15W40) without SiO2 nanoparticles contained higher metal concentration from engine wear, and further exemplified in ferrography tests, whereby said lubrication oil demonstrated significant deterioration.

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Published

2020-06-12

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Section

Articles