The flow characteristics of solid particles used as additives for lubricants in the point contact area

Solid nanoparticles have been applied as anti-wear and friction reduction additives for lubricants. In this paper, the flow characteristics of solid particles used as additives for lubricants were studied. A flow field visualizer based on high speed photography was developed. The particle trajectories in the point contact area were recorded using the flow field visualizer and were compared with the particle trajectories simulated using COMSOL. The results were analyzed and compared with tribological test results. It was found that the experimental results matched well with the simulation results, and the speed of the particles decreased by 60% at the inlet and outlet zones of the contact area. Solid particles were found to experience an unsteady flow in both the inlet and outlet zones and this would contribute to particle sedimentation in those areas, which matches well with the findings of the tribology test, which showed that more particles sedimented in those two areas.