The friction and Wear behavior of Silicon oil-based Magnetorheological fluid with Solid lubricant

Abstract

Due to its lower energy consumption, higher mechanical properties and easier to control, magnetorheological(MR) fluid has been widely used in the engineering field. However, the friction and wear behavior of it, which may hinder its applicability, needs to be modified. The tribological behavior of silicon oil-based MR fluid with different types and contents of solid lubricant was investigated on a four-ball machine. The worn surfaces of the steel balls were observed by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the friction and wear property of silicon oil-based MR fluid could be improved by some solid lubricants. Both of molybdenum disulfide and graphite can decrease friction coefficient of silicon oil-based MR fluid significantly, but graphite has the better wear resistance than molybdenum disulfide. Adding polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) can enhance the wear resistance of MR fluid obviously, but the friction coefficient is larger than the first two. The friction and wear property of MR fluid hardly changes by adding boron nitride. Increasing the content of graphite can improve the friction and wear resistance of MR fluid, and the wear resistance of MR fluid has an optimal point when the weight percent of graphite is 2%.