Study of the Tribological Properties of Nano-TiO2 Additive Water-Based Lubricants in Microrolling of Ultrathin Stainless Steel Strips

Water-based nanolubricants with different concentrations of TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared and the wettability and viscosity were evaluated. The results show that the addition of TiO2 nanoparticles improves the lubrication performance during microrolling of ultrathin stainless steel foils. In addition, the viscosity decreases dramatically with the increase in the concentration of nanoparticles, which was related to the change of dispersing agent concentration. Microrolling tests were performed to explore the lubrication conditions during microrolling of ultrathin stainless-steel strips, and the results showed that the refined surface quality of the rolled strips was achieved with 3.0 wt% TiO2. The improvement in surface quality can be attributed to the synergism of the rolling effect, polishing effect, protection film, and mending effect of TiO2 nanoparticles