Tribological behavior of electric vehicle transmission oils using Al2O3 nanoadditives

Antifriction and antiwear performances of Al2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) as additives of an automatic transmission fluid, ATF, are presented in this research. For this purpose, four nanodispersions were formulated: ATF + 0.05 wt% Al2O3 NPs, ATF + 0.10 wt% Al2O3 NPs, ATF + 0.15 wt% Al2O3 NPs and ATF + 0.20 wt% Al2O3 NPs to identify the optimal concentration of additive. Tribological experiments were taken at pure sliding conditions, with the formulated nanolubricants and the ATF, under a working load of 20 N. The four nanolubricants tested resulted in lower friction coefficients than those obtained using ATF, reaching a maximum reduction of 6 % with the ATF + 0.10 wt% Al2O3 nanolubricant. The tribological pairs tested with the Al2O3 nanolubricants show lower wear than those tested with the ATF, having the best wear decrease with the ATF + 0.10 wt% Al2O3 nanolubricant, with reductions of 45, 57 and 78 %, respectively, in diameter, depth and area of the wear scar. Furthermore, by means of confocal Raman microscopy, roughness evaluation and SEM-EDX of the worn tribological specimens, it can be determined that mending, tribo-sintering as well as rolling mechanisms occur.This research is supported by Xunta de Galicia (ED431C 2020/10) and by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 through the PID2020-112846RB-C22 project. JMLdR is grateful for financial support through the Margarita Salas program, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and “NextGenerationEU/PRTR”. Furthermore, authors are also grateful to Repsol Lubricants for providing the ATF and to RIAIDT-USC for its analytical facilities.S