Tribological Properties of Ultrafine Copper Particles in Synthetic Lubricant PAO10

Two kinds of Cu powder with different morphology were synthesized by high energy ball milling and thermal reduction methods,respectively,which were flake-like with 5 μm long and spherical with 150 nm diameter.Meanwhile,their tribological properties and mechanism in PAO10 were investigated.The results showed that with the addition of ultrafine Cu powder in PAO10 the maximum non-seizure load(PB) was increased by 27.5%,and the friction coefficient(μ) and wear scar diameter(WSD) were decreased by 43.6% and 47.9% at most,respectively,as compared to the base oil without Cu powder.And the PB had little to do with the size and morphology of the Cu particles,however,the Cu powder prepared by thermal reduction exhibited better anti-friction and anti-wear properties due to its small size and spherical morphology.Because of the synergy of polishing,transfer film and reaction film mechanism,the excellent tribological properties of lubricating oil containing ultrafine Cu powder were observed.