Investigation of friction and vibration performance of lithium complex grease containing nano-particles on rolling bearing

Abstract This paper presents a comparative study of the tribological and vibration performance of the synthesized lithium complex grease (LCG) containing Carbon black, Fe3O4 and Al2O3 nanoparticles on rolling bearing. The micromorphology, friction coefficient, worn surface and bearing vibration experiment of four greases were studied. The results show that in presence of nanoparticles friction and wear behaviors are improved compared to LCG without nanoparticles. The best tribological performance is obtained in presence of Al2O3 nanoparticle, which is mainly attributed to its high hardness, cylindrical shape and deposition on the worn surface. Further, the wettability test shows that Al2O3 nanoparticles can effectively promote the flow of base oil on the LCG soap fibers, which results in the most effective bearing vibration suppression.