Effect of external magnetic field on tribological properties of goethite (a-FeOOH) based nanofluids

Nanofluids were characterized regarding both viscosity and stability. Tribological ball-on-flat tests were executed in presence of variably oriented magnetic field. The resulting orientation of nanorods within the contact zone influenced the friction coefficient with a maximum decrease of 22% with magnetic field oriented parallel to the sliding direction. The wear mechanism was investigated by means of SEM, X-EDS and Raman spectroscopy.