Tribological properties of carbon nanotubes as lubricant additive in oil and water for a wheel–rail system

Since their discovery in 1991 carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted much interest due to their remarkable mechanical, thermal, electrical, chemical and optical properties. In connection with their mechanical properties, CNTs have been studied in various forms for tribological applications including their use as lubricant additives for oil and water. In this work, the tribological properties of functionalized nanotubes (single and multi-walled) modified with carboxylic acid when used as lubricant additives at different concentrations (0.01, 0.05%) were studied under rolling-sliding conditions in a twin-disk testing machine. The tests were performed using 5% of creepage and pressures of 0.8 GPa and 1.1 GPa. The results indicated that the presence of carbon nanotubes leads to a decrease in both friction coefficient and wear rate for both systems studied (oil and water).