Here is an abstract for our project.

Title: Effect of Hardness on Friction and Wear Characteristics of Oil-Based ZnO Nanofluids

Abstract:

Nanofluids are fluids with a suspension of nanoparticles in base fluids. With a growing demand for efficiency and reliability, nanofluids with significant friction reduction and anti-wear properties have been studied extensively. Many different variables have been examined in order to find their effects on friction and wear performance of nanofluids. Those variables include: the surface roughness of a material, the size, shape, and concentration of nanoparticles, and the type of nanoparticles, base fluids and surfactants used. However, the effect of the hardness of a material on friction and wear when using nanofluids as lubricants has not been studied. In this project, pin-on-disk tests with carbon steels of varying hardness alongside ZnO-oil based nanofluids will be carried out to assess the effect of the hardness on friction and wear performance of nanofluids.

 

Here's a photo of us after giving a presentation on our project on Thursday, June 19th. And yes I have finally found which password out of a hundred I used for this account!

This morning we got to do something cool. We took a tour of the Chrysler Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP). This is where the Chrysler 200 is made.

We didn't get to see the whole process like I had hoped, but we did get to see how the car's body is put together and painted.

There were lots of cool robots !

Just and update. We still are doing nothing but polishing, we are averaging an average of one disk per day. We didn't think it would take this long to polish all of our samples.

Also, we are kind of at a standstill since some materials like sanding disks and micro polish have not come in yet. That stuff is supposed to come in soon we hope. We have enough sanding disks to hold us over, but we cant move on without the micro polish.

We hope to at least get our testing parameters set up by the end of the week.

Right now we are preparing an abstract in order to enter the Mid-Sure undergraduate conference at Michigan State University and present our findings.

One, last thing. Sai forgot his password and can't seem to recover it, so I might be doing all of the updates for a while.

Well, so far polishing has proven to be a challenge. The goal is to get the steel cuts to look almost like a mirror. This takes a long time.

We finally got our steel cut to the right specifications last Thursday. Now we need to get the steel pieces ready for testing.
The first step will be to polish the steel pieces.
We also received our nanoparticles.

Well, we are still waiting for our steel to be cut to the proper dimensions and for the rest of our materials to arrive.  On the bright side, today, we learned how to make nano-fluid mixtures.

On Friday May 30th, Jaime and I spent the majority of the day locating the materials and supplies that we need for our project. Our orders were processed on Monday June 2nd and we received our steel samples, ball bearings, felt pads, and gloves the next day.

Today Jaime and I determined the dimensions for our steel samples and we dropped off the steel at the machine shop to be cut. The machine shop foreman told us our steel cuts should be ready next week.

We are still waiting on other supplies such as abrasive disks, micropolish, breathing masks, and nanoparticles to arrive.

The REU started Monday May 19th, 2014 with orientation and breakfast. That morning, I met everyone participating in the program as well as the program director, Dr. Laila Guessous.
After we had lunch as a group, we were shown around campus.

Tuesday May 20th, 2014, we saw several presentation about our possible research options for the REU.

Wednesday May 21st, 2014, we filled out a survey to describe what project (from the projects presented to us the day before) we would like to work on the most. Project assignments were given later that afternoon.
I will be working with Sai Stephens on the Nanoparticle project.

With the exception of a few activities, Sai and I spent the remainder of the first week and the majority of the second week reading journal articles related to our project.

Hey guys,

My name is Sai Stephens. I am a junior mechanical engineering undergraduate student at Georgia Institute of Technology. This summer I have the opportunity to research in Oakland University's Automotive and Energy Research and Industrial Mentorship (AERIM) program.

This is a picture of me during the Undergraduate Research Symposium at Georgia Tech. 

Hello everyone,

My name is Jaime Guajardo. I am a mechanical engineering undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Arlington. This summer I am fortunate enough to be a part of the Automotive and Energy Research and Industrial Mentorship (AERIM) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan.

Here is a picture of me at Space Center Houston's Rocket Park.