Experimental investigation of erosion due to nanofluids

The demand for efficient and sustainable energy is continuously increasing. Among the many technologies with great potential within this field are nanofluids. Nevertheless, there is still a considerable lack of information regarding their erosive effects on systems materials. In this research, the tribological behaviour of aqueous 1.33 wt% TiO2 nanofluid was investigated when jet-impinged with an average velocity of 0.8 m/s at flat targets of various materials (plastic, copper, rubber). The target surfaces were analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was found that impinging TiO2 nanofluid caused erosion of 282 g/( yr.mm2) for copper and 212 g/( yr.mm2) for plastic. In addition, a deposition of nanoparticles was found for rubber at rate of 2.7 kg/(yr.mm2).