Ferrofluid+as+a+lubricant


 * __Abstract:__**

** The Creation of Ferrofluid. Max and Matt. ** Ferrofluid, a dense substance which is made mainly out of nanoscopic magnetic particles suspended in a surfactant. Ferrofluid can be easily used for lubrication purposes. Ferrofluid was originally going to be tested for its effectiveness as a lubricant, however due to time constraints, that was unaccomplished. A ferrofluid was successfully created. Out of three attempts, the first two failed. The first one failed because there was too little ferrofluid to use, or there was some human error. The second failed because of the decision to use citric acid as the surfactant. The third attempt however used more magnetite to suspend, creating more ferrofluid, as well as using tetramethylammonium hydroxide as a surfactant. Ferrofluid could easily be used as lubricant in many devices, as it already is. It is used in some hard drives to protect against debris. NASA has also used it to control the rotation of many of their ships, as well as to confine liquids. ** Keywords: ** Ferrofluid, lubricant, nanotechnology, magnetism **Citations:** Kao, Y. -., Chao, P. C., Liu, Z., Wang, Z., Liu, P., Huang, J., et al. (2008). Performance prediction of a small-sized herringbone-grooved bearing with ferrofluid lubrication considering cavitation. Journal of Applied Physics, 105. Retrieved March 8, 2011, from the EBSCO Host database.

Results: Overall, results were mixed. Neither of the first two attempts worked very well. The third attempt was the only one which successfully created a reactive ferrofluid. In all three attempts, the magnetite did precipitate correctly, following the chemical equation above. In both the first two attempts, a normal amount of ferrofluid was precipitated. However, four times the amount was precipitated in the third attempt, which seemed to have helped the ferrofluid form correctly and react to the presence of a magnet. The ferrofluid reacted differently depending on the distance from the magnet. Generally, the farther away the magnet, the larger the spikes, up to a certain degree.

Photos:

Explanation: media type="file" key="Ferrofluid audacity.mp3" width="240" height="20"

Citations:

Breitzer, J., & Lisensky, G. (n.d.). Synthesis of Aqueous Ferrofluid. //UW MRSEC - Materials Research Science and Engineering Center on Nanostructured Interfaces//. Retrieved March 8, 2011, from http://mrsec.wisc.edu/Edetc/nanolab/ffexp/index.html

Kao, Y. -., Chao, P. C., Liu, Z., Wang, Z., Liu, P., Huang, J., et al. (2008). Performance prediction of a small-sized herringbone-grooved bearing with ferrofluid lubrication considering cavitation. //Journal of Applied Physics//, //105//. Retrieved March 8, 2011, from the EBSCO Host database.