In the present work, the nano-Aluminum oxide (Al2O3), nano-Silicon Carbide (SiC), or a hybrid of them were infused into epoxy resin with an ultrasonic system with various weight percentage ratios of the nanoparticles. Small punch testing (SPT) and indirect tension testing were adopted to measure the tensile properties of the present nanocomposites. Pin-on-ring wear testing was also performed to examine wear performance of epoxy Al2O3 and SiC nanocomposites. The Finite Element Analysis method is introduced to simulate the indirect tension test and SPT to give a complete vision of the stress distribution in the nanocomposite specimen during the loading, and to examine its mode of failure. Good agreement between the numerical and experimental results was observed. The addition of nanoparticles from Al2O3 or SiC improves the wear resistance of epoxy. Furthermore, epoxy with nano-Al2O3 has a higher wear resistance than that with nano-SiC. The tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of epoxy are reduced by adding the Al2O3 nanoparticle. The synergistic effect is not observed in the present study.

This study investigates the impact of different surfactants and dispersion techniques on the friction and wear behavior of WS₂ and MoS₂ nanoparticles additives in a Polyalphaolefin (PAO) base oil under boundary lubrication conditions. The nanoparticles were dispersed using Oleic acid (OA) and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to investigate their impact on particle agglomeration. The size distribution of the dispersed nanoparticles in PAO was measured by dynamic light scattering. The nanoparticles treated using PVP resulted in the most stable particle size. Friction studies showed that nanoparticle agglomeration reduction and the homogeneity of the suspension did not significantly impact the friction reduction behavior of the lubricant. Reciprocating wear experiments showed that, for our test conditions, both WS₂ and MoS₂ nano additives exhibited maximum wear depth reduction (45%) when using the PVP surface treatment compared to base oil. The wear results confirmed the significance of minimizing agglomeration and promoting high dispersion in promoting favorable wear resistance under boundary lubricant conditions. Analysis of the wear surfaces showed that a tribofilm formation was the primary wear reduction mechanism for WS₂ particles treated by PVP while, in the case of MoS₂ treated by PVP, the mechanism was load sharing via particles rolling and/or sliding at the interface.