The Frictional Properties of Newtonian Fluids in Rolling–Sliding soft-EHL Contact

A combined experimental and numerical study has been carried out to explore friction in rolling–sliding, soft-EHL contact. Experimental work has employed corn syrup solutions of different concentrations in water to provide a range of lubricant viscosities and has measured Couette friction in mixed rolling–sliding conditions over a wide range of entrainment speeds. A Stribeck curve has been generated, ranging from the boundary to full film, isoviscous-elastic lubrication regime. In the latter regime, friction coefficient is approximately proportional to the product of (entrainment speed × viscosity) raised to the power 0.55. Numerical solution of the isoviscous-elastic lubrication regime has been used to derive predictive equations for both Couette and Poiseuille friction in circular, soft-EHL contacts. This shows that in soft-EHL the Poiseuille or “rolling” friction can have magnitude comparable to the Couette friction. The calculated Poiseuille friction coefficient can be predicted from non-dimensional load and speed using a simple power law expression similar to that used for film thickness. However accurate prediction of calculated Couette friction coefficient requires a two-term power law expression. Comparison of experimental and numerical Couette friction coefficients shows quite good agreement between the two, with a similar non-dimensional speed dependence, but slightly lower predicted than measured values.     

Lubrication Mechanisms of Lamellar Fatty Acid Fluids

The lubrication mechanisms of different lamellar fluids are investigated as they are introduced in the thin contact zone between two macroscopic surfaces in motion in a friction measurement set-up. We simultaneously measure the film thickness and its lubricative properties under controlled contact kinematics. The lamellar phases consist of nanometric flat bilayers of fatty acid surfactant molecules organized in periodic stacks separated by a water/ethylene diamine solution. First, we examine the film forming capability of these phases when the two surfaces are moving at the same velocity, i.e. in “pure rolling” conditions. We observe the growth of a thick film in the contact which eventually reaches a stable value. The relatively high viscosity of the film leads to a situation of so-called “starved lubrication”. By modelling the film build-up process, we determine the viscosity of the lubricant and its piezoviscosity. As shear is applied between the surfaces, the lubricant film exhibits a constant thickness and a rather low frictional response. We correlate this behaviour to the combination of a relatively high viscosity value together with a low piezoviscosity. Through the addition of a hydrophobic liquid (naphthenic oil) to the initial system, we increase the bilayer thickness whilst keeping the lamellar characteristic packing distance constant. This changes both the film forming capability and frictional behaviour of the lamellar fluid. We propose a model to account for the observed friction responses of both lamellar phases and discuss the shear localization in the lubricant film.     

A multi-scale model for friction in cold rolling of aluminium alloy

A simple and robust friction model is proposed for cold metal rolling in the mixed lubrication regime, based on physical phenomena across two length scales. At the primary roughness scale, the evolution of asperity contact area is associated with the asperity flattening process and hydrodynamic entrainment between the roll and strip surfaces. The friction coefficient on the asperity contacts is related to a theoretical oil film thickness and secondary-scale roll surface roughness. The boundary friction coefficient at the “true” asperity contacts is associated with tribo-chemical reactions between fresh metal, metal oxide, boundary additives, the tool and any transfer layer on the tool. The asperity friction model is verified by strip drawing simulations under thin film lubrication conditions with a polished tool, taking the fitting parameter of the boundary lubrication friction factor on the true contact areas equal to 0.1. Predicted values of average friction coefficient, using a boundary friction factor in the range 0.07–0.1, are in good agreement with measurements from laboratory and industrial rolling mill trials.     

Thin film lubrication of sliding point contacts of AISI 52100 steel

The mechanism of thin film lubrication of sliding point contacts of AISI 52100 steel has been studied as a function of load, sliding speed, composition and temperature of the lubricant.Below certain critical combinations of Hertzian pressure, speed and temperature the surfaces are kept apart by an elastohydrodynamic lubricant film. The load carrying capacity of this film depends primarily on the effective viscosity of the lubricant in the contact region which decreases with bulk oil temperature and with increasing sliding speed, because of friction induced thermal effects. After breakdown of the EHD film, boundary lubrication may still prevent severe adhesive wear. The transition from the boundary lubricated regime towards the regime of severe adhesive wear is a function of load (normal force), speed and bulk oil temperature and possibly depends on the conjunction temperature. Irrespective of the initial lubrication condition, oxidation of the steel surfaces leads to the (re)establishment of low friction, mild wear conditions.     

Modeling Bearing and Shear Forces in Molecularly Thin Lubricants

Under the effects of high shear rate and confinement between solid surfaces, the behavior of a thin lubricant film deviates from that of the bulk, resulting in significant increases of lubricant viscosity and interfacial slip. A semi-empirical model accounting for the breakdown of continuum theory at the nanoscale is proposed—based on film morphology and chemistry from available experimental and molecular dynamics simulation data—to describe lubricant behavior under shear. Viscosity stiffening and interfacial slip models are introduced into the formulations of the normal (bearing) and shear forces acting on a sphere that moves within a thin lubricant film parallel to a rigid plane. The experimentally measured ‘apparent’ viscosity confounding the effects of both stiffening and slip is used to predict the hydrodynamic forces acting on a fully or partially submerged sphere for the purposes of describing lubricant contact in magnetic storage. The proposed sphere-on-flat model forms the basis of a future, dynamic contact with friction model that will account for lubricant contact in the context of molecularly thin lubricated rough surface contact.     

Anomalous Low Friction Under Boundary Lubrication of Steel Surfaces by Polyols

We present here anomalous low friction obtained with highly polished steel on steel hard contact lubricated by glycerol under severe mixed and boundary regimes (λ ratio below 1). We investigated the effects of contact pressure, sliding speed, and temperature on friction coefficient and electrical contact resistance. The mechanism of low friction (typically below 0.02) is thought to have two origins: first a contribution of an ultrathin EHL film of glycerol providing easy shear under pressure, second the chemical degradation of glycerol inside the contact when more severe conditions are attained, generating a nanometer-thick film containing shear-induced water molecules. This new mechanism, called “H-bond Network model”, is completely different from the well-accepted “Monolayer” model working with polar molecules containing long aliphatic chains. Moreover, we show outstanding superlubricity (friction coefficient below 0.01) of steel surfaces directly lubricated by a solution of myo-inositol (also called vitamin Bh) in glycerol at ambient temperature (25 °C) and high contact pressure (0.8 GPa) in the absence of any long chain polar molecules. Mechanism is still unknown but could be associated with friction-induced dissociation of inositol and H-bond interactions network of water-like species with steel surface.     

Measurement and Characterization of “Resonance Friction” at High Sliding Speeds in a Model Automotive Wet Clutch

The friction forces between various lubricated “friction materials” and sapphire disks were measured using a new “high-speed” rotating disk attachment to the surface forces apparatus (SFA). Two different clutch lubricants and two different friction materials were tested at sliding speeds and normal loads from 5 to 25 m/s, and 0.2 to 1 N (nominal pressures ~1 MPa), respectively. The results show that “resonance friction”—characterized by large amplitude oscillatory (i.e., sinusoidal) vibrations, also known as shudder or chatter—dominates dynamical considerations at high sliding speed, replacing the smooth sliding or low-amplitude stick–slip that is characteristic of low speed/low load sliding. The characteristic (rotational) speeds or frequencies at which resonance friction occurs depend only on the coupled/uncoupled mechanical resonance frequencies of the loading and friction-sensing mechanisms. In contrast, the intensity of and time to enter/exit shudder depends strongly on the lubricating oil and, to a lesser extent, on the friction material. Physical–chemical analyses of the friction materials before and after testing showed that the samples undergo primarily structural rather than chemical changes. Our results provide new fundamental insights into the resonance friction phenomenon and suggest means for its control.     

Tribological Behavior of Ti<Subscript>3</Subscript>SiC<Subscript>2</Subscript> Sliding Against Ni-based Alloys at Elevated Temperatures

Understanding the mechanism of “rubbing” noise and low-amplitude friction exited vibration generation in steady sliding can be helped by models describing the contact interactions. In the current article, we consider a simple microscopic contact model for surfaces in sliding, which is based on the adhesion theory of friction. In the proposed model, we consider that the formation and shearing of a junction contributes to a small change in the real contact area. The model incorporates random size and random spacing between junctions. We investigate the dependence of the instantaneous real contact area on the average size and number of junctions. We find that from the viewpoint of vibration reduction, it is advantageous if the real contact area needed to support the given load is obtained as a sum of many small-sized micro-contacts, instead of few large-sized micro-contacts. The above result is in agreement with experimentally observed reduction of vibrations of a hard-disk slider after texturing.     

A stochastic model of stick-slip boundary friction with account for the deformation effect of the shear modulus of the lubricant

The melting of an ultrathin lubricating film during the friction of two solid atomically smooth surfaces is studied within the limits of the Lorentz model that approximates a viscoelastic medium, the deformation effect of the shear modulus being taken into account. It is shown that the action of a random force representing additive non-correlated noise results in the sustained oscillation mode that corresponds to stickslip friction. The numerical modeling of the process yields the ratios between the relaxation times at which the stick-slip mode is characterized by a high amplitude. The amplitude of stick-slip transitions is found to decrease as the shear modulus of the lubricant increases.     

Sliding velocity dependency of the friction coefficient of Si-containing diamond-like carbon film under oil lubricated condition

In this study we investigated the sliding velocity dependency of the coefficient of friction for a Si-containing diamond-like carbon (DLC-Si) film in an automatic transmission fluid (ATF) under a wide range of contact pressures. The DLC-Si film and a nitrided steel with a surface roughness, Rz_JIS, of around 3.0 μm were used as disk specimens. A high-carbon chromium steel (JIS-SUJ2) bearing ball was used as a ball specimen. Friction tests were conducted using a ball-on-disk friction apparatus under a wide range of sliding velocites (0.1-2.0 m/s) and contact pressures (P_max: 0.42-3.61 GPa) in ATF. The friction coefficients for the nitrided steel had a tendency to decrease with an increase in sliding veloicity under all the contact pressure conditions; however, the friction coefficients for the DLC-Si film were stable with respect to sliding velocities under all the contatct pressures. These results indicate that the DLC-Si film suppresses the stick-slip motion during sliding againt steel in ATF, which is a desired frictional characteristic for the electromagnetic clutch disks used under lubrication. Furthermore, the DLC-Si film showed a higher wear resistance and lower aggression on the steel ball specimen than the nitrided steel. There were less hydrodynamic effects on the friction coefficient for the DLC-Si film possibly due to maintenance of the initial surface roughness and its poorer wettability with the fluid. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis of the sliding surfaces revealed that the adsorption film derived from the succinimide on the sliding surfaces of the DLC-Si film and the mating steel ball also contributed to the sufficient and less sliding-velocity-dependant friction coefficients.     

Effect of Operating Conditions on Tribological Response of Al–Al Sliding Electrical Interface

Aluminum is widely used in electrical contacts due to its electrical properties and inexpensiveness when compared to copper. In this study, we investigate the influence of operating conditions like contact load (pressure), sliding speed, current, and surface roughness on the electrical and tribological behavior of the interface. The tests are conducted on a linear, pin-on-flat tribo-simulator specially designed to investigate electrical contacts under high contact pressures and high current densities. Control parameters include sliding speed, load, current, and surface roughness. The response of the interface is evaluated in the light of coefficient of friction, contact resistance, contact voltage, mass loss of pins, and interfacial temperature rise. As compared to sliding speed, load, and roughness, current is found to have the greatest influence on the various measured parameters. Under certain test conditions, the interface operates in a “voltage saturation” regime, wherein increase in current do not result in any increase in contact voltage. Within the voltage saturation regime the coefficient of friction tends to be lower, a result that is attributed to the higher temperatures associated with the higher voltage (and resulting material softening). Higher interfacial temperatures also appear to be responsible for the higher wear rates observed at higher current levels as well as lower coefficients of friction for smoother surfaces in the presence of current.     

Tribological behavior of reciprocating friction drive system under lubricated contact

The dynamic friction and wear behaviors are investigated in reciprocating friction drive system using a 0.45% carbon steel pair. The effects of various operating parameters on the traction force, stick and slip time, and friction modes are examined under the lubricated contacts. Moreover, the critical operating conditions in classifying three friction modes are also established. Results show that the fluid friction induced by the shearing of lubricant dominates the variation of traction force and produces the positive slope γ at the first period of slip in the traction force–relative sliding velocity curve. The γ value decreases at higher driver speed during stick-slip motion due to the thicker fluid film and shear thinning effect. The γ value increases due to the asperity interactions as the friction region is transferred from stick-slip to sticking with normal load from 196 to 980 N. Furthermore, it is also found that the static friction force is independent of stick time for the tangential loading rate ranged from 1.12 to 16.8 s⁻¹. The transition region produces the severest wear under the different driver speeds, but the wear is insensitive to the friction regions and the severe wear only occurs at higher normal load due to the action of Hertzian contact.     

Amontons' law at the molecular level

One of the fundamental postulates of friction is that at the microscopic or molecular level, the “real” area of contact is proportional to the load applied over the macroscopic or “apparent” area. This has both theoretical and experimental support and has formed the basis of many theoretical analyses, including an explanation of one of the most basic observations of everyday friction, i.e., that the friction force F is proportional to the load L or weight of the moving object (Amontons' law) where the ratio of F to L defines the coefficient of friction μ=F/L. We have carried out friction experiments between two molecularly smooth non-adhering surfaces under conditions where all the relevant macroscopic and microscopic parameters were directly measured. We find that even at the microscopic level the friction force is proportional to the net applied load and not to the real area of contact. One implication of this finding is that Amontons' law is also obeyed directly at the molecular level and does not emerge indirectly because of some fortuitous correlation between the net applied load and the local contact area or shear strength, as is commonly supposed. A physical model, based on intermolecular forces and thermodynamic considerations, is offered to explain why the friction force is proportional to the net applied load, and why the case of adhering surfaces - where the friction force is found to be proportional to the molecular contact area -is quite different from that of non-adhering surfaces. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Numerical analysis of viscous elastohydrodynamic point contact under stationary conditions

A model is proposed for study of the effect of nonelastic qualities of contacting bodies separated by a fine lubricant film on the contact characteristics. The problem is studied of the movement of the fine lubricant film between the rigid spherical surface and the mobile viscoelastic-layer surface rigidly adhering to the base. A unidimensional Kelvin model of the viscoelastic medium serves as the rheological model of the viscoelastic layer. The calculation results show that the pressure is distributed in the viscous elastohydrodynamic point contact film very much differently from the pressure distribution in the UHD contact, particularly at slow sliding velocities. The friction coefficient is a nonmonotonous function of the sliding velocity. The friction coefficient drops at slow velocities to a minimum as the velocity accelerates, and then it grows.     

Estimation of lubricant interlayer shear strength under conditions of imperfect boundary lubrication

This paper considers the use of contact electrical conductivity for investigations into molecular tribology. The shear strength of thin lubricant films has been studied at nominal point contact between two crossed cylindrical steel probes. The interface was simultaneously monitored using electrical contact resistance. It is shown that the binomial law of friction holds for the sliding path portions where electrical measurements point to a continuous lubricant film. The experimental data can be used to evaluate the molecular friction parameters. An algorithm and software with which to evaluate shear strength and its components under conditions of imperfect boundary lubrication have been formulated.     

Modeling Sliding Contact of Rough Surfaces with Molecularly Thin Lubricants

The sliding contact between two rough surfaces in the presence of a molecularly thin lubricant layer is investigated. Under very high shear rates, the lubricant is treated as a semi-solid layer with normal and lateral shear-dependent stiffness components obtained from experimental data. The adhesive force in the presence of lubricant is also adapted from the Sub-boundary lubrication model and improved to account for variation in surface energy with penetration into the lubricant layer. A model is then proposed, based on the Improved sub-boundary lubrication model, which accounts for lubricant contact and adhesion and its validity is discussed. The model is in good agreement with published experimental measurements of friction in the presence of molecularly thin lubricant layers and suggests that a molecularly thin lubricant bearing could be successfully used to reduce solid substrate damage at the interface.     

Nonlinear thermodynamic model of boundary friction

Melting of an ultrathin lubricant film confined between two atomically flat surfaces is studied. An excess volume parameter is introduced, the value of which is related to the presence of defects and inhomogeneities in the lubricant. Via minimization of the free energy, the Landau-Khalatnikov kinetic equation is obtained for this parameter. The kinetic equation is also used for relaxation of elastic strains, which in its explicit form contains the relative shear velocity of the rubbing surfaces. With the numerical solution of these equations, a phase diagram with domains corresponding to the sliding and dry stationary friction regimes is built at a fixed shear velocity. A simple tribological system is used to demonstrate that in the dynamic case, three friction regimes can occur, namely, dry, stick-slip, and sliding friction. It is shown that a lubricant can melt when the shear velocity exceeds a critical value and with elevation of its temperature. The dependence of the dynamic friction force on the pressure applied to the surfaces, the temperature of the lubricant, and the shear velocity is considered. It is shown that growth of pressure leads to the forced ordering and solidification of the lubricant.     

Effects of Electrodouble Layer (EDL) and Surface Roughness on Lubrication Theory

The effects of surface roughness on the electrohydrodynamic lubrication with thin EDL are considered for the sliding of one charged body past another in an electrolyte solution. The apparent viscosity of the lubricating film with thin EDL and the average flow model are incorporated to derive the averaged Reynolds type equation as well as the related flow factors. The coupled effects of surface roughness and EDL on flow factors are discussed. The hydrodynamic pressure generated by the viscous force and electrokinetic force are discussed for an 1-D slider bearing. The results show that the existence of EDL resists the flow. The flow factors with EDL effects depart from those with no EDL effect significantly. As the EDL effect increases, the “enhanced flow” due to roughness is retarded, the “restricted flow” due to roughness is increased, and the load carrying capacities increase significantly. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Ultra Starvation Studied in the Spiral Orbit Tribometer

Spiral orbit tribometry has been used to study the coefficient of friction and electrical contact resistance of two vacuum lubricants in both the flooded system and the regime in which only a few nanoliters (μ g) of the lubricant are present, and the latter regime is designated here as ultrastarved. The experiment was supported by the extension to the ultrastarved regime of the recent analysis by Cann and coworkers of contact film thickness as a function of the lubricant volume in the heavily starved regime. The coefficients of friction in the ultrastarved regime were found to be the same as for the flooded system. The contact resistance was found to be zero at the beginning of the tests in the ultrastarved regime. The analysis by Cann and coworkers predicts the absence of a mobile liquid film at the contact in the ultrastarved regime. It is speculated that this persistence of lubrication into the ultrastarved regime is due to the retention of adherent lubricant molecules on the contacting surfaces and the sliding of these molecules over each other. An incomplete coverage of these molecules permits zero contact resistance at the start of the test. The results indicate that ball bearings can operate normally in the ultrastarved regime until the lubricant is consumed by tribochemical reaction.