For the successful development and application of lubricants, a full understanding of the nanoscale behavior of complex tribological systems is required, but this is difficult to obtain experimentally. In this study, we use nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations to examine the atomistic structure and friction properties of commercially relevant organic friction modifier (OFM) monolayers adsorbed on iron oxide surfaces and lubricated by a thin, separating layer of hexadecane. Specifically, acid, amide, and glyceride OFMs, with saturated and Z-unsaturated hydrocarbon tail groups, are simulated at various surface coverages and sliding velocities. At low and medium coverage, the OFMs form liquidlike and amorphous monolayers, respectively, which are significantly interdigitated with the hexadecane lubricant, resulting in relatively high friction coefficients. At high coverage, solidlike monolayers are formed for all of the OFMs, which, during sliding, results in slip planes between well-defined OFM and hexadecane layers, yielding a marked reduction in the friction coefficient. When present at equal surface coverage, OFMs with saturated and Z-unsaturated tail groups are found to yield similar structure and friction behavior. OFMs with glyceride head groups yield significantly lower friction coefficients than amide and particularly carboxylic acid head groups. For all of the OFMs and coverages simulated, the friction coefficient is found to increase linearly with the logarithm of sliding velocity; however, the gradient of this increase depends on the coverage. The structure and friction details obtained from these simulations agree well with experimental results and also shed light on the relative tribological performance of these OFMs through nanoscale structural variations. This has important implications in terms of the applicability of NEMD to aid the development of new formulations to control friction.

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For the successful development and application of lubricants, a full understanding of their complex nanoscale behavior under a wide range of external conditions is required, but this is difficult to obtain experimentally. Nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations can be used to yield unique insights into the atomic-scale structure and friction of lubricants and additives; however, the accuracy of the results depend on the chosen force-field. In this study, we demonstrate that the use of an accurate, all-atom force-field is critical in order to; (i) accurately predict important properties of long-chain, linear molecules; and (ii) reproduce experimental friction behavior of multi-component tribological systems. In particular, we focus on n-hexadecane, an important model lubricant with a wide range of industrial applications. Moreover, simulating conditions common in tribological systems, i.e., high temperatures and pressures (HTHP), allows the limits of the selected force-fields to be tested. In the first section, a large number of united-atom and all-atom force-fields are benchmarked in terms of their density and viscosity prediction accuracy of n-hexadecane using equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) simulations at ambient and HTHP conditions. Whilst united-atom force-fields accurately reproduce experimental density, the viscosity is significantly under-predicted compared to all-atom force-fields and experiments. Moreover, some all-atom force-fields yield elevated melting points, leading to significant overestimation of both the density and viscosity. In the second section, the most accurate united-atom and all-atom force-field are compared in confined NEMD simulations which probe the structure and friction of stearic acid adsorbed on iron oxide and separated by a thin layer of n-hexadecane. The united-atom force-field provides an accurate representation of the structure of the confined stearic acid film; however, friction coefficients are consistently under-predicted and the friction-coverage and friction-velocity behavior deviates from that observed using all-atom force-fields and experimentally. This has important implications regarding force-field selection for NEMD simulations of systems containing long-chain, linear molecules; specifically, it is recommended that accurate all-atom potentials, such as L-OPLS-AA, are employed.

Tribofilm formation by several zinc dialkyl-and diaryldithiophosphate (ZDDP) solutions in thin film rolling-sliding conditions has been investigated. A primary, a secondary alkyl and a mixed alkyl ZDDP show similar rates of film formation and generate films typically 150 nm thick. Another secondary ZDDP forms a tribofilm much faster and the film is partially lost after extended rubbing. An aryl ZDDP forms a tribofilm much more slowly. The films all have a pad-like structure, characterised by flat pad regions separated by deep valleys. Three different techniques have been used to analyse the thickness and morphology of the tribofilms: spacer layer imaging (SLIM), scanning white light interferometry (SWLI) of the gold-coated film and contact mode atomic force microscopy (AFM). The SLIM method measures considerably thicker films than the other two techniques, probably because of lack of full conformity of a glass disc loaded against the rough tribofilm. No evidence of a highly viscous layer on top of the solid tribofilm is seen. SWLI and contact mode AFM measure similar film thicknesses. The importance of coating the tribofilm with a reflective layer prior to using SWLI is confirmed. As noted in previous work, the formation of a ZDDP tribofilm is accompanied by a marked shift in the Stribeck friction curve towards higher entrainment speed. For a given ZDDP this shift is found to correlate with the measured tribofilm roughness, proving that it results from the influence of this roughness on fluid entrainment in the inlet.

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