It is now well-established that the liquid adjacent to a solid need not be stationaryit can slip. How this slip occurs is unclear. We present molecular-dynamics (MD) simulation data and results from an analytical model which support two mechanisms of slip. At low levels of forcing, the potential field generated by the solid creates a ground state which the liquid atoms preferentially occupy. Liquid atoms hop through this energy landscape from one equilibrium site to another according to Arrhenius dynamics. Visual evidence of the trajectories of individual atoms on the solid surface supports the view of localized hopping, independent of the dynamics outside a local neighbourhood. We call this defect slip. At higher levels of forcing, the entire layer slips together, obviating the need for localized defects and resulting in the instantaneous motion of all atoms adjacent to the solid. The appearance of global slip leads to an increase in the number of slipping atoms and consequently an increase in the slip length. Both types of slip observed in the MD simulations are described by a dynamical model in which each liquid atom experiences a force from its neighbouring liquid atoms and the solid atoms of the boundary, is sheared by the overlying liquid, and damped by the solid. In agreement with the MD observations, this model predicts that above a critical value of forcing, localized slipping occurs in which atoms are driven from low-energy sites, but only if there is a downstream site which has been vacated. Also as observed, above a second critical value, all the liquid atoms adjacent to the wall slip. Finally, the dynamical equation predicts that at extremely large values of forcing, the slip length approaches a constant value, in agreement with the MD simulation results.

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Understanding and anticipating the effects of surface roughness on subsurface stress in the design phase can help ensure that performance and life requirements are satisfied. One approach used to address this problem is to simulate contact between digitized real, machined surfaces, and then analyze the predicted subsurface stress field. Often, elastic-perfectly plastic contact models are used in these simulations because of their relative computational efficiency. Reported here is an analysis of the magnitude and location of maximum stress predicted using an elastic-perfectly plastic model. Trends are identified which then enable estimation of the upper bound of the simulation results based on surface discretization, operating conditions, and material properties. These estimations can be used as an effective and efficient tool for rapid prediction of maximum subsurface stress in real surface contact.

Boron carbide (B 4 C) coatings have previously been studied for potential use as finite-life run-in coatings. B 4 C itself exhibits high hardness and favorable wear resistance. In dry sliding wear, it polishes its counterpart mating surface and provides fatigue resistance to a coated part by removing asperities that would otherwise cause fatigue failure. Thus, the ability of these coatings to polish the counterpart mating surface is the critical property for their functioning as fatigue coatings. Employing such run-in coatings requires precise control of the changes in abrasiveness during the polishing process. This study found that the rate at which the coating abrasiveness decreases can be controlled by varying the tempering temperature of the steel counterpart. This paper discusses the underlying factors that contribute to these effects.