BOUNDARY LAYER LUBRICATION: MONOLAYER OR MULTILAYER

C. M. ALLEN AND E. DRAUGLIS

Boundary lubrication is the regime of lubrication between

hydrodynamic and dry lubrication. The properties of the
boundary-layer films are quite different from the fluid in bulk
and the solid upon which they reside.

• Boundary lubrication was made possible by the adsorption of a monolayer of polar molecules of
fatty acids. This is most certainly an idealized, surface irregularities in thin-film boundary
lubrication would collide and thereby displace the adsorbed monolayer of fatty acid.

• The normal load is supported by the intimate contact of the surface asperities and to some
extent, by the pressures generated by distorting the adsorbed monolayer. In order for this theory
to hold, it is necessary that the shear strength of the film be greater than the shear stress of
metal-to-meta contacts. It is suggested as a possible mechanism for this, the entangling of the
hydrocarbon tails. This hypothesis may be valid for long hydrocarbon chains of more than twenty
carbon atoms but it is certainly inadequate for shorter chain lengths.
• A concept of the way in which polar molecules are adsorbed
to a ferrous substrate. Adhesion to the substrate is
accomplished through chemisorption as well as by physical
adsorption. It is pointed out that such films are most
suitable for boundary lubrication.
• Next in order of lubricating ability are the physically
adsorbed films provided by polar molecules on non-
chemically reactive surfaces. Here, the adhesion is not as
strong as the chemisorbed film but the cohesion is relatively
high and presents a lubricating film resembling a semi-solid
at the interface.
• Adsorption of nonpolar molecules on a metal substrate is
usually very weak. Pure hexadecane, though it exhibits a
level of viscosity which would ordinarily imply lubricating
ability, fails to lubricate by reason of the low adhesive and
cohesive forces.
• Such adsorbed layers as described above have increasing
effectiveness as boundary lubricants as the fatty acid chain
length increases and the concentration of such molecules
in the solution also influences boundary lubrication
performance.
 MULTIMOLECULAR FILMS

An evidence that more than monolayer films could be present

in lubricating systems was obtained by measuring the
resistance to flow of liquid films. The approach was to coat
copiously the surface of a small steel flat with such fluids as
olive, castor, and mineral oils and then press another steel flat
onto the film so as to squeeze the excess from between the
surfaces and thereby form a surface tension meniscus at the
liquid-an interface. The film thickness was determined (by a
mechanical amplification technique) as a function of time for
relatively light, constant normal loads, of the order of 0.2 psi.

• The film thickness approaches a constant value of between 5000 and 10000 angstrom. As would be expected from
the Stefan-Reynolds equation, the settling time is found to be related to the bulk viscosity of the fluid. It was found
that after 8 h the film remains essentially constant and at the end of 24 h the film thickness was greater than it
was after 8 h. The thickness of the film is much greater than one would predict simply on the basis of simple
adsorption theory.

• An alteration in the liquid film occurred making it substantially more “viscous” than in the bulk.
BOUNDARY LAYER LUBRICATION

• Addition of 0.1% of stearic acid to a “chromatographically separated

naphthene-paraffin fraction” oil (MS-20) increased the residual
(stable) film thickness by about 1500 A from a base 2000 A.
• It is equally interesting that lower-molecular-weight
hydrocarbons, such as benzene, hexane, cyclohexane, iso-octane
and decane, are extruded from between the surfaces in about 1
hour, thereby exhibiting no residual film.
• The addition of 0.001% of stearic acid to cyclohexane produces a
residual film some 500 A thick.
• When 0.1% of the same fatty acid is added to benzene it produces a
film about 1200 A thick.
• The residual film thickness, for a palmitic acid addition to MS-20,
diminishes very little beyond contact pressures of 1OO psi. The film
becomes quite stiff as it diminishes only some 400 A when the
stress is trebled from 1OO to 300 p.s.i. Beyond a stress of some 1OO
p.s.i., little thinning occurs.
• Another very interesting observation is that when the applied
normal stress is relaxed the residual film thickness increases or
recovers. It appears to require 2 hr to thin the film whereas
recovery takes about 1 hr. Similar behavior is exhibited by a
solution of iso-octane and palmitic acid.
STATIC FRICTION OF RESIDUAL FILMS

• The residual film thickness for a number of fatty acid

solutions in various solvents using steel, aluminum oxide
and quartz flats was determined. The thickest films were
obtained with steel and decreased with the decreasing
surface energy in the order steel, aluminum oxide, and
quartz. The difference in the residual film was often 100-
200 A thinner on aluminum oxide than on steel and
decreased another 100-400 A on quartz.
• For a given fatty acid the residual film increased, but to a
much lesser extent, when the chain length of the solvent
increased.
• The residual film increases with increasing concentration of
the fatty acid in the solvent for the range up to 200 mg/1oo
g of solvent.
• It will be noted that the residual films are increased when
caproic and stearic acid are added to transformer oil. The
film thickness for the stearic acid solution drops as the
temperature increases.
 BOUNDARY LAYER LUBRICATION
• A series of experiments in which the static shear resistance of residual
films was determined. It was found that the shear resistance of an iso-
octane solution of palmitic acid is three times greater on steel surfaces
than on quartz surfaces for the same film thickness (600 A). This appears
to be consistent with the thickness of residual films.
• Also, the shear resistance of “thick” films (2500 A or thicker) increases
when the fatty acid concentration decreases, 7 g/cm2 for a 0.1%
solution against 40 g/cm2 for a o.oo5°/o solution. This is indicative of
the role played by the solvent molecules in forming the films. The
increase in concentration decreases the time for reaching a stable
residual film and constant level of shear resistance.
• At 20 C, using steel flats and a “turbine oil”, it was found that the
residual film decreases from 1200 to 800 A when shear is induced and
when a film contact pressure of 8.5 p.s.i. is imposed. When o.1% of
palmitic acid is added to the oil the static film is increased to 1900 A but
drops to 1200 A when shear is induced. The shear stress is, in general,
related directly to the film thickness and “...boundary layer thinning
depends on film composition...“.
• The shear stress is some two orders lower than the applied or normal
stress. The behavior, in general, is as expected; the shear stress
increases with diminishing film thickness and increasing normal stress.
BOUNDARY LAYER LUBRICATION

• The coefficient of static friction increases with fatty acid and hydrocarbon chain length or with increasing molecular
weight. It is interesting that the static shear stress remains constant for constant film thicknesses regardless of the
molecular chain length.
• When the solvent molecular weight becomes greater than the molecular weight of the fatty acid, the static
coefficient of friction ceases to be a linear function of molecular chain length.
• Increasing the chain length beyond 9 carbon atoms does not alter the coefficient of friction noticeably in the case of
the MS-20 solution.
• The coefficient of friction and the chain length of the fatty acid is the same at high contact stresses as for the lower
ones.
 Effect of Hydration

Range in experiments: 62 AU to 120 AU

Normal Skin: 40 AU to 100 AU

Hydration Level COF

With the same real contact area, the moist skin has a lower elastic modulus,
which leads to the increase of the adhesive component of friction.

Effect of Sliding Speed

Range in experiments: 25 mm/s to 124 mm/s

As the sliding velocity increases, the kinetic tactile friction increases accordingly
Sliding Speed COF due to the hysteric friction with more energy lost in elastic hysteresis.
Effect of Surface Roughness

Surface Roughness COF

When in contact with the rougher surface, the skin has a smaller contact area, and
lower friction force is generated due to a reduction in the adhesive component.
Perceived Stickiness

Comfort Level

The comfort level increases when the tactile friction between the skin and counter-surface decreases.
 Conclusions
• The participants had the ability to distinguish the perceived roughness and stickiness of the counter surface
by touching the objects in sliding motion. The perceived roughness was consistent with 3D surface roughness
measurements. And the perceived stickiness was found to correlate in a negative relationship with 3D surface
roughness. In addition, both perception of stickiness and roughness can be influenced by the variation of
kinetic tactile friction.

• From the subjective perspective, the perceived stickiness was illustrated as a perceptual stimulus which was
able to influence the comfort level of perception in a negative correlation. However, the effect of the
perceived roughness was insignificant in the connection to the perception of comfort.

• From the objective perspective, the kinetic tactile friction was proved to be an effective physical stimulus
which has a negative correlation to the comfort perception.
 Investigation of friction mechanisms in finger pad sliding against surfaces of varying roughness
G.P. Chimata, C.J. Schwartz
FN = .5 N (Constant)
Sliding Angle: 30-45o
Sliding Speed: 0.8-1.2 cm/s

Micro grit abrasive

paper:
Coarse: 21.8 μm
Medium: 15.3 μm
Fine: 8.4 μm

The contacting areas of different probing surfaces at (b) ~37°, (c) ~85°,
 Results and Mechanisms

Variation of coefficient of friction of the abrasive papers for the different

probes

N: Normal Load E: Elastic Modulus

A: Real Contact Area p: Mean Pressure (N/A)
τ0 : Shear Strength of the interface β: Viscoelastic loss fraction
α: Contact radius of the fingertip σ: Poisson’s Ratio
Interlocking Mechanism
µi=cotδ
Resistance δ is the angle between triangular ridge and the vertical center line

δ µi
Grain Size and Friction Mechanisms
Flat Closely Aligned Particles Sharp Peak-like Particles

Fine Medium Coarse (Greater µd)

With smooth surfaces: With smooth surfaces:

Dominant Mechanism:
Fine - µa Medium - µa + µd Coarse - µd
Finger Replicas

Silicone Sphere Silicone Finger Replica

µi = f(shape and size of contacting asperities, sliding direction of the finger, angle of sliding)
Effect of Fingerprints

Normal Parallel
Effect of Material

µa µd µi
(Elastic Modulus) (Hardness) (Interlocking)

Normal (µfinger > µreplica) Parallel (µfinger ͌ µreplica)

 Conclusions
The goal was to isolate the effects of fingerprints, shape and material properties of the finger and the finger replicant probes.
Possible friction mechanisms involved were discussed. The following conclusions can be drawn from the results of this study:

• The fingertip coefficient of friction when interacting with textured surfaces of small elements showed strong evidence of
obeying a summation of adhesion, deformation and interlocking components.

• The shape of the finger was responsible for an increase in contacting surface area, which further affected the adhesion and
deformation components of friction. Thus, probe shape appeared to have a significant impact on the overall coefficient of
friction.

• The presence of fingerprint ridges is hypothesized to add an interlocking contribution to the overall coefficient of friction,
based on the results. The contribution of interlocking friction can vary with multiple factors like the shape and size of the
contacting asperities, sliding direction of the finger and the angle of sliding. Further, the fingerprint ridges appeared to
cause a decrease in the deformation and the adhesion components of friction.