Effect of Interfacial Properties on EHL Under Pure Sliding Conditions

This paper presents an experimental study of the effect of boundary slip on the lubricating film shape and friction of an elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) contact under isothermal conditions. Ball and disc pure sliding experiments were carried out with a high viscosity polybutene oil using a conventional optical EHL test rig. The film shape and friction were measured simultaneously. The results obtained from two discs with different coatings were compared. One disc was coated only with Cr, the partially reflective layer, and the other had an extra layer of SiO₂ coating on top. When running under mild conditions of low load and speed, there was no evidence of any boundary slip effect. However, when the load increased, the Cr-coated disc produced lower film thickness and friction than the SiO₂-coated disc. The Cr-coated surface had a larger contact angle, i.e., smaller surface energy, than the SiO₂ surface, which reflects the weak bonding between the molecules of the surface and the lubricant. The study concludes that surfaces with low surface energy promote boundary slip at the EHL contact, leading to a reduction in friction and film thickness.