Boundary Lubrication Modelling Across the Scales

Dear colleagues,

There have been enormous advancements in the technology of tribological systems in the past 60 years (since the term was introduced) with significant impact on the durability and efficiency of moving parts in a large number of industrial applications, from nanotechnology to automotive and aerospace. Due to an increase in demand for downsizing machine parts, and using lighter components, the severity of contacts in machine elements has increased, leading to systems operating in the boundary lubrication regime. Boundary lubrication is where the interface behavior is dominated by chemical reactions that happen at the surfaces, tribofilm formation occurs, and the load is mainly carried by the solid surfaces. In the boundary lubrication regime, asperity-to-asperity contact may lead to elastic or plastic deformation or even fracture and can generate frictional heat, which will be accompanied by tribochemical reactions to produce organic and inorganic surface films. It is well-accepted by the community that most of the energy losses and material degradation occurs in this regime. Despite these developments, the science of tribology still lacks comprehensive understanding of the complex physical and chemical phenomena that occur in boundary lubrication.

It is clear from the wealth of experimental literature in this area that the nature of the phenomena happening in this regime is very complicated. Studying the entire problem needs a multiscale understanding ranging from component scale down to the microscale and also molecular interactions of films and lubricant additives. Experimentation across such scales is challenging, and hence, it is important to complement such studies with the ability to predict the friction and wear of a working system without running experiments.

Although the computational power of simulation engines has strengthened dramatically, still comprehensive models that consider physical, chemical, and mechanical aspects of boundary lubrication are lacking in the literature. This Special Issue is aimed at gathering state-of-the-art modeling and simulation articles that tackle any aspects of boundary lubrication. The topics of interest for this Special Issue include but are not limited to the following:

• Finite, discrete, and boundary element methods;
• Contact mechanics;
• Mixed lubrication modeling;
• Multiscale methods;
• Molecular dynamics;
• Tribofilm kinetics models;
• Friction and wear models considering tribochemistry;
• Adhesion.

Dr. Ali Ghanbarzadeh
Dr. Mark Wilson
Guest Editors

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