Tribofilms are activated using precision sliding strip microscale tribometry with a base and a
fully formulated lubricant with a ZDDP anti-wear additive. The employed tribometry uses
combined pressure, shear and temperature activation. The chemical compositions of the
formed tribofilms are ascertained through use of Photoelectron X–ray Spectroscopy (XPS).
Nanoscale frictional measurements of the tribofilms are reported using fluid cell lateral force
microscopy (LFM). The measured coefficient of interfacial boundary shear strength is used
with analytical contact mechanics to relate the in-situ conditions to the activation energy
components of the Eyring potential cage model. The paper shows that combined LFM and
the Eyring model can explain the variations in the frictional characteristics of formed
tribofilms.
Funding
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
BP through Centre for Doctoral Training in Embedded Intelligence (CDT-ei)
History
School
Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
This is an Open Access Article. It is published by Elsevier under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported Licence (CC BY). Full details of this licence are available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/