A Computational Study on the Role of Lubricants under Boundary Lubrication

Abstract

The knowledge of how lubricants contribute to the operational life of a drive train is unclear until now, despite the fact that plenty of literature is available. A novel concept is presented in order to estimate the wear appearing in bearings addressed to the regime of mixed friction with respect to the composition and the so-called “inner” structure of the lubricant. In doing so, the composition is turned into a set of predictors describing the dipolar and inducible dipolar properties of all components as an activity amongst them and toward the surface. The results show that the activity of the solvated specie apparent, stated as the “inner” structure of the lubricant, is closely related to the surface activity and the expected wear. The technique presented here allows a fast computational procedure such that a given lubricant, once known by its constituents, could be explored with respect to the expected wear. Reducing time-consuming tests is desirable by the fact that new materials are forthcoming as a consequence of regulations and evolving green technology.