A molecular dynamics study on water lubrication of amorphous cotton fiber sliding against chromium

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of sliding velocity and loading on the friction of chromium and amorphous cotton fibers using water molecules act as lubricants via molecular dynamics simulation. It is found that the movement of water molecules between the contact interfaces is mainly along the sliding-direction not than the loading-direction during the sliding process. The high sliding velocity or large loading will reduce the lubricating properties of water molecules and increase the average coefficient of friction in the stabilization. The sliding time before the stabilization increase with sliding velocity while decreases with loading. Moreover, the water-lubricants can reduce the damage to chromium, and the increase of sliding velocity is more easy to cause the damage than loading, so it is more important to choose a right sliding velocity.