Understanding the Effect of Oil-Based Lubricants on the Tribological Behavior of Fe–Cr Alloys from Reactive Molecular Dynamics
Xiaohua Zhu, Yiyao Luo, Yunhai Liu, Xiaowen Wang, Zhang Hu, Xiao Zhao
Abstract
In this paper, the frictional behaviors of Fe–Cr alloys in the lubricating effect of oil-based lubricant are investigated through reactive molecular dynamics. It is shown that the oil-based lubricant achieves ultralow friction through hydrodynamic lubrication by linear alpha olefin (C 8 H 16 ) and passivation of the friction pairs by hydrogen gas (H 2 ) and free H atoms generated by the friction chemistry. Moreover, there is a critical value for the transition of the crystal structure of Fe–Cr alloy from body-centered cubic (Bcc) to amorphous structure (Other), leading to a dramatic change in friction. Meanwhile, a sliding interface consisting of a large number of amorphous structures is formed near the rigid layer, which keeps the friction force stable.