Temperature Dependence of Viscoelasticity of Lubricating Oil with Adsorptive Polymer Additives Sheared in Nanogaps

Adsorptive polymer additives have been reported to improve the retention capacity of oil films under hydrodynamic lubrication and to reduce friction under boundary lubrication. These effects are believed to result from the formation of a polymer adsorption film on the surface that acts as a lubricious coating. Polymer adsorption films have become dominant in nanometer-order microscopic gaps. However, their mechanical properties are difficult to quantify. This hinders the development of polymer additives. In our previous study, we successfully measured the shear viscoelasticity of lubricants (base oils) sheared in nanogaps using an originally developed measurement method called the fiber wobbling method (FWM). In this study, we measured the shear viscoelasticity of polymer-added lubricants in nanogaps by using FWM. In addition, we developed a heating stage in the FWM to quantify the temperature dependence of shear viscoelasticity in nanogaps. As a result, the viscosity index improved and elasticity was observed in the nanogap, where the polymer adsorption film was dominant. Furthermore, our results indicated that the elasticity of the adsorbed polymer film originated from entropic elasticity.

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