Molecular dynamics simulation of ultra thin film lubrication. Part 1 Rigid molecule model

Our simulation results show that (1) a sharp increase in the effective viscosity observed at a film thickness of several molecular diameters may correspond to the termination of hydrodynamic flow; (2) the phenomenon of molecule ordering near the solid-fluid interface is confirmed by the present simulation; (3) the transition from hydrodynamic lubrication to boundary lubrication may be related to the fluid solidification and to the growth of the ordering structure throughout the entire film thickness. These results show that the molecular dynamics simulation does provide a new and prospective approach in studying the thin film lubrication.