Molecular Origin of Limiting Shear Stress of Elastohydrodynamic Lubrication Oil Film Studied by Molecular Dynamics

All-atom molecular dynamics simulations of an elastohydrodynamic lubrication oil film are performed to study the effect of pressure. Fluid molecules of n-hexane are confined between two solid plates under a constant normal force of 0.1--8.0 GPa. Traction simulations are performed by applying relative sliding motion to the solid plates. A transition in the traction behavior is observed around 0.5--2.0 GPa, which corresponds to the viscoelastic region to the plastic--elastic region, which are experimentally observed. This phase transition is related to the suppression of the fluctuation in molecular motion.