Load Induced Hydrodynamic Lubrication of Porous Films: An explanatory study of the underlying mechanism

摘要

In summary, we have studied some important factors effecting the load induced lubrication of porous polymers under aqueous conditions. These results provide a deeper insight into the novel lubrication mechanism of patterned polymers under applied load. By changing radius of curvature of the probe and the modulus of the polymer material, it has been shown that the observed friction forces between two shearing surfaces are dependent on the dynamic relationship between the area of contact and the applied pressure. It is also shown that for a particular material under given conditions, there is a critical depth of pores that is required to observe the load induced hydrodynamic lubrication. Our understanding of the underlying regimes of the load induced hydrodynamic lubrication opens opportunity to design surfaces with ultra-low and tunable friction by modifying design and material properties. Such surfaces can be potentially used as a coating in joint replacement implants.