Elastic contact between a rigid plane and a halfspace whose surface height is described by a bandwidth-limited Fourier series is considered. The surface normal displacements and contact pressures are found by a numerical technique that exploits the structure of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and an exact result in linear elasticity. The multiscale nature of rough surface contact is implicit to the method, and features such as contact agglomeration and asperity interaction—a source of difficulty for asperity-based models—evolve naturally. Both two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) contact are handled with equal ease. Finally, the implementation is simple, compact, and fast.

Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) is capable of providing a near-frictionless lubrication state when rubbed in dry sliding contacts. Nevertheless, the mechanisms governing superlubricity in a-C:H are still not well comprehended, mainly due to the lack of spatially resolved structural information of the buried contact surface. Here, we present structural analysis of the carbonaceous sliding interfaces at the atomic scale in two superlubricious solid lubricants, a-C:H and Si-doped a-C:H (a-C:H:Si), by probing the contact area using state-of-the-art scanning electron transmission microscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy. The results emphasize the diversity of superlubricity mechanisms in a-C:Hs. They suggest that the occurrence of a superlubricious state is generally dependent on the formation of interfacial nanostructures, mainly a tribolayer, by different carbon rehybridization pathways. The evolution of such anti-friction nanostructures highly depends on the contact mechanics and the counterpart material. These findings enable a more effective manipulation of superlubricity and developments of new carbon lubricants with robust lubrication properties.

This paper describes a new method for calculating the solvation pressure that acts between solid surfaces when the surfaces approach each other to within a very small distance in a liquid medium. Solvation pressure is calculated by solving the transformed Ornstein-Zernike equation for hard-spheres in a two-phase system with Perram’s method and using the Derjaguin approximation. Furthermore, the authors apply the new method to the elastohydrodynamic lubrication problem in which the film thickness is very small and solvation force and van der Waals force cannot be neglected. It will be shown that the calculation results agree well with experimental data. The results are then compared with two conventional solvation pressure models proposed so far, namely, Chan and Horn’s model, and, Jang and Tichy’s model. It is found that these two models neglect the elastic deformation of solid surface when obtaining the experimental parameter used in their models; thus they overestimate the solvation pressure resulting in the prediction of larger film thickness than the experiments.

A numerical simulation technique for calculating the pressure distribution and the deformed geometry of an elastic half-space which has a hard surface layer in contact with a rigid indenter with a rough surface is presented. In order to reduce the computing time, the Conjugate Gradient Method (CGM) is applied to solve a set of linear equations for unknown pressures. In each iteration of the CGM, the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is used for the task of multiplying a direction vector by an influence coefficient matrix. An FFT-based scheme for evaluating subsurface stresses in the layer and the substrate is also presented. As an example, the pressure distribution and the deformed geometry of a steel surface coated with a TiN layer in contact with a rigid rough indenter are calculated. The subsurface stresses are also compared with von Mises yield criterion to investigate the deformation mode at the asperity contacts. The results show that the limit of elastic contact is highly dependent on the layer thickness and the surface roughness.

This study demonstrated that the time-dependent changes of TFLL spread are compatible with the Voigt model of viscoelasticity and that the initial velocity of TFLL spread after a blink decreased in proportion to the decrease of tear volume. There is potential interest in using this parameter to diagnose and evaluate the severity of aqueous tear deficiency.

We carried out investigations on electron-beam-induced nanoparticle formation in thin (5-30 nm) Au films on smooth SiO(2)/Si substrates. When the Au films were irradiated with an electron beam, the Au films broke up into nanoparticles through the dewetting process. The dominant wavelengths of the surface (corresponding to the pitch between nanoparticles) were closely related with the thickness of the Au. We then developed a new technique for the formation of periodically arranged Au nanoparticles using a holed substrate. The nanoholes induced heterogeneous nucleation and helped to form ordered nanoparticles between the holes. Two-dimensionally, periodically arranged Au nanoparticles with a pitch of 100 nm were obtained.

Superlubricity of Si-containing hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H:Si) films has been systematically investigated in relation to the film bonding structure and the environmental atmosphere. Structural diversity induced by hydrogen incorporation (i.e., 17.3-36.7 at. % H), namely sp(2)-bonded a-C, diamond-like or polymer-like, and tribointeractions activated by the participation of environmental gaseous molecules mainly determine the frictional behaviors of a-C:H:Si films. A suitable control of hydrogen content in the film (i.e., the inherent hydrogen coverage) is obligate to obtain durable superlubricity in a distinct gaseous atmosphere such as dry N2, reactive H2 or humid air. Rapid buildup of running-in-induced antifriction tribolayers at the contact interface, which is more feasible in self-mated sliding, is crucial for achieving a superlubric state. Superior tribological performances have been observed for the polymer-like a-C:H:Si (31.9 at. % H) film, as this hydrogen-rich sample can exhibit superlow friction in various atmospheres including dry inert N2 (μ ∼ 0.001), Ar (μ ∼ 0.012), reactive H2 (μ ∼ 0.003) and humid air (μ ∼ 0.004), and can maintain ultralow friction in corrosive O2 (μ ∼ 0.084). Hydrogen is highlighted for its decisive role in obtaining superlow friction. The occurrence of superlubricity in a-C:H:Si films is generally attributed to a synergistic effect of phase transformation, surface passivation and shear localization, for instance, the near-frictionless state occurred in dry N2. The contribution of each mechanism to the friction reduction depends on the specific intrafilm and interfilm interactions along with the atmospheric effects. These antifriction a-C:H:Si films are promising for industrial applications as lubricants.

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