A novel approach to measure slip-length of thin lubricant films under high pressures

Abundant evidence of boundary slip at liquid/solid interfaces has been presented by experiments and theoretical analyses. Recent research reveals that the boundary slip effect of lubricants can be obvious in small confined gaps, even with simple Newtonian fluids. Therefore, it is appropriate to ask if there is boundary slip of thin highly pressurized lubricant films in EHL contacts, and, if so, how to quantify it. This paper proposes a method for measuring the slip-length of lubricant films within a small gap under high pressure. Measurement principles have been addressed in details in the paper. The idea makes use of the phenomenon whereby a tiny quantity of lubricant can be entrapped and forms a dimple film by impacting a steel ball against a lubricated glass plate. The slip-length can be extracted from the relative movement of the dimple against the solid surfaces. Case experiments are also presented to validate the feasibility of the method. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.