On the Influence of Phase Change in Highly Loaded Frictional Contacts

Highly loaded lubricated contacts may present a friction plateau on which the friction force becomes independent from the sliding velocity. Although this phenomenon has been known for a long time, its physical origin remains poorly known. The present paper aims at giving further insight on the physical mechanisms triggering the friction plateau. The study specifically focuses on the influence of pressure on the physical state of the lubricant. An uncoupled experimental approach (rheology, tribology, spectrometry) has been conducted on a model lubricant. The lubricant behavior has been probed both at rest by Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy and dynamically under stationary conditions in a lubricated contact. The first experimental approach led to evidence a transition pressure associated with the lubricant glass transition, which has then been correlated to the lubricant macroscopic response in friction. We show that the onset of the plateau behavior occurs for Hertzian pressures close to the glass transition pressure, corresponding to a very small fraction of lubricant in a “nominal glassy state” within the contact.