Experimental Study on Influences of Electric Double Layer on Thin Film Lubrication

Theoretical and experimental researches have showed that electro-viscosity induced by electric double layer influences apparently on thin film lubrication. In order to consider the influence of electric double layer, in the present paper, experiments are carried out on a self-made oil lubrication tester with a composite sliding block and with adding an external electric field to reconstruct electric double layer. The results show that electric double layer has an apparent effect on friction coefficient. To ensure the results, further experiments are carried out with additives’ being added to change the ionic concentration of lubricants. The results indicate that electric double layer has more apparent effect on friction coefficient in thin film lubrication.