Visualisation of structured lubricants in tribological contacts
Visualisation of structured lubricants in tribological contacts
The layered, lamellar phase of lyotropic liquid crystals display promising tribological properties possessing low shear strength between layers, solid like elasticity and high load carrying capacity perpendicular to their layered structure. Being able to visualise and study the behaviour of LLC in high pressure contacts at a range of speed, slide-roll ratio (SRR) and temperature conditions can facilitate the understanding of the mechanism of action behind their low friction properties.
A microscope setup has been developed that is capable of collecting real time, high contrast videos of film formation, bulk alignment, and flow of liquid crystal containing lubricants in an EHD ultra-thin film tribometer. This project aims to describe an economic set of methods to evaluate qualitatively the behaviour of liquid crystals in and around tribological contacts.
This is demonstrated with two types of liquid crystals; lamellar lyotropic Oleic Acid/Triethanolamine and smectic thermotropic 8CB.
Elkington, Robert Joseph
43525829-682c-494c-8954-df970b495cf0
Ratoi, Monica
cfeffe10-31ca-4630-8399-232c4bc2beff
June 2020
Elkington, Robert Joseph
43525829-682c-494c-8954-df970b495cf0
Ratoi, Monica
cfeffe10-31ca-4630-8399-232c4bc2beff
Elkington, Robert Joseph and Ratoi, Monica
(2020)
Visualisation of structured lubricants in tribological contacts.
Tribology & Lubrication Technology, June 2020.
Abstract
The layered, lamellar phase of lyotropic liquid crystals display promising tribological properties possessing low shear strength between layers, solid like elasticity and high load carrying capacity perpendicular to their layered structure. Being able to visualise and study the behaviour of LLC in high pressure contacts at a range of speed, slide-roll ratio (SRR) and temperature conditions can facilitate the understanding of the mechanism of action behind their low friction properties.
A microscope setup has been developed that is capable of collecting real time, high contrast videos of film formation, bulk alignment, and flow of liquid crystal containing lubricants in an EHD ultra-thin film tribometer. This project aims to describe an economic set of methods to evaluate qualitatively the behaviour of liquid crystals in and around tribological contacts.
This is demonstrated with two types of liquid crystals; lamellar lyotropic Oleic Acid/Triethanolamine and smectic thermotropic 8CB.
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Published date: June 2020
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 509392
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/509392
ISSN: 1545-858X
PURE UUID: b697a3bf-9b7f-4bef-a7af-083ba7eb9bd2
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Date deposited: 19 Feb 2026 17:58
Last modified: 20 Feb 2026 02:43
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Author:
Robert Joseph Elkington
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