Novel applications of liquid crystals in lubrication and biolubrication

各类交通工具的排放是加拿大温室气体的最大单一贡献，预计在未来20年将有最高的增长率。只有通过创新设计才能将温室气体排放量降至《京都议定书》的水平，这包括最佳润滑剂设计和/或新的更好的润滑剂和生物润滑剂的设计。 开发更有效的润滑剂具有重要的技术和经济意义，因为据估计，一半的能源消耗是以摩擦的形式消散的。液晶材料能够形成具有良好承载能力的有序边界层，降低滑动表面的摩擦系数、磨损率和接触温度，从而有助于提高部件的使用寿命和节约能源。当使用常规油时摩擦力变化不大时，使用液晶时摩擦力显著下降。液晶是一种各向异性的粘弹性材料。LC是分层结构的材料，因此计算设计涉及挑战，例如长度(从宏观-样品，到纳米-在缺陷的核心)和时间尺度之间的差异。这些材料的显著流变性是由流动诱导的分子构型演变决定的。粘度系数相对于不同流动方向的各向异性是液晶相特有的特性。拟议研究的目标是为不同的应用设计经济可行和环境友好的新型高性能润滑剂。

Emissions from transportation vehicles of all types constitute the largest single contribution to greenhouse gases in Canada and are expected to have the highest growth rate over the next two decades. The minimization of greenhouses gas emissions to Kyoto Protocol levels can only be achieved through innovative design and this includes an optimal lubricant design and/or design of new better lubricants and biolubricants. The development of more efficient lubricants is of paramount technological and economic relevance as it is estimated that half energy consumption is dissipated as friction. Liquid crystalline materials have shown their ability to form ordered boundary layers with good load-carrying capacity and to lower the friction coefficients, wear rates and contact temperatures of sliding surfaces, thus contributing to increase the components service life and save energy. When the friction hardly changes when using conventional oil, it drops significantly when liquid crystals are used. Liquid Crystals (LCs) are anisotropic viscoelastic materials. LCs are hierarchically structured materials so the computational design involves challenges, like the disparity between the length (from macro- the sample, to nano - in the core of the defects) and time scales. The remarkable rheological properties of these materials are governed by the flow-induced evolution of molecular configurations. The anisotropy of the viscosity coefficient with respect to different flow directions is a property unique for the liquid crystalline phase. The objective of the proposed research is to design new high performance lubricants for different applications that are economically viable and environmentally friendly.