Towards multiscale modelling of boundary lubrication

Hannes Holey, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Friction and lubrication are inherent multiscale problems, particularly when the gap between contacting bodies is on the order of molecular interaction length scales. Modelling lubrication across scales beyond purely sequential approaches has so far remained elusive. In this talk, I will present a reformulation of the classical lubrication equations that principally allows straightforward coupling between continuum and molecular models. Furthermore, I will show how fluctuations of collective variables in confined fluids relate to the continuum description, giving rise to slip length measurement in equilibrium molecular dynamics (MD), as well as the description of anomalous sound transport in low aspect ratio fluidic systems. The last part of the talk will be devoted to an outlook on incorporating MD-informed constitutive relations into the existing continuum framework with the help of machine learning, leading to a concurrent multiscale method.

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