Effects of different coatings on the tribological properties of very thin oil films in the nanoscale were investigated. The film thickness and friction force were measured by the technique of relative optical interference intensity (ROII) and a stress–strain force measuring system with high precision. The results indicate that the film thickness complies with the elastohydrodynamic theory in the high-speed region but it differs from the theory in the low-speed region. The physicochemical properties of coating surfaces have a great effect on the tribological properties of the oil film in the nanoscale. The coating with higher surface energy gives rise to a thicker film and a higher friction coefficient. The reasons for enhancement in the friction coefficient of the oil film in the nanoscale are discussed. Copyright

讨论了速度、固体表面能、滑动比、润滑剂粘度和化学性能对薄膜润滑状态下油膜厚度的影响，以及弹流润滑向薄膜润滑转化条件和液体膜失效条件。进而提出了新的润滑状态划分准则以及不同润滑机理下膜厚的变化情况。

Characteristics of a liquid lubricant film at the nanometer scale are discussed in the present paper. The variations of the film thickness in a central contact region between a glass disk and a super-polished steel ball with lubricant viscosity, rolling speed, substrate surface tension, running time, load, etc. have been investigated. Experimen. tal results show that the variation of film thickness in the thin film lubrication (TFL) regime is largely different from that in the elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) regime. The critical transition point from EHL to TFL is closely related to lubricant viscosity, surface energy of substrates, "and so on. The film in TFL is much thicker than that calculated from the Hamrock-Dowson formula. An unusual behavior of the lubricant film has also been observed when the effect of the running time on the film thickness is considered. The time effect and the formation mechanism of the enhanced film in the running process have been discussed.

The determination of hydrodynamic film failure has become one of the key aspects in the study of thin film lubrication (TFL) since the hydrodynamic effect of fluid film at nano-scale can be observed with recently developed experimental techniques. In the present paper, the relative optical interference intensity, (ROH) technique with a resolution of 0.5 run in the vertical direction has been used to measure the film thickness. Experimental results show that the hydrodynamic effect can be clearly observed even at very low speed if the contact pressure is sufficiently low or if the viscosity of lubricant is comparatively high. When the pres-sure increases to a certain degree, the fihn will suddenly drop to the dimension of several layers q/molecules and this is where the failure of the fluid film has taken place. For different viscosity of lubricants, the fluid film failure occurs at different rolling speeds and pressures. In addition, when the normal load becomes high-er, a higher speed or larger viscosity is required to form the fluid film in the contact region. Finally, the effects of pressure, viscos-ity, and velocity on the occurrence of fluid film failure have been examined and a relationship involving the three parumeters is proposed.

The mechanism of the transition from elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) to thin film lubrication (TFL) has been studied with a technique of relative optical interference intensity for measuring the film thickness. The resolution of the instrument could reach 0.5nm in the vertical direction and 1.5 um in the horizontal direction. The factors influencing the measurement precision and the differences between EHL and TFL are discussed. Film thicknesses with different lubricants, velocities, and loads are measured. The experimental data show that the variation of the film thickness in TFL is not the same as that in EHL. As the rolling speed decreases, a turning point in the film thickness curve is found, which distinguishes TFL from EHL. Consequently, a TFL model with a fluid layer, an ordered liquid layer, and an adsorbed layer is proposed. Finally, the functions of the layers are discussed in detail.