Molecular dynamics studies of the frictional properties of hydrocarbon materials

This essay discusses the importance of friction and wear and the necessity to understand these processes on the atomic level. Because of the unique friction and wear characteristics of diamond, molecular dynamics simulations were used to examine the friction and wear properties of diamond. These simulations have complemented available experimental data obtained with an atomic force microscope and that obtained with instruments which yield more macroscopic data. In particular, it was shown that the presence of methane molecules, trapped between diamond (111) surfaces, significantly reduces the calculated friction coefficients in agreement with experiment [Hayward and Field, Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng., IMechE Conf, 1987, 1, 205]. In addition, the limitations of molecular dynamics simulations and possible future directions for this type are research are discussed.