Pressure dependence of confined liquid behavior subjected to boundary-driven shear

Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of boundary-driven sheared Lennard-Jones liquids at variable pressure up to 5 GPa (for argon) reveal a rich out-of-equilibrium phase behavior with a strong degree of shear localization. At the lowest apparent shear rate considered (wall speed similar to 1 ms(-1)) the confined region is an homogeneously sheared solid (S) with no slip at the walls. This transforms at higher shear rates to a non-flowing plug with slip at the walls, referred to as the plug slip (PS) state. At higher shear rate a central localized (CL) state formed in which the shear gradient was localized in the center of the film, with the rest of the confined sample in a crystalline state commensurate with the wall lattice. The central zone liquidlike region increased in width with shear rate. A continuous rounded temperature profile across the whole system reflects strong dynamical coupling between the wall and confined region. The temperature rise in the confined film is consistent with the Brinkman number. The transition from the PS to CL states typically occurred at a wall speed near where the shear stress approached a critical value of similar to 3% of the shear modulus, and also near the peak in the traction coefficient, mu. The peak traction coefficient values computed, similar to 0.12 - 0.14 at 1000 MPa agree with those found for traction fluids and occur when the confined liquid is in the PS and CL states. At low wall speeds slip can occur at one wall and stick at the other. Poorly wetting liquids manifest long-lived asymmetries in the confined liquid properties across the system, and a shift in solid-liquid phase co-existence to higher shear rates. A non-equilibrium phase diagram based on these results is proposed. The good agreement of the tribological response of the Lennard-Jones fluid with that of more complicated molecular systems suggests that a corresponding states scaling of the tribological behavior could apply. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3698601]