Characterizing the viscosity-temperature dependence of lubricants by molecular simulation

An understanding of the relationship between chemical structure and lubrica nt performance is highly desirable from both a fundamental and a practical perspective, such knowledge being vital to improve the performance of miner al oils and to guide the design of future synthetic lubricants. The rheolog ical properties of alkanes of intermediate molecular size (C-20-C-40) are o f particular interest as they form the main constituents of lubricant bases tocks. In this work, we determine the viscosity number (VN) for a number of alkanes in the mass range of interest by molecular simulation, Quantitativ e agreement with experimental data for all systems studied is achieved, fur ther illustrating the value of molecular simulation in predicting lubricant properties and its potential for providing guidance in the design of synth etic lubricants with desired properties. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.