抄録
Spreading characteristics of molecularly thin lubricant over grooved surface has been studied numerically by Monte Carlo simulations and compared with measurements obtained by perfluoropolyether (PFPE) thin film spreading over a solid surface with minute grooves. In the simulations, by incorporating the interactions between molecule and side surfaces of a groove, the Monte Carlo method based on the Ising model was extended to the case of surface with grooves and applied to simulation for the spreading of non-polar lubricant inside a groove. Compared with the spreading on a smooth surface, lubricant spreads rapidly inside the groove, indicating an acceleration of the spreading along the groove. In the experiments, lubricant spreading on surface with groove-shaped texture was measured by making use of the extinction of diffraction light on the lubricant-covered region. From the results that lubricant spread predominantly along the groove, the accelerating effect obtained in the simulations is well confirmed by the measurements.
