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Correlating Molecular Structure to the Behavior of Linear Styrene–Butadiene Viscosity Modifiers

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Abstract

The effect of linear styrene–butadiene polymer structure on the temperature–viscosity behavior of model polymer-base oil solutions is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. Simulations of alternating, random, and block styrene–butadiene polymers in a dodecane solvent are used to calculate viscosity at 40 and 100 °C, reference temperatures for characterizing their function as viscosity modifiers. Mechanisms underlying this function are explored by quantifying the radius of gyration and intramolecular interactions of the polymers at the same reference temperatures. The block styrene–butadiene configuration exhibits the least change in viscosity with temperature, characteristic of a good viscosity modifier or viscosity index improver, and the behavior is correlated to the ability of this structure to form smaller coils with more intramolecular interactions at lower temperatures and then expand as temperature is increased. The results indicate that there is a correlation between styrene–butadiene polymer structure, additive function, and the mechanisms underlying that function.

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Acknowledgements

We thank David Gray, Joan Souchik and Ewa Bardasz for useful discussion and feedback related to viscosity modifiers. We also acknowledge the Donors of the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (Grant #55026-ND6), National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power EEC 05440834, and the National Fluid Power Association Education and Technology Foundations Pascal Society for support of this research. Some of the simulations reported in this work were run using the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), which was supported by National Science Foundation Grant No. ACI-1053575.

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  1. School of Engineering, University of California Merced, Merced, CA, USA

    Uma Shantini Ramasamy, Michelle Len & Ashlie Martini

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  1. Uma Shantini Ramasamy
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  2. Michelle Len
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  3. Ashlie Martini
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Correspondence to Ashlie Martini.

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Ramasamy, U.S., Len, M. & Martini, A. Correlating Molecular Structure to the Behavior of Linear Styrene–Butadiene Viscosity Modifiers. Tribol Lett 65, 147 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-017-0926-5

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