Modeling of Grease Flow Based on Microstructural Interactions by Cellular Automata

In this paper, we have proposed a model of lubricating grease flow under shear deformation including microstructural interactions between thickeners. The yield shear stress of thickener cluster based on cohesion has been estimated by the experimental results of dynamic flow visualization using a phase contrast microscope. In order to simplify the thickener interactions, Cellular Automata, which is one of discrete modeling techniques, have been applied. As a result, we show that the proposed simple grease flow model is able to simulate the velocity distribution and the slipping boundary of grease to some extent.