Friction and wear performance of lubricated micro-textured surface formed by laser processing

Abstract

During friction and wear, the friction coefficient of cemented carbide could be significantly reduced through surface texturing. In this work, we conducted a comparative analysis of the friction and wear resistance of the micro-textured surface and lubricated micro-textured surface and analysed the lubrication mechanism of the micro-textured surface with the solid lubrication. In particular, the effect of the micro-texture size on the friction coefficient was assessed, implying that the friction coefficient curve of the textured surface is more stable than that of the nontextured surface. In addition, the lubricated surface with the micro-texture exhibited a minimum friction coefficient, which was only ∼0.25 of that of the nonlubricated surface. Micro-pits texture could store a certain amount of the lubricating agent, eventually reducing the friction coefficient. The diameter of the micro-pits texture, friction coefficient, texture depth, and texture spacing increased within the selected parameter range, the friction coefficient first decreased and then increased.