Effects of Laser Surface Texturing and Lubrication on the Vibrational and Tribological Performance of Sliding Contact

Various textures are fabricated by a picosecond laser machine on the surfaces of circular stainless steel specimens. Vibrational and tribological effects of laser surface textures are investigated by means of a tribometer and a data acquisition and signal processing (DASP) system. Experimental results show that surface textures can reduce the coefficients of friction (COFs), enhance the wear resistance, and improve the dynamical performance of frictional surfaces. In this study, the surface with micro circular dimples in diameter of 150 μm or textured area density of 25% has the best tribological and dynamical performance. Compared with the non-textured surface, the surface with circular dimples in diameter of 150 μm and 15% textured area density has 27% reduction of COFs, 95% reduction of frictional vibrations, and 66% reduction of frictional noise. The frictional vibrations and noise in the sliding contacts can be effectively reduced by adding graphene to the lubrication oil, and the surface textures enhance the frictional noise reduction performance of lubrication.

Performance of textured foil journal bearing considering the influence of relative texture depth

Both foil structure and surface texturing have been widely used to improve bearing performance. However, there is little research on their combination, namely, textured gas foil bearing. This paper adopts the Reynolds equation as the pressure governing equation of bump-type foil journal bearing to study the influence of textures located on the top foil. The Newton-Raphson iterative method and the perturbation method are employed to obtain static and dynamic characteristics, respectively. Thereafter, based on three texture distribution types, further analysis about the effect of the relative texture depth and the textured portion is carried out. The results indicate that an appropriate arrangement of textures could improve the performance of gas foil bearing. For #1 texture distribution, the maximum increment of load capacity could exceed 10% when ω = 1.4 × 105 r/min, ε = 0.2.

Surface Texturing Technique Based on Ultrasonic Turning for Improving Tribological Properties

Tribological properties such as lubrication, friction, and wear resistance greatly affect machine operation efficiency, performance, and service life. Surface texturing methods such as scraping can be used to improve these properties. Scraping creates many small depressions on the target surface. These depressions, which are evenly distributed, function as oil holes and thus improve lubrication performance. This paper describes a surface texturing technique based on ultrasonic vibration-assisted turning (UVAT) that simultaneously improves tribological properties and machinability. In UVAT, the cutting tool is oscillated mainly in the principal direction. Vibration in the radial direction, which is induced by Poisson deformation, periodically digs up or pushes the workpiece surface in the radial direction, creating a textured surface. A surface subjected to UVAT has periodic depressions along the workpiece rotation direction. The texturing rate of UVAT is up to 6700 mm2/min, which is higher than that of manual scraping. To evaluate the tribological performance of a surface textured by UVAT, the friction coefficient between a stainless steel pin and the surface was measured under oil dipping conditions. The results of friction experiments show that the friction coefficient of the UVAT-treated surface and its fluctuation were lower than those of a conventional turned surface. The UVAT-treated surface had stable friction properties.

An Experimental Study of Micro-Dimpled Texture in Friction Control under Dry and Lubricated Conditions

Friction control is a vital technology for reaching sustainable development goals, and surface texturing is one of the most effective and efficient techniques for friction reduction. This study investigated the performance of a micro-dimpled texture under varying texture densities and experimental conditions. Reciprocating sliding tests were performed to evaluate the effects of the micro-dimpled texture on friction reduction under different normal loads and lubrication conditions. The results suggested that a micro-dimpled texture could reduce the coefficient of friction (CoF) under dry and lubricated conditions, and high dimple density results in a lower CoF. The dominant mechanism of the micro-dimpled texture’s effect on friction reduction was discussed, and surface observation and simulation suggested that a micro-dimpled texture could reduce the contact area at the friction interface, thereby reducing CoF.