Frictional Behaviour of the Microstructural Surfaces Created by Cylindrical Grinding Processes

Cylindrical surface grinding can create defined textural patterns on a component with high quantity. This paper presents an experimental investigation of the frictional behaviours of ground cylindrical microstructural surfaces under a well lubrication condition. It shows that the coefficient of friction (COF) of microstructural surface is influenced by different workload and rotation speed. The results reveal that conventional surface roughness parameters do not present the influence of surface microstructure on friction performance well. However, the paper presents an interesting discovery that the friction behaviour of microstructural surfaces created by grinding could be controlled by combining dressing and grinding conditions. Such a discovery provides a logic way to reduce surface friction for energy efficiency applications. A few functional relationships have been established to illustrate the influence of microstructural features on friction. It was found that the ground microstructural surface could improve friction performance up to 20% compared to the smoother surfaces without defined surface textural patterns.

Design of bidirectional frictional behaviour for tactile contact using ellipsoidal asperity micro-textures

Tactile perception and friction can be modified by producing a deterministic surface topography. Change of surface feature arrangement and texture symmetry can produce an anisotropic frictional behaviour. It is generally achieved through skin hysteresis by promoting its deformation. This work investigates whether a bidirectional friction can be created with microscale ellipsoidal asperity textures, thus relying on the adhesive component of friction. For this purpose, four textured samples with various asperity dimensions were moulded with a silicone rubber having an elastic modulus comparable to that of the skin. Coefficient of friction measurements were conducted in-vivo in two sliding directions with a range of normal loads up to 4 N. Finite element method (FEM) was used to study elastic deformation effects, explain the observed friction difference, and predict surface material influence. Measurements performed perpendicular to the asperity major radii showed consistently higher friction coefficients than that during parallel sliding. For the larger asperity dimensions, a change of the sliding direction increased friction up to a factor of 2. The numerical analysis showed that this effect is mostly related to elastic asperity deflection. Bidirectional friction differences can be further controlled by asperity dimensions, spacing, and material properties.

Frictional properties of a faulted shale gas play: implications for induced seismicity

<p>Injecting fluids into the subsurface is necessary for a number of industries to facilitate the energy transition (e.g., geothermal, geologic CO<sub>2</sub> sequestration or hydrogen storage). One of the biggest challenges is that fluid injection induces seismicity, which can lead to damaging events. It is currently not possible to predict the exact nature of seismicity that will occur due to fluid injection prior to operations.</p><p>Using laboratory friction experiments and in-situ microseismic analyses, we investigate the role frictional behaviour may have on the rate and magnitude of induced seismicity. This study focuses on the Horn River Basin shale gas play (British Columbia, Canada), where hydraulic fracturing activity has resulted in felt induced seismicity. Microseismic data from this field highlights fault planes that cut across the stratigraphy, including overburden and reservoir shales of varying mineralogy and underburden dolomites.</p><p>Our experimental friction results on samples recovered from core at reservoir depths show that both the frictional strength and stability vary considerably across the different lithologies; transitioning from very velocity-strengthening with friction coefficients of 0.3 – 0.4 in the overburden shales to more velocity-weakening and friction coefficients of 0.55 – 0.7 in the reservoir shales and an analogue of the underburden dolomite.</p><p>Spatial clustering analysis of the microseismicity allowed us to discriminate the operationally induced fracturing from fault reactivation events. We then examined the variations in the seismic b-value of the event magnitude-frequency distribution. These events were further differentiated by depth, separating them into their lithological horizons. The results show, for both fracturing and faulting events, higher seismic b-values of 1.4 – 1.5 <span>occur </span><span>in the overburden shales, which then decrease into the upper reservoir shales to 0.8 – 1.1, and then increase into the lower reservoir shales and underburden dolomite to 1.1 – 1.4. These trends correlate well with the laboratory measurements of frictional a-b values that define the degree of velocity-strengthening to velocity-weakening in the different gouges across the same lithological units.</span></p><p>These results suggest that knowledge of the frictional behaviour of the subsurface prior to operations, derived from mineralogical compositions and laboratory testing on cored material, may help improve our understanding of the potential rate and magnitude of induced seismicity that may occur due to subsurface fluid injection.</p>