Possibilities of Dry and Lubricated Friction Modification Enabled by Different Ultrashort Laser-Based Surface Structuring Methods

In this contribution we report on the possibilities of dry and lubricated friction modification introduced by different laser surface texturing methods. We compare the potential of Laser-Induced Periodic Surface Structures and Laser Beam Interference Ablation on 100Cr6 steel in a linear reciprocating ball-on-disc configuration using 100Cr6 steel and tungsten carbide balls with load forces between 50 mN and 1000 mN. For dry friction, we find a possibility to reduce the coefficient of friction and we observe a pronounced direction dependency for surfaces fabricated by Laser Beam Interference Ablation. Furthermore, Laser-Induced Periodic Surface Structures result in a load-dependent friction reduction for lubricated linear reciprocating movements. This work helps to identify the modification behaviour of laser generated micro structures with feature sizes of approximately 1 µm and reveals new possibilities for surface engineering.