Hybrid Micro Textures – A Multi-Scale Surface Engineering Approach For Enhancing Tribological Characteristics

Surface engineering techniques have already been reported to be one of the fascinating areas of research in the manufacturing industries due to its uniqueness in enhancing the tribological characteristics. Design and development of optimal microscale textures at the tribological interfaces can minimize the sliding friction, which will eventually result in the improved part performance and life. Among the various surface engineering techniques, laser micromachining principle has got wide acceptance owing to its capability in generating microfeatures of any intricate shapes with high processing speed and precise geometrical quality. Hence in the present work, Nd: YAG laser was used to create hybrid microscale textures on the disc surfaces and the same were used for the tribology experiments for evaluating the effectiveness of hybrid textures in enhancing the frictional characteristics. Tribological experiments showed a significant reduction of 32.65 % in friction coefficient for hybrid textured surfaces than the smooth surfaces. The outcomes of present work demonstrate the feasibility of applying hybrid microscale textures at the contact regimes of mechanical components like bearings, mechanical seal, etc. and also on cutting tools for achieving better productivity. Keywords: tribology, laser, texturing, friction, asperity, interface