Tribological analysis of picosecond laser partially textured thrust bearings with circular grooves machined: Theory and experiment

A two-dimensional analytical model based on the Reynolds equation considering mass conservation cavitation is proposed to investigate the performance of partially textured thrust bearings with circular grooves. The geometrical and distribution parameters of the circular grooves are numerically optimized to obtain the maximum load-carrying capacity. The samples of partially textured thrust bearings are machined by the picosecond laser, and tribological experiments are carried out on an MMW-1 tribological rig. The average friction coefficient and the friction reduction ratio are applied to analyze the tribological performance of partially textured thrust bearings. Through a comparative analysis, the optimal geometrical values obtained from the experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical analysis, especially at high rotation speeds and a low load condition.