Friction characteristics of microtextured surfaces under mixed and hydrodynamic lubrication

We report experimental and numerical investigations of the friction characteristics of microtextured surfaces. The textures are of size 28–257μm on stainless steel surfaces, fabricated using micro-casting. Friction characteristics of these surfaces were tested under submerged conditions using a pin-on-disk configuration. Numerical simulations solved the Navier–Stokes equations to predict the texture-induced lift. During hydrodynamic lubricated sliding, the textured surfaces exhibit friction as much as 80% lower than the untextured surfaces. We study the effect of operating conditions on the friction performance of the surfaces for different textures. The trends obtained in the experiments match well with the simulations, and indicate design rules for the implementation of this technology. ► We model and measure sliding friction forces on a microtextured surface during lubricated sliding. ► We text many stainless steel samples having texture sizes over the range 28–345μm. ► The textured surfaces exhibit friction as much as 80% lower than the untextured surfaces. ► Simulations are compared well with measurements.