Improving the Antifriction Behaviors of Steel by Hybrid Treatments of MoS2 and Surface Texture

Abstract: In the present paper, the composite coatings with MoS2 and graphite in the epoxy resin were deposited on the textured surface of steel by laser and wire-electrode cutting technology to improve the anti-friction behaviors of the steel. The influences of the content of MoS2 and graphite and the types of surface texture on the anti-friction behavior were studied systematically. The experimental results show that the textured specimens with 1 mm space line and pentagon shape pore exhibit low friction behaviors under dry friction. CoF (coefficient of friction) of the pore and line textured with high content of MoS2 and graphite is reduced by 27.7% and 42.3% under dry friction and by 30.0% and 33.3% under starved lubrication, respectively. CoF of the texture and coating duplex-treated steel is much lower than that of the untreated steel due to the solid lubrication of MoS2 and graphite under dry friction. The possible antifriction and antiwear mechanism is discussed. It is concluded that the duplex-treated steel with the texture and coating exhibits good anti-friction behaviors and the composite coatings with solid lubricant are beneficial to improve the tribological properties of steel under starved and dry friction testing conditions. It is shown that hybrid surface treatment with the texture and solid lubricant coating is an effective way to improve the tribological properties of steel. Solid lubricant coatings deposited on the textured surface can be applied to improve the antifriction behaviors of steel under starved lubrication and dry friction.