Experimental Analysis of Friction and Wear of Laser Microtextured Surface Filled With Composite Solid Lubricant and Lubricated With Grease on Sliding Surfaces

Experimental studies of friction and wear on textured surfaces filled with composite solid lubricant and lubricated with grease were conducted on a sliding plain bearing to enhance the working performance and lifetime under different conditions. Circular microdimples of different diameters were fabricated on GCr15 bearing steel specimens using the semiconductor sound and light pumped Nd:YAG laser machining equipment. Ring-on-ring tribological test configuration with GCr15 tribopairs under a combined non-Newtonian lubrication of grease and composite lubricant was performed. The results showed that the surface textures on specimen GCr15 bearing steel material filled composite solid lubricant and lubricated with grease (TLG), reduced the friction by 27%, 46%, and 75% of the grease only (TG), solid lubricant only (TL), and nonlubricated (T) specimens, respectively. The textured specimen with dimple diameter of 109 μm lowered the maximum coefficient of friction by 38% and enhanced the antiwear properties of GCr15 bearing steel material remarkably. This indicated that grease has great potential in promoting service life and working performance of sliding plain bearing when combined with composite solid lubricant in a laser-textured surface. It is therefore beneficial for applications in the machinery and automotive components industries in saving energy and reducing CO2 emission.