Tailoring tribological properties of Ti-Zr alloys via process design of laser surface texturing and thermal oxidation

The optimization of texture density and processing sequence of duplex-treatment of thermal oxidation (TO) and laser surface texturing (LST) were studied to maximize the tribological performance of titanium alloys. The tribological properties of the samples were investigated under starved lubrication, and compared with TO-only sample. The results show that compared to TO-only sample, all the duplex-treatment can reduce the friction coefficient and wear rate. The samples with a surface density of 10% show excellent tribological performance regardless of the processing sequence. Fe2O3 was formed and adhered to the worn surfaces of the discs in the process of wear due to the wear of the counterpart ball. The higher surface density could lead to the enhanced destruction and adhesive wear of the surface.