Laser Technology in Tribology

A special issue of Lubricants (ISSN 2075-4442).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 9126

Special Issue Editors

Laserinstitut Hochschule Mittweida, University of Applied Sciences Mittweida, Technikumplatz 17, 09648 Mittweida, Germany
Interests: ultrashort pulse laser processing; laser micromachining; high-rate laser processing; laser surface engineering; laser surface texturing for advanced tribology; laser material interaction; laser safety

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Guest Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Laser surface texturing (LST) has gained considerable attention in the tribological research community during the last decade due to its fascinating ability to enhance and improve the tribological properties of mechanical components and devices. The characteristic features of laser-textured surfaces are typically on the order of micrometers and can specifically be altered through the laser processing technique, which allows the possibility to manipulate tribological performance under dry and lubricated conditions. Most of the published research work regarding LST in tribology has focused on decreasing the resulting coefficient of friction (COF) and/or wear rate/volume, thus extending service and maintenance intervals and improving the overall energy efficiency. By contrast, only a few recent studies have dealt with the possibility to increase the static COF by LST through a defined roughening of the involved rubbing surfaces. This underlines that LST can be used to precisely tailor the resulting frictional properties, thus resulting in energy and material savings, and potentially higher wear resistance and durability. In this context, it must be emphasized that the resulting friction and wear performance of tribological systems does not only depend on the involved surface topography, but also on the physiochemical properties of the superficial contact region (surface chemistry and subsurface microstructure). Both the surface chemistry and the microstructure can be also manipulated via laser processing, which may be useful to control friction and wear. However, although bearing tremendous potential, less research work has been conducted on the latter aspect.

This Special Issue aims to promote advances in the field of laser technology in tribology with the ultimate goal to enhance friction and wear performance under dry and lubricated conditions. Regarding laser processing techniques, research contributions making use of laser systems with different pulse durations ranging from continuous wave (cw) to pulsed and ultrashort pulsed laser systems are welcome. From a tribological point of view, the processing of different material systems (polymers, metals ,and ceramics) as well as various contact conditions (conformal and nonconformal contact) and lubrication conditions (dry friction, boundary, mixed, elastohydrodynamic, and full-film lubrication) can be considered as a subject of this Special Issue. Processing strategies ending up in deterministic multiscale and hierarchical surface textures with the overall goal of decreasing or increasing friction and wear, manipulating lubricant migration and spreading in lubricated systems, and inducing different wettability states will also find their place in this Special Issue. Special emphasis is laid on the underlying friction and wear mechanisms induced by the designed surface textures. Therefore, we greatly welcome the presentation of a throughout chemical and microstructural characterization of the as-fabricated and worn surfaces after tribological experiments to elucidate the underlying mechanism. In this regard, the use of advanced, high-resolution techniques is highly recommended.

Dr. Joerg Schille
Prof. Dr. Andreas Rosenkranz
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Friction
  • Wear
  • Dry friction and lubricated conditions
  • Laser surface texturing
  • Laser ablation
  • Laser materials processing
  • Micro/nano structures
  • Wettability
  • Advanced materials characterization

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 4533 KiB  
Article
Surface Hierarchy: Macroscopic and Microscopic Design Elements for Improved Sliding on Ice
by Karlis Agris Gross, Janis Lungevics, Ernests Jansons, Ilze Jerane, Michael J. Wood and Anne-Marie Kietzig
Lubricants 2021, 9(10), 103; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants9100103 - 12 Oct 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2786
Abstract
Frictional interaction with a surface will depend on the features and topography within the contact zone. Describing this interaction is particularly complex when considering ice friction, which needs to look at both the macroscopic and microscopic levels. Since Leonardo da Vinci shared his [...] Read more.
Frictional interaction with a surface will depend on the features and topography within the contact zone. Describing this interaction is particularly complex when considering ice friction, which needs to look at both the macroscopic and microscopic levels. Since Leonardo da Vinci shared his findings that roughness increases friction, emphasis has been placed on measuring surface coarseness, neglecting the contact area. Here, a profilometer was used to measure the contact area at different slicing depths and identify contact points. Metal blocks were polished to a curved surface to reduce the contact area; further reduced by milling 400 µm grooves or laser-micromachining grooves with widths of 50 µm, 100 µm, and 150 µm. Sliding speed was measured on an inclined ice track. Asperities from pileup reduced sliding speed, but a smaller contact area from grooves and a curved sliding surface increased sliding speed. An analysis of sliding speed versus contact area from incremental slicing depths showed that a larger asperity contact surface pointed to faster sliding, but an increase in the polished surface area reduced sliding. As such, analysis of the surface at different length scales has revealed different design elements—asperities, grooves, curved zones—to alter the sliding speed on ice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Technology in Tribology)
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14 pages, 10679 KiB  
Article
Impact of the LACKS of Fusion Induced by Additive Manufacturing on the Lubrication of a Gear Flank
by Franco Concli and Augusto Della Torre
Lubricants 2021, 9(8), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants9080083 - 20 Aug 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2307
Abstract
Additive Manufacturing (AM) is becoming a more and more widespread technology. Its capability to produce complex geometries opens new design possibilities. Despite the big efforts made by the scientific community for improving the AM processes, this technology still has some limitations, mainly related [...] Read more.
Additive Manufacturing (AM) is becoming a more and more widespread technology. Its capability to produce complex geometries opens new design possibilities. Despite the big efforts made by the scientific community for improving the AM processes, this technology still has some limitations, mainly related to the achievable surface quality. It is known that AM technologies promote the formation of LACKS of fusion inside the material. In some cases, the external surfaces are finished with traditional machining. This is the case of AM-produced gears. While the grinding operation aims to reduce the surface roughness, the presence of porosities just below the surface of the wrought component, could lead, after grinding, to the exposure of those porosities leading to a pitted surface. This phenomenon is surely not beneficial in terms of structural resistance, but can help the lubrication promoting the clinging of the lubricant to the surface. The aim of this paper is to study this effect. Micro-Computer-Tomography (μ-CT) analyses were performed on a 17-4 PH Stainless Steel (SS) produced via Selective Laser Melting (SLM). The real geometry of the pores was reproduced virtually and analyzed by means of multiphase CFD analyses in the presence of centrifugal effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Technology in Tribology)
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13 pages, 1773 KiB  
Article
Unexpected Frictional Behavior of Laser-Textured Hydrophobic Surfaces
by Hiba Jendoubi, Olga Smerdova and Noël Brunetière
Lubricants 2021, 9(3), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants9030031 - 6 Mar 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2638
Abstract
Hydrophobic surfaces can allow a liquid to slip over the surface and can thus reduce friction in lubricated contact working in a full film regime. Theory supports that the amount of slip can be increased if super-hydrophobic surfaces that are composed of a [...] Read more.
Hydrophobic surfaces can allow a liquid to slip over the surface and can thus reduce friction in lubricated contact working in a full film regime. Theory supports that the amount of slip can be increased if super-hydrophobic surfaces that are composed of a textured low surface energy material are used. In this work, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) polymer samples were textured with a femto second laser to create super-hydrophobic surfaces by machining a hexagonal network of small circular holes with 10 and 20 μm lattice sides. The frictional behavior of these surfaces was compared to the smooth PTFE samples. Surprisingly, the textured surfaces revealed higher friction coefficients than the smooth surfaces. This higher friction can be explained by a change of wetting regime due to high pressure in fluid and a possible generation of vortices in the cavities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Technology in Tribology)
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