Soft matter laser micro-texturing for friction reduction: An experimental investigation

In this paper, a femtosecond laser manufacturing process is effectively employed to produce a pattern of micro dimples on a fluoroelastomer. To quantify the microtexture tribological performance, two configurations are implemented: non-conformal and conformal contacts are tested on a pin-on-disk tribometer. Due to the reduced number of dimples engaged in the contact region, no significant friction enhancement is obtained in the non-conformal configuration. On the contrary, in the case of conformal contacts, outstanding outcomes in terms of friction reduction - up to 60% - can be achieved by a properly designed micro-texture. Such a result is obtained by improving the wear debris entrapment and the cavitation respectively at low and high speed, without increasing significantly the occurrence of flow eddies.