Topography-related effects on the lubrication of nanostructured hard surfaces

This study reports the effect of nanoscaled surface structure of some hard coatings on the (micro-) frictional behaviour of systems under minimum lubrication conditions with modest contact pressures and low sliding speeds (below 1 mm/s). For this purpose, Cr-N coatings with a randomly crater-like topography and with varying dimensions of surface features as well as a smooth Cr-N surface were tested with a microtribometer. The friction on the samples was measured as a function of the viscosity of the applied mineral base oil and the sliding velocity. For all tests, the structured surfaces exhibited lower friction than the smooth surface. Furthermore, it was possible to detect variations in the lubrication-promoting effect of the structures depending on the oil viscosity and the sliding speed. Indications for the existence of an optimum topographic scale for this type of surface structure were found.