Comparison of the effects of surface texture on the surfaces of steel and UHMWPE

Surface texture has been well studied for metals and ceramics. For the tribo-pair consisted of soft and stiff materials, in order to find out which side is better for texturing, friction tests between steel and UHMWPE were performed to evaluate the effect of dimple patterns at different load–speed conditions. ight load of 100 N, surface texture on either steel or UHMWPE can reduce friction, but their optimum area densities are different. However, at a heavy load of 700 N, only the pattern textured on UHMWPE can effectively reduce friction. Test results are further analyzed in terms of contact stress.