An investigation on the tribological behaviour of biomimetic placoid and cycloid textures on AISI316L stainless steel

Abstract Surface texturing is considered as one of the best techniques to improve material performance and characteristics related to its ability to govern exterior properties in specific applications. Contributing to the increase in demand for materials for a variety of use, surface texturing has garnered much attention in recent decades. The objective of this research was to investigate the friction and wear behavior of biomimetic shark-skin (placoid) S 1 P, trout-skin (cycloid) S 2 C textures on AISI316L stainless steel surface and untextured surface S 3 S against commercial AISI52100 steel balls under dry sliding conditions. Nd:YAG laser texturing system was used to create micro-grooves similar to the bionic placoid and cycloid fish scales on AISI316L stainless steel surfaces. To determine their characteristics, the samples were examined using a 3D profilometer with AFM, FESEM, EDS, and XRD. Reciprocating ball on disc tribometer (Rtec-MFT-5000) was used to evaluate the sample’s friction and wear performance. Tribo-tests were performed at two different loads and constant sliding speeds to observe the effect of texturing on the tribological properties of 316L stainless steel. Laser Surface Texturing (LST) was found to be effective in controlling the coefficient of friction and wear volume loss of materials. Sample S 2 C showed a relatively lower coefficient of friction and wear rate under dry sliding conditions. This paper used the analytical method to compare the tribological behavior of biomimetic placoid and cycloid textures on AISI316L Stainless Steel, and the results revealed that laser surface texturing can be an effective technique to enhance the tribological properties of friction material.