Performance improvement of water-lubricated sliding tribo-pairs of nylon fibre-based UHMWPE composite and 304 stainless steel using surface micro-grooves/textures

Abstract This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations pertaining to the tribological performance improvement of the water-lubricated pairs formed between nylon fibre-based UHMWPE composite and SAE 304 stainless steel under sliding motion using surface micro-grooves and textures. In this exploration, linear and crossed micro-grooves and spherical dimples in textures have been employed at the interfacing surface of composite pins. All the experimental results have been produced using a pin-on-disc configuration at different operating parameters as per the standard ASTM G 99-05. Significant reductions in the coefficient of friction (COF) and wear rate of the composite have been found in the presence of transverse micro-grooves at the pin surface as compared to the conventional case. A mathematical model involving deterministic micro-grooves/dimples and stochastic distribution of asperities has been employed to generate the numerical results to validate the experimental findings and develop the overall confidence in the study. A good correlation between experimental and numerical results has been achieved.