Quantifying the Effect of Lubricant Elasticity on Micro Textured Surfaces

An experimental study is performed on micro textured surfaces using both elastic and Newtonian fluids in order to understand the effect of fluid rheology on the sliding friction of textured surfaces. Nickel micro textured surfaces containing 50 to 125 micron diameter pores and 1 to 20 percent area densities of pores are friction tested using a triborheometer, and the resulting data is examined using a Stribeck diagram. This research reveals that the Stribeck curve will experience a shift according to the lubricant elasticity, and that shift is independent of the texturing parameters. By modifying the Gumbel number to form a new dimensionless parameter, the effect of lubricant elasticity is normalized for all surfaces.