Microstructure and lubricating property of ultra-fast laser pulse textured silicon carbide seals

Most previous studies have employed surface patterning to improve the performance of lubrication systems. However, few have experimentally analyzed improved effects on friction reduction in SiC mechanical seals by ultra-fast laser pulse texturing. This work applies surface texturing on a non-contact mechanical seal and analyzes the characteristics of the resultant surface morphology. A femtosecond laser system is employed to fabricate micro/nanostructures on the SiC mechanical seal, and generates microscale-depth stripes and induces nanostructures on the seal surface. This work examines the morphology and cross section of the SiC nanostructures that correspond to the different scanning speeds of the laser pulse. Results show that varying the scanning speed enables the application of nanostructures of different amplitudes and widths on the surface of the seal. The friction coefficient of the introduced SiC full-textured seal is about 20% smaller than that of a conventional SiC mechanical seal. Hence, femtosecond laser texturing is effective and enables direct fabrication of the surface micro/nanostructures of SiC seals. This technique also serves as a potential approach to lubricating applications.

[1]  Izhak Etsion,et al.  Analytical and Experimental Investigation of Laser-Textured Mechanical Seal Faces , 1999 .

[2]  G. Mourou,et al.  Laser ablation and micromachining with ultrashort laser pulses , 1997 .

[3]  Heinz Sturm,et al.  Chemical, morphological and accumulation phenomena in ultrashort-pulse laser ablation of TiN in air , 2000 .

[4]  Izhak Etsion,et al.  Experimental Investigation of Laser Surface Texturing for Reciprocating Automotive Components , 2002 .

[5]  Kanji Ueda,et al.  Material removal mechanism of silicon nitride during rubbing in water , 1984 .

[6]  Mool C. Gupta,et al.  Self-organized micro/nano structures in metal surfaces by ultrafast laser irradiation , 2010 .

[7]  Ali Erdemir,et al.  Review of engineered tribological interfaces for improved boundary lubrication , 2005 .

[8]  S. Jahanmir,et al.  Water Lubrication of Silicon Nitride in Sliding , 2004 .

[9]  Izhak Etsion,et al.  Friction-Reducing Surface-Texturing in Reciprocating Automotive Components , 2001 .

[10]  Iraj Mirzaee,et al.  An analytical approach for analysis and optimisation of slider bearings with infinite width parallel textures , 2010 .

[11]  A. Tünnermann,et al.  Femtosecond, picosecond and nanosecond laser ablation of solids , 1996 .

[12]  I. Etsion,et al.  A Laser Surface Textured Hydrostatic Mechanical Seal , 2002 .

[13]  Izhak Etsion,et al.  A Model for Mechanical Seals with Regular Microsurface Structure , 1996 .

[14]  Izhak Etsion,et al.  The effect of contact conditions and material properties on elastic-plastic spherical contact , 2006 .

[15]  J. Zabinski,et al.  Ionic Liquid Lubrication Effects on Ceramics in a Water Environment , 2004 .

[16]  I. Etsion.  State of the art in Laser Surface Texturing , 2004 .

[17]  Wenzhu Liu,et al.  Femtosecond pulsed laser-induced periodic surface structures on GaN/sapphire , 2005 .

[18]  M. Sentis,et al.  Ablation of carbide materials with femtosecond pulses , 2003 .

[19]  Philippe M. Fauchet,et al.  Growth of spontaneous periodic surface structures on solids during laser illumination , 1982 .

[20]  Zhizhan Xu,et al.  Formation of nanogratings on the surface of a ZnSe crystal irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses , 2005 .