Influence of Meshwork Pattern Grooves on the Tribological Characteristics of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy in Water Lubrication

The friction and wear properties of mesh pattern grooves on the Ti-6Al-4V surface as sliding against Si₃N₄ balls in water are investigated. The surface mesh pattern grooves with different sizes are manufactured using electrical discharge machining (EDM) on the surface of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The influences of width, depth, interval/width ratio andangle for mesh pattern grooves on the tribological properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloy in water are analyzed with the orthogonal experiment method. The results show that the mesh pattern grooves with suitable geometric parameters could effectively reduce the friction coefficient and wear rate of tribopairs in water lubrication. When the angle of the mesh pattern groove is 45 degree, the friction coefficient and the wear of the tribopairs all decrease simultaneously. The width of the mesh pattern grooves is the major factor to influence the friction coefficient of tribopairs, while the depth and crosshatch angle of the mesh pattern grooves are the important factors to influence the wear ability of tribopairs.