The Effect of Laser Texturing of GCr15 Steel Surfaces on Their Tribological Properties

The surface textures on GCr15 steel were produced with a solid-state pulse Nd:YAG laser. The effects of laser texturing parameters on tribological performance were investigated. The wear scars were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy. The results show that laser-textured specimens exhibited higher friction coefficients but excellent antiwear properties compared with untextured specimens in dry friction. Under poor lubricated condition, the friction coefficients and wear of textured surfaces were lower than those of untextured surfaces. The friction coefficients of the surface with smaller dimples were lower than those of others under low load at low velocity. However, with the increasing of load the surfaces with larger dimples exhibited lower friction coefficients. Lubrication mechanism was investigated by stribeck curve. It was found that textured surfaces maintained in hydrodynamic regime for all applied loads under poor lubrication.