Recent Patents on the Design of Surface Topography for Improving the Performance of a Lubricated Sliding Contact

The paper presents an engineering surface technology registered in patents by designing the surface topography for improving the performance of a lubricated sliding contact. According to this technology, the surface topography should be artificially formed with a certain width of the flattened top, or the surface asperity should be truncated in a certain degree with a formed top plateau of a certain width parallel to the surface sliding. It was shown that by this surface technology, the elastic contact stiffness of the coupled surfaces will be significantly increased, while the temperature rise at the rubbing surface will be significantly reduced, and the anti-scuffing capability of the surface will thus be remarkably increased. These effects are especially significant for the operating condition of high sliding speeds and relatively heavy loads.