Study on tribological behavior of grooved-texture surfaces under sand–oil boundary lubrication conditions

A grooved texture surface was fabricated to enhance the wear resistance of the guide rail surface of molding machine. The effects of sand concentration in the oil and the groove width on the tribological properties were studied using a pin-on-disk tribometer. Surfaces with groove widths of 1000 μm (S1) and 1500 μm (S2) had lower friction coefficient and better anti-wear properties than a non-grooved textured surface (S0) when lubricated with 0% and 5% sand–oil mixture. However, the friction coefficient and wear rate of S1 and S2 were higher than those of S0 when the sand concentration increased to 10%. The grooved texture surface enhanced wear resistance under low sand concentration because the grooves captured sand particle and prevented them plowing the sliding surfaces. When lubricated with higher sand concentration, the sand could fully fill the grooves, resulting in drastic two-body wear and impact wear. Thus, surface with appropriate grooved texture was favorable for wear resistance.