The Scale Effect of Roughness on Hydrodynamic Contact Friction

Multistage abrasive finishing processes (grinding, polishing, honing, etc.) are commonly used to produce the geometrical properties of a surface to meet its technical functionalities in the operating characteristics of contacting parts in friction, relating to their durability and reliability (running-in performance, wear resistance, load-carrying capacity, etc.). Coarse abrasive grits followed progressively finer ones are used, which leads to a multi scale stratified surface texture. In this article, a numerical model of elastohydrodynamic (EHD) contact coupled to a multiscale surface texture model was developed that allows tracking the scale effect of surface features and their interactions on friction performance and lubricant flow under hydrodynamic lubrication conditions. Because the simulation model has as an input the surface topography and to overcome the variability in surface finish formation, textured surfaces at different stages of the finishing process were simulated (virtual texturing method). Surface topography can be decomposed into two principal components: superficial roughness and valleys. Superficial roughness was modeled using a fractal model and a scaling factor was introduced to model valley patterns. The results show the relationship between friction and surface scales.