Effects of Pretextured Surface Topography on Friction and Wear of AA5083/AISI52100 Materials’ Pair

This paper covers the study of the effect of surface topography on tribological behavior in the early stage of repetitive sliding under dry condition. Reciprocating sliding tests were conducted on AA5083 sample against smooth AISI52100 ball bearing. Unidirectional polishing was adopted for the surface preparation of AA5083 samples. Experiments were performed at a pressure of 200 MPa for a maximum number of 1000 cycles. The sliding velocity and the sliding track were kept constant at 50 mm/s and 15 mm, respectively. Evolution of friction coefficient as a function of the sliding distance was monitored. Wear was characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope (EDS), and profilometer. Experimental results have shown that the friction coefficient as well as wear mechanisms, significantly, depends on the initial surface topography. Particular focus was put in the study of the effect of the mean absolute profile slope \(\Delta_{a}\). Results showed that the mean absolute profile slope \(\Delta_{a}\) played a major role in friction and wear.