Investigation on friction characteristics of imitation clamshell textured surfaces under MXenes-enhanced grease lubrication

Abstract

To enhance the performance and longevity of bearings by addressing the issue of insufficient lubrication, this research paper introduces a multi-drive lubrication system. Inspired by the micro-texture of clamshells, bionic textured surfaces (BTSs) were designed and fabricated. Calcium complex grease (CCG), aluminum complex grease (ACG), lithium complex grease (LCG), and these three greases containing 2[Formula: see text]wt.% accordion-like MXenes Ti3C2 were prepared, respectively. This study commits to evaluating the tribological properties of BTSs with different densities under different grease lubrication. The results showed that BTSs ([Formula: see text] = 38%) had the best anti-friction and anti-wear under the MXenes lithium complex grease lubrication, the average friction coefficient (0.113) and wear rate reached the smallest ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]mm3[Formula: see text]N[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m[Formula: see text]), and only slight wear occurred. This was mainly attributed to the synergistic and complementary lubricating effects of BTSs and MXenes-enhanced grease.