Friction control by surface engineering of ceramic sliding pairs in water

Surface engineering was carried out on oxide ceramics (Al2O3–ZrO2, ZrO2) using two different laser-assisted processes: (i) modification of the edge layer of the ceramic by laser induced remelting and alloying and/or (ii) surface microtexturing by laser ablation. Crossed microchannels and elongated microdimples oriented parallel to each other were chosen as texture patterns and produced on flat specimens of the ceramics. Effects of these surface treatments on the tribological performance of steel/ceramic and ceramic/ceramic pairs were studied during reciprocating sliding in distilled water using a pellet-on-plate-geometry.The results showed a substantial reduction in friction and wear depending on the materials mated and the texture pattern used. With others, the running-in behaviour with high values of the friction coefficient of the sliding pairs could be considerably improved.