Enhanced performance of optimised partially textured load bearing surfaces

•Introducing a unified analytical analysis and optimisation methodology for textured and conventional bearing geometries.•Defining a set of generic dimensionless parameters for evaluation based on geometrical configuration and parameters only.•Global optimum parameters for partially textured surfaces in sliding contact have been introduced.•Maximum possible gain from optimised textured surfaces and conventional bearings has been specified and compared.

Textured surfaces have been shown to provide enhanced tribological performance in a variety of contacts. Numerical analysis and optimisation methods are combined for application-oriented texture optimisation. However, an analytical approach is advantageous in providing more generic in-depth understanding of the nature of the relationships between texture parameters and objective functions, such as enhanced load carrying capacity and reduced friction. The paper outlines such an approach to obtain a set of global optimum design parameters for partially textured surfaces. The optimised results are expressed in dimensionless form, which enables their use for a variety of applications. The performance of optimised partially textured sliding surfaces is compared with the other conventional bearing geometries in their optimum state.