Effects of substrate surface roughness and nano/micro particle additive size on friction and wear in lubricated sliding

Macroscopic wear experiments were complemented by atomistic simulations to study the effect of nano- and micro-scale titanium dioxide particle lubricant additives on friction and wear. The size of the particles and initial roughness of the sliding surfaces were varied to characterize the interrelated effects of these two properties. Results from both experiments and simulations suggest that there is an optimal particle size that will minimize friction and wear for a given surface roughness. Analyses support a previously-proposed mechanism for particle-based additives in which the particles fill in valleys on the sliding surfaces. In this context, particles that are smaller than the characteristic roughness of the surfaces are most likely to perform this function.