Effect of scanning speed and tin content on the tribological behavior of femtosecond laser textured tin-bronze alloy

Femtosecond laser surface texturing of soft bearing materials such as tin bronze is of great interest to manufacturing community since it aims at protecting valuable steel components by reducing wear and friction. This paper examines the effect of scanning speed on femtosecond laser texture characteristics of tin bronze alloy containing 8% and 12% tin. The friction and wear behavior of microgrooves produced on tin bronze alloy were reported under lubricated conditions. Higher tin content and lower scanning speed led to higher depth and width of the grooves. The friction performance was improved by increasing the number of reciprocating cycles on tin bronze alloy containing 12% tin at higher normal load. Grooves formed at lower scanning speed exhibited lower wear rate at higher load and higher frequency because of improved lubrication conditions. However, wear performance of tin bronze alloy containing 8% tin was less than that of untextured samples. The morphology of worn surfaces indicated the trapping of wear debris and possibility of formation of oil film due to which the lower coefficient of friction was observed.