Laser surface texturing provides the chance to decrease wear and friction while upgrading the overall tribological performance of the rotating surfaces and lubricated sliding. These developments include arrangement of micro dimples/grooves having a regular pattern applied on a given surface by a pulsating laser beam. The surface micro texture patterns (e.g.,micro dimples, micro grooves, micro crosshatches) are fit for producing the extra hydrodynamic pressure, thereby improving the load carrying capacity of the surfaces. such textures are also useful for trapping wear debris, when operating under dry sliding conditions and sometimes provide effects like enhancing oil supply (lubricant reservoir) which can lower friction coefficients and may enable reduced wear rate. This study investigates the influence of laser surface texturing, specifically micro-grooves, and micro-crosshatches, on gray cast iron surfaces and analyzes their friction and wear characteristics with varying patterns and line spacing.



The texturing process involved the use of a nanosecond laser with a 100 ns pulse duration and a 527 nm wavelength. Laser ablation resulted in open-structured graphite flakes on the surface, forming valley-like features with non-uniform groove depths. Tribological testing was conducted using a ball-on-disk tribometer under dry conditions. The findings revealed a significant reduction in friction coefficients, with micro-crosshatch and micro-groove textures yielding reductions of 92.6% and 91.5%, respectively, compared to untextured surfaces. The analysis considered factors such as wear debris trapping, the contact area between sliding surfaces, and the presence of graphite flakes, all of which influence the mechanisms contributing to the achieved ultra-low friction and enhanced wear properties.