State of the Art of Surface Texturing for Biotribology Applications

Abstract

Surface texturing can be defined as a technique that consists of creating micro cavities in the surface of a material. There are different texturing techniques such as chemical etching, electromechanical micromachining, diamond embossing, electric discharge, pellet-pressing and laser surface, the last being the most common. For years, these surface texturing techniques have been used in tribological applications because microcavities can store oils or fluids and constantly lubricate the surfaces that are subjected to wear; they can also be used to trap wear particles (debris) that would otherwise act as abrasive particles (three body abrasive wear). This literature review seeks to analyse and compare the advantages that the use of surface texturing techniques can offer in reducing the wear of prosthetic components and therefore lengthening their useful life, to provide a better quality of life to patients. The results of this review showed a growing interest in the scientific community in the use of surface texturing for biotribogical applications, using to a greater extent the Laser Surface Texturing (LST) technique and the surface pattern composed by dimples.

Morphological Analysis of Laser Surface Texturing Effect on AISI 430 Stainless Steel

“…Laser surface texturing (LST) is a widely used method worldwide for surface functionalization [1][2][3][4], being used in various fields: medical implants [5][6][7][8][9][10][11], wettability tuning [12], optical properties [13,14], hybrid joining [15][16][17], increasing adhesion [18], or cutting tools [19][20][21][22]. The materials that are the object of microtexturing are varied, from dentin and enamel materials, to polymers, ceramics, ferrous and non-ferrous metallic materials, and finally composite materials, in various domains such as engineering, medicine, bioengineering, etc.…”

“…The materials that are the object of microtexturing are varied, from dentin and enamel materials, to polymers, ceramics, ferrous and non-ferrous metallic materials, and finally composite materials, in various domains such as engineering, medicine, bioengineering, etc. The most widespread LST patterns used are dimples [4,5,12,17], lines (parallel, crosshatch) [4,5,[8][9][10]12,20,22], square [6,12], conical [19,22], rhombic [12,22], ripple texture (riblet texture inspired from the sharkskin, U-shapes (waviness texture) [8,18], and ring (bulge, smooth staked) [11]. The possibility of using the laser equipment to obtain texturing patterns with different geometries of high-quality surfaces to improve the materials' performances in a single step of a technological process represents a special advantage.…”

The Use of Electrode Tools Obtained by Selective Laser Melting to Create Textured Surfaces

“…In works [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ], it was noted that in order to improve the operational characteristics of the working surfaces of products, for example, working in conditions of increased friction, it is necessary to apply a textured relief. A textured relief is applied to individual surfaces requiring certain properties.…”

“…Surface texturing is a method of surface functionalization widely used throughout the world. This is used in various fields: medical implants, wettability tuning, optical properties, hybrid bonding, bond enhancement, or cutting tools [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The most common patterns of textured surfaces are dimples, lines (parallel and hatching), square, conical, rhombic, wavy texture, and annular (bulge and smooth corrugation) [ 3 , 4 ].…”

“…This is used in various fields: medical implants, wettability tuning, optical properties, hybrid bonding, bond enhancement, or cutting tools [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The most common patterns of textured surfaces are dimples, lines (parallel and hatching), square, conical, rhombic, wavy texture, and annular (bulge and smooth corrugation) [ 3 , 4 ]. Surface microtexturing is widely used to improve the tribological properties of cutting tools, such as improving frictional performance and wear protection.…”