Functional Texture Design and Texturing Processes

Various functions can be obtained by applying regular patterns or textures to surfaces. Depending on the function, the required dimensions of the texture, such as the pitch, vary over a wide range: from nanometers for optical function to millimeters for friction. In addition, the high aspect ratio of the cross sectional profile or the hierarchical structure of a micro- or nano-structure is required to control the wettability, for example. This paper reviews various texturing processes as well as the functionalities thus attained and their application

Mutual influence of cross hatch angle and superficial roughness of honed surfaces on friction in ring-pack tribo-system

The cylinder bore surface texture, widely produced by the honing technique, is an essential factor for a good engine performance (friction, oil consumption, running-in, wear etc.). This explains the improvement and development of various new honing techniques. These different honing processes generate surfaces with various texture features characteristics (roughness, valleys depth, cross hatch angle, etc.). This paper addresses a comparison of ring-pack friction for cylinder surfaces produced by plateau honing and helical slide honing. It takes in consideration the mutual effect of superficial plateau roughness amplitude and honing angle. A numerical model is developed to predict friction within the cylinder ring-pack system in mixed lubrication regime. The results show the effectiveness of helical slide honed surface texture in comparison to plateau honed bore surface

Laser surface texturing of a WC-CoNi cemented carbide grade: surface topography design for honing application

Abrasive effectiveness of composite-like honing stones is related to the intrinsic surface topography resulting from the cubic boron nitride (CBN) grains protruding out of the metallic matrix. Within this framework, Laser Surface Texturing (LST) is implemented for replicating topographic features of a honing stone in a WC-base cemented carbide grade, commonly employed for making tools. In doing so, regular arrays of hexagonal pyramids (similar to CBN grains) are sculpted by a laser micromachining system. Micrometric precision is attained and surface integrity does not get affected by such surface modification. Finally, potential of laser-patterned cemented carbide tools, as alternative to conventional honing stones, is supported by successful material removal and enhanced surface smoothness of a steel workpiece in the abrasive testing.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Bio-inspired functional surface fabricated by electrically assisted micro-embossing of AZ31 magnesium alloy

Developing bio-inspired functional surfaces on engineering metals is of extreme importance, involving different industrial sectors, like automotive or aeronautics. In particular, micro-embossing is one of the efficient and large-scale processes for manufacturing bio-inspired textures on metallic surfaces. However, this process faces some problems, such as filling defects and die breakage due tocsize effect, which restrict this technology for some components. Electrically assisted micro-forming has demonstrated the ability of reducing size effects, improving formability and decreasing flow stress, making it a promising hybrid process to control the filling quality of micro-scale features. This research focuses on the use of different current densities to perform embossed micro-channels of 7 um and sharklet patterns of 10 um in textured bulk metallic glass dies. These dies are prepared by thermoplastic forming based on the compression of photolithographic silicon molds. The results show that large areas of bio-inspired textures could be fabricated on magnesium alloy when current densities higher than 6 A/mm2 (threshold) are used. The optimal surface quality scenario is obtained for a current density of 13 A/mm2. Additionally, filling depth and depth–width ratio nonlinearly increases when higher current densities are used, where the temperature is a key parameter to control, keeping it below the temperature of the glass transition to avoid melting or an early breakage of the die.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Cell attachment on Ion-implanted titanium surface

Of outmost importance for the successful use of an implant is a good adhesion of the surrounding tissue to the biomaterial. In addition to the surface composition of the implant, the surface topography also influences the properties of the adherent cells. In the present investigation, ion implanted and untreated surfaces were compared for cell adhesion and spreading. The surface topography of the surfaces were analyzed using AFM and the cell studies with SEM. The results of our present investigation is indicative of the fact that ion implanted titanium surface offer better cell binding affinity compared to untreated/polished surface

Improved efficiency of microcrystalline silicon thin film solar cells with wide band-gap CdS buffer layer

In this paper, we have reported a new structure based upon an optical simulation of maximum light trapping and management in microcrystalline silicon thin film solar cells by using multi texture schemes and introducing an n-type cadmium sulphide (CdS) buffer layer with the goal of extreme light coupling and absorption in silicon absorber layer. Photon absorption was improved by optimising the front and back texturing of transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layers and variation in buffer layer thickness. We have demonstrated that light trapping can be improved with proposed geometry of 1μm thick crystalline silicon absorber layer below a thin layer of wide band gap material. We have improved the short circuit current densities by 1.35mA/cm2 resulting in a total short circuit current of 25 mA/cm2 and conversion efficiency of 9% with the addition of CdS buffer layer and multi textures, under global AM1.5 conditions. In this study, we have used 2 Dimensional Full Vectorial Finite Element (2DFVFEM) to design and optimize the proposed light propagation in solar cell structure configuration. Our simulation results show that interface morphology of CdS layer thickness and textures with different aspect and ratios have the most prominent influence on solar cell performance in terms of both short circuit current and quantum efficiency

Combined Manufacturing Process of Copper Electrodes for Micro Texturing Applications (AMSME)

Surface texturing has brought significant improvements in the functional properties of parts and components. Sinker electro discharge machining (SEDM) is one of the processes which generates great texturing results at different scale. An electrode is needed to reproduce the geometry to be textured. Some geometries are difficult or impossible to achieve on an electrode using conventional and even unconventional machining methods. This work sets out the advances made in the manufacturing of copper electrodes for electro erosion by additive manufacturing, and their subsequent application to the functional texturing of Al-Cu UNS A92024-T3 alloy. A combined procedure of digital light processing (DLP) additive manufacturing, sputtering and micro-electroforming (AMSME), has been used to produce electrodes. Also, a specific laboratory equipment has been developed to reproduce details on a microscopic scale. Shells with outgoing spherical geometries pattern have been manufactured. AMSME process has shown ability to copper electrodes manufacturing. A highly detailed surface on a micrometric scale have been achieved. Copper shells with minimum thickness close to 300 mu m have been tested in sinker electro discharge machining (SEDM) and have been shown very good performance in surface finishing operations. The method has shown great potential for use in surfaces texturing.This work has received financial support from Spanish Government (MINECO/AEI/FEDER, Grant Project DPI2017-84935-R