Surface modification of aluminum plate using various vibration frequencies in dry and lubricated conditions

The durability of machines is often dependent on the tribological characteristics of the sliding components. One method to enhance the tribological properties is to modify the surface of the components to improve the mechanical and chemical properties of the surface. Among various methods, fabrication of micro-structures is one of the well-known surface modification techniques. Recently, mechanical vibration has been used to fabricate micro-structures on metals. By impacting the specimen surface with a ball at a high frequency, surface topography as well as mechanical properties may be altered to achieve the desired properties. In this work, various frequencies were used to fabricate micro-structures on an aluminum surface by the mechanical vibration technique. The effective frequency range to fabricate the micro-structures was identified. Also, the effects of performing the process in dry and lubricated conditions were investigated. The surface morphology of the surface was carefully analyzed to assess the capability of the process.