Towards Electrically Assisted Lubrication Through Surface Engineering

Electrically assisted lubrication is attracting increasing interest as a route towards adaptive tribological systems. However, establishing effective electric-field-assisted operation in lubricated metallic contacts remains challenging due to current flow between contacting surfaces. In this work, anodized aluminium was investigated as a means of modifying the electrical behaviour of lubricated tribological interfaces.

Several anodizing conditions were explored in order to generate surfaces with different characteristics while retaining the wear-protection capabilities typically associated with anodized aluminium. The resulting surfaces were subsequently evaluated under lubricated sliding conditions. Experiments were performed in a Physica MCR 302e rheometer using a ball-on-three-plate configuration, with the anodized aluminium samples acting as the plates and a stainless-steel bearing ball as the counterpart. The sliding tests were carried out using a model electro-responsive biolubricant under different applied potentials. The results revealed measurable changes in friction and wear behaviour in the presence of external electrical inputs, demonstrating that anodized aluminium surfaces can support electrically assisted operation under lubricated contact conditions. The observed electro-tribological response was influenced not only by the applied potential but also by the characteristics of the anodized surfaces, showing that the magnitude of the electrically induced effects depends strongly on surface engineering.

Overall, the findings support the feasibility of combining anodized aluminium surfaces with electro-responsive lubrication strategies to promote adaptive tribological behaviour. This approach may contribute to the development of next-generation lubricated systems in which friction and wear performance can be influenced through externally applied electrical potentials.