Lubrication and Failure Mechanisms of Molybdenum Disulfide Films II - Effect of Substrate Roughness

摘要

An optical microscope was used to study the lubrication and failure mechanisms of rubbed MoS2 films applied to three substrate surface finishes - polished, sanded, and sandblasted - as a func¬tion of sliding distance. The lubrication mechanism was the plastic flow of thin films of MoS2 between flat plateaus on the rider and on the metallic substrate. If the substrate was rough, flat plateaus were created during "run-in" and the MoS2 flowed across them. Wear life was extended by increasing surface roughness since valleys in the roughened substrate served as reservoirs for MoS2 and as deposit sites for wear debris.