Different lubricant deterioration, such as high-temperature oxidation lubricant (HOL), diesel dilution lubricant (DDL) and combined degradation lubricant (CDL), on the failure of micro-textured surfaces in terms of friction modulation was investigated. Deteriorated lubricant exerts obvious adverse effect on the antiwear performance of micro-textured surface, accelerating the wear damage of the tribopair consisting of a cast-iron liner and a molybdenum-sprayed ring. Compared to non-textured tribopair, HOL only increased wear loss of piston ring paired with micro-textured cylinder liners, while DDL containing diesel catalyst particles simultaneously increased the wear depth of both micro-textured cylinder liner and paired piston ring. CDL further exacerbated the DDL wear trend. The main type of damage caused by three degraded lubricants to micro-textured frictional surfaces was abrasive wear. Micro-textured surfaces trapped abrasive particles, separating the scratches along the sliding direction. But excessive stress concentration and scratches reduced the ability of ZDDP tribofilm to resist abrasive damage.
Qu et al. (2026) studied this question.