Friction-Induced Nanofabrication: A Review

As the bridge between basic principles and applications of nanotechnology,nanofabrication methods play significant role in supporting the development of nanoscale science and engineering,which is changing and improving the production and lifestyle of the human.Photo lithography and other alternative technologies,such as nanoimprinting,electron beam lithography,focused ion beam cutting,and scanning probe lithography,have brought great progress of semiconductor industry,IC manufacturing and micro/nanoelectromechanical system(MEMS/NEMS)devices.However,there remains a lot of challenges,relating to the resolution,cost,speed,and so on,in realizing high-quality products with further development of nanotechnology.None of the existing techniques can satisfy all the needs in nanoscience and nanotechnology at the same time,and it is essential to explore new nanofabrication methods.As a newly developed scanning probe microscope(SPM)-based lithography,friction-induced nanofabrication provides opportunities for maskless,flexible,low-damage,low-cost and environment-friendly processing on a wide variety of materials,including silicon,quartz,glass surfaces,and so on.It has been proved that this fabrication route provides with a broad application prospect in the fabrication of nanoimprint templates,microfluidic devices,and micro/nano optical structures.This paper hereby involved the principals and operations of friction-induced nanofabrication,including friction-induced selective etching,and the applications were reviewed as well for looking ahead at opportunities and challenges with nanotechnology development.The present review will not only enrich the knowledge in nanotribology,but also plays a positive role in promoting SPM-based nanofabrication.

A new mechanism for friction-induced vibration and noise

For years,friction-induced vibration and noise(FIVN)has puzzled many researchers in academia and industry.Several mechanisms have been proposed for explaining its occurrence and quantifying its frequencies,notably for automotive brake squeal,clutch squeal,and even rail corrugation.However,due to the complex and complicated nature of FIVN,there is not yet one fundamental mechanism that can explain all phenomena of FIVN.Based on experimental results obtained on a simple test structure and corresponding numerical validation using both complex eigenvalue analysis(CEA)and transient dynamic analysis(TDA),this study attempts to propose a new fundamental mechanism for FIVN,which is the repeated cycles of partial detachment and then reattachment of the contact surfaces.Since friction is ubiquitous and FIVN is very common,the insight into FIVN reported in this paper is highly significant and will help establish effective means to control FIVN in engineering and daily life.

Energy flow characteristics of friction-induced nonlinear vibrations in a water-lubricated bearing-shaft coupled system

Based on the energy flow theory of nonlinear dynamical system,the stabilities,bifurcations,possible periodical/chaotic motions of nonlinear water-lubricated bearing-shaft coupled systems are investigated in this paper.It is revealed that the energy flow characteristics around the equlibrium point of system behaving in the three types with different friction-para-mters.(a)Energy flow matrix has two negative and one positive energy flow factors,constructing an attractive local zero-energy flow surface,in which free vibrations by initial disturbances show damped modulated oscillations with the system tending its equlibrium state,while forced vibrations by external forces show stable oscillations,(b)Energy flow matrix has one negative and two positive energy flow factors,spaning a divergence local zero-energy flow surface,so that the both free and forced vibrations are divergence oscillations with the system being unstable,(c)Energy flow matrix has a zero-energy flow factor and two opposite factors,which constructes a local zero-energy flow surface dividing the local phase space into stable,unstable and central subspace,and the simulation shows friction self-induced unstable vibrations for both free and forced cases.For a set of friction parameters,the system behaves a periodical oscillation,where the bearing motion tends zero and the shaft motion reaches a stable limit circle in phase space with the instant energy flow tending a constant and the time averaged one tending zero.Numerical simulations have not found any possible chaotic motions of the system.It is discovered that the damping matrices of cases(a),(b)and(c)respectively have positive,negative and zero diagonal elements,resulting in the different dynamic behavour of system,which gives a giderline to design the water-lubricated bearing unit with expected performance by adjusting the friction parameters for applications.

Investigation into rail corrugation in high-speed railway tracks from the viewpoint of the frictional self-excited vibration of a wheel–rail system

A finite element vibration model of a multiple wheel-rail system which consists of four wheels, one rail, and a series of sleepers is established to address the problem of rail corrugation in high-speed tracks. In the model, the creep forces between the wheels and rail are considered to be saturated and equal to the normal contact forces times the friction coefficient. The oscillation of the rail is coupled with that of wheels in the action of the saturated creep forces. When the coupling is strong, self- excited oscillation of the wheel-rail system occurs. The self-excited vibration propensity of the model is analyzed using the complex eigenvalue method. Results show that there are strong propensities of unstable self-excited vibrations whose frequencies are less than 1,200 Hz under some conditions. Preventing wheels from slipping on rails is an effective method for suppressing rail corrugation in high-speed tracks.

Blackening failure of poly-α-olefin impregnated porous polymide due to the splitting of lubrication oil catalyzed by iron

Lubrication failure accompanying with blackening phenomenon significantly reduces the long-running operational reliability of porous polymide(PPI)lubricated with poly-α-olefin(PAO)oil.Here,the effects of lubrication condition and counter-surface chemistry on the blackening failure of PAO impregnated PPI were studied through the comparison of the tribological tests against GCr15 steel ball and Al_(2)O_(3)ceramic ball with and without PAO oil lubrication.Black products were found to be formed on the PAO impregnated PPI surface slid against steel ball or Al_(2)O_(3)ball added with iron nano-particles,but be absent under the conditions without iron or PAO oil.Further analysis indicated that the iron-catalyzed splitting of PAO oil into small molecule alkanes and following the formation of black organic matter should be mainly responsible for the blackening phenomenon.Molecular dynamic(MD)simulations demonstrated that the iron facilitated the separation of hydrogen atom and the following broken of C–C bonds in PAO molecules,final resulting in the splitting of PAO oil.

Effects of groove-textured surfaces filled with Sn-Ag-Cu and MXene-Ti_(3)C_(2) composite lubricants on tribological properties of CSS-42L bearing steel

To improve the tribological performance of CSS-42L bearing steel,smooth surfaces(SSs),groovetextured surfaces(GSs),GSs with Sn-Ag-Cu(GSs-SAC),and GSs with Sn-Ag-Cu-Ti_(3)C_(2)(GSs-SACT)were prepared on CSS-42L.In addition,experimental studies were conducted on tribological properties.The obtained results indicated that GSs-SACT exhibited the best anti-friction and noise reduction performances.These remarkable tribological performances were attributed to the synergistic effects of grooves,Sn-Ag-Cu,and MXene-Ti_(3)C_(2).The inconsistent rules of frictional forces were improved by the grooves and SACT,which inhibit the friction-induced noise.The micro-nano size-effects of MXene-Ti_(3)C_(2) enhanced the repairing effect and anti-friction property of composite lubricants,which improved the profile characteristics of GSs-SACT.