Tribological Properties of Sliding Guide Rail of T-groove Textured Machine Tool

The T-groove texture was arranged on the surface of the machine tool guide rail. The fluid in the T-groove was meshed by gambit software. The fluid flow field at the end of the T-groove was simulated by FLUENT software. The effects of the length coefficient ratio α, width coefficient β, deflection angle θ, texture thickness h_p and inlet velocity u on the dimensionless bearing capacity, friction coefficient and friction ratio between T-groove friction pairs were investigated. The results show that the dimensionless bearing capacity and friction coefficient of the textured end face of T-groove have the same variation rule. When α=0.3-0.4, β=0.5, θ=90°, h_p=6 μm, and u=1 m/s, the optimal friction ratio is obtained for the T-groove. The tribological properties of the sliding guide for machine tool can be improved effectively by setting T-groove texture on the surface of the sliding guide rail.