The Meissner and Pacinian sensory corpuscles revisited new data from the last decade

This article reviews the biochemical, physiological, and experimental data cumulated during the last decade on the Meissner and Pacinian corpuscles. It includes information about (i) the localization of molecules recently detected in sensory corpuscles; (ii) the unsolved problem of the accessory fibers in sensory corpuscles and the occurrence of myelin within them; (iii) the development of sensory corpuscles, especially their neuronal and growth factor dependency; (iv) the composition and functional significance of the extracellular matrix as an essential part of the mechanisms involved in the genesis of the stimuli generated in sensory corpuscles; (v) the molecular basis of mechanotransduction; (vi) a miscellaneous section containing sparse new data on the protein composition of sensory corpuscles, as well as in the proteins involved in live–death cell decisions; (vii) the changes in sensory corpuscles as a consequence of aging, the central, or peripheral nervous system injury; and finally, (viii) the special interest of Meissner corpuscles and Pacinian corpuscles for pathologists for the diagnosis of some peripheral neuropathies and neurodegenerative diseases. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The frictional pattern of tactile sensations in anthropomorphic fingertip

In this report, to consider the technology of frictional tactile sensations (FTS) for a prosthetic fingertip, the anthropomorphic fingertip (silicone) was compared with the human fingertip in terms of sliding friction (reciprocating sliding on an acrylic plate under a load force of ∼2.5 N max.) and the prototype of a FTS was demonstrated. In the results, the friction coefficient of the human fingertip changed according to the contact location more than the anthropomorphic fingertip. In the demonstration, the prototype FTS that faked the human fingertip could generate a high friction coefficient and the peculiar signal pattern at each contact location. Moreover, the prototype FTS recognized a slight difference in the surface roughness of the copier paper. In conclusion, the friction coefficient in the human fingertip increases when increasing the contact area under the same load force. Increasing the contact area induces stiction and stick-slip phenomena, generating a high friction coefficient and vibrations. Moreover, the high friction coefficient amplifies slight contact signals and supports FTS in a prosthetic fingertip.     

Friction characteristics of nanoscale sliding contacts between multi-asperity tips and textured surfaces

Nanoscale sliding contacts of smooth surfaces or between a single asperity and a smooth surface have been widely investigated by molecular dynamics simulations, while there are few studies on the sliding contacts between two rough surfaces. Actually, the friction of two rough surfaces considering interactions between more asperities should be more realistic. By using multiscale method, friction characteristics of two dimensional nanoscale sliding contacts between rigid multi-asperity tips and elastic textured surfaces are investigated. Four nanoscale textured surfaces with different texture shapes are designed, and six multi-asperity tips composed of cylindrical asperities with different radii are used to slide on the textured surfaces. Friction forces are compared for different tips, and effects of the asperity radii on the friction characteristics are investigated. Average friction forces for all the cases are listed and compared, and effects of texture shapes of the textured surfaces are discussed. The results show that textured surface II has a better structure to reduce friction forces. The multi-asperity tips composed of asperities with R=20r0 （r0=0.227 7 nm） or R=30r0 get higher friction forces compared with other cases, and more atoms of the textured surfaces are taken away by these two tips, which are harmful to reduce friction or wear. For the case of R=10ro, friction forces are also high due to large contact areas, but the sliding processes are stable and few atoms are taken away by the tip. The proposed research considers interactions between more asperities to make the model approach to the real sliding contact problems. The results will help to vary or even control friction characteristics by textured surfaces, or provide references to the design of textured surfaces.     

Experimental Study on the Friction Characteristics of Lasertex Steel Sheets During Metal Forming Process

The surface of steel sheets used in the metal-forming process discussed in this article was textured by a laser-ablation technique. Differently shaped craters are formed in a patterned structure on the steel surface by controlling the pulsed-laser power density, pulse-repetition rate, and pulse duration. Lasertex sheets formed by this process have unique friction characteristics because of the uniform surface roughness and valley-biased topography. The friction of lasertex sheets was studied using a metal-forming bench test rig. Influencing factors, including surface roughness and sliding velocity, were studied under lubricated conditions. The friction of lasertex sheets was compared with that of shot-blasted sheets. The results showed that the coefficient of friction of the lasertex sheet under dry friction decreases with an increase in surface roughness and changes little with varying sliding velocity. With lubrication, the coefficient of friction of the lasertex sheet rises with an increase in surface roughness and decreases with an increase in sliding velocity. Lasertex sheets were found to have lower friction coefficients than shot-blasted sheets over the rage of surface roughness and sliding velocity investigated.     

沟槽和圆坑织构抑制摩擦尖叫噪声研究

在列车制动盘试样表面加工出不同宽度的发散型沟槽织构和不同直径与间距的发散型圆坑织构后,将其与光滑表面进行摩擦噪声对比试验,并利用数值分析方法进行模拟分析,研究织构表面对摩擦尖叫噪声特性的影响及作用机理。结果表明,两种织构表面均能降低摩擦系统高频尖叫噪声,且尺寸分布合理的沟槽织构能明显地抑制噪声的产生。利用数值分析方法能较好地揭示织构影响界面摩擦噪声的机理,即对摩材料滑过织构表面并碰击其棱边时,所产生的作用力能起到主动控制界面摩擦噪声的作用,且能抑制某些特定频率的尖叫噪声的产生。     

Topography-related effects on the lubrication of nanostructured hard surfaces

This study reports the effect of nanoscaled surface structure of some hard coatings on the (micro-) frictional behaviour of systems under minimum lubrication conditions with modest contact pressures and low sliding speeds (below 1 mm/s). For this purpose, Cr-N coatings with a randomly crater-like topography and with varying dimensions of surface features as well as a smooth Cr-N surface were tested with a microtribometer. The friction on the samples was measured as a function of the viscosity of the applied mineral base oil and the sliding velocity. For all tests, the structured surfaces exhibited lower friction than the smooth surface. Furthermore, it was possible to detect variations in the lubrication-promoting effect of the structures depending on the oil viscosity and the sliding speed. Indications for the existence of an optimum topographic scale for this type of surface structure were found.     

The contact and friction between flat belts and pulleys

Rubber coated nylon flat belts running over pulleys in practice display friction coefficients between 0·3 and 0·8. This paper studies the causes of the friction variations. Adhesive friction theory considers the friction force to be the product of the real areas of contact between the sliding surfaces and the shear stress at the contacts: these two quantities have been separately measured by running belts over transparent perspex pulleys and directly observing the contacts. It has been found that variations in contact from one belt to another due to their method of manufacture are as significant in explaining differences in their friction behaviour as are variations in shear stress caused by their different rubber formulations. Real areas of contact were less than one third of the apparent area and varied with load, elastic modulus and roughness of the belt surface in a way broadly understandable in terms of elastic contact mechanics. Shear stress were about 0·5 Nmm⁻², perhaps determined by hydrocarbon films. Some belts showed real areas of contact not directly proportional to load. This led to their friction coefficients being load dependent.     

Two dimensional nanoscale reciprocating sliding contacts of textured surfaces

Detailed behaviors of nanoscale textured surfaces during the reciprocating sliding contacts are still unknown although they are widely used in mechanical components to improve tribological characteristics. The current research of sliding contacts of textured surfaces mainly focuses on the experimental studies, while the cost is too high. Molecular dynamics(MD) simulation is widely used in the studies of nanoscale single-pass sliding contacts, but the CPU cost of MD simulation is also too high to simulate the reciprocating sliding contacts. In this paper, employing multiscale method which couples molecular dynamics simulation and finite element method, two dimensional nanoscale reciprocating sliding contacts of textured surfaces are investigated. Four textured surfaces with different texture shapes are designed, and a rigid cylindrical tip is used to slide on these textured surfaces. For different textured surfaces, average potential energies and average friction forces of the corresponding sliding processes are analyzed. The analyzing results show that “running-in” stages are different for each texture, and steady friction processes are discovered for textured surfaces II, III and IV. Texture shape and sliding direction play important roles in reciprocating sliding contacts, which influence average friction forces greatly. This research can help to design textured surfaces to improve tribological behaviors in nanoscale reciprocating sliding contacts.     

Effect of surface texturing on rolling contact fatigue within mixed lubricated non-conformal rolling/sliding contacts

The rolling contact fatigue (RCF) life of highly loaded machine components is significantly influenced by the surface roughness features so that there is a continuous effort to design the topography of rubbing surfaces to enhance lubrication efficiency and prolong the operation of machine components. It can be suggested from the recent experimental results that lubricant emitted from shallow micro-dents could effectively lift off the real roughness features and reduce the asperities interactions within rolling/sliding mixed lubricated contacts. Thereby the additional supply of lubricant from surface features could help to reduce the risk of surface damage through the reduction of the interaction of rubbing surfaces during start-up or starvation. However, the introduction of such roughness features into the rubbing surfaces of highly loaded non-conformal contacts should consider not only the effects on lubrication film thickness but also on RCF.That is why this study is focused on the effects of surface texturing on RCF within non-conformal rolling/sliding contacts operated under mixed lubrication conditions. The principal task has been whether possible beneficial effect on film thickness is not accompanied by the reduction in RCF life. Textures with various sizes of micro-dents and their arrangement within the contacts have been considered. It has been found that results obtained with textured surfaces have exhibited no obvious reduction in RCF. Conversely, some increase in RCF using textured surfaces was observed that could be attributed to the positive contribution of micro-dents working as lubricant micro-reservoirs that reduce asperities interactions. Nevertheless, further experiments are necessary to confirm this possible beneficial contribution of surface texturing on RCF.     

Grooved surface texturing by electrical discharge machining (EDM) under different lubrication regimes

The aim of the present research work was to investigate the effectiveness of grooved surface texturing with a rhombic geometry under different lubrication regimes. Tribological investigation under unidirectional sliding was focused on the effect of texturing parameters including pattern area density on the coefficient of friction under different lubrication regimes, achieved by varying sliding speed and lubricant viscosity. Grooved patterns with different textured area densities were produced on steel samples by electrical discharge machining. Results of this investigation showed that under boundary lubrication, textures resist sliding thus resulting in increased friction. The largest improvement of friction reduction was observed under hydrodynamic lubrication, for low‐viscosity oil when using the textured disc with 21% pattern area density. The reduction of the coefficient of friction if compared with the untextured surface was of approximately 24%. Examination of the sliding surfaces has not shown any quantifiable wear for the contact conditions studied.     

Contact Mechanics and Friction on Dry and Wet Human Skin

The surface topography of the human wrist skin is studied using an optical method and the surface roughness power spectrum is obtained. The Persson contact mechanics theory is used to calculate the contact area for different magnifications, for both dry and wet condition of the skin. For dry skin, plastic yielding becomes important and will determine the area of contact observed at the highest magnification. The measured friction coefficient [M.J. Adams et al., Tribol Lett 26:239, 2007] on both dry and wet skin can be explained assuming that a frictional shear stress σ_f ≈ 15 MPa acts in the area of real contact during sliding. This frictional shear stress is typical for sliding on polymer surfaces, and for thin (nanometer) confined fluid films. The big increase in the friction, which has been observed for glass sliding on wet skin as the skin dries up, can be explained as resulting from the increase in the contact area arising from the attraction of capillary bridges. This effect is predicted to operate as long as the water layer is thinner than ～14 μm, which is in good agreement with the time period (of order 100 s) over which the enhanced friction is observed (it takes about 100 s for ～14 μm water to evaporate at 50% relative humidity and at room temperature). We calculate the dependency of the sliding friction coefficient on the sliding speed on lubricated surfaces (Stribeck curve). We show that sliding of a sphere and of a cylinder gives very similar results if the radius and load on the sphere and cylinder are appropriately related. When applied to skin the calculated Stribeck curve is in good agreement with experiment, except that the curve is shifted by one velocity-decade to higher velocities than observed experimentally. We explain this by the role of the skin and underlying tissues viscoelasticity on the contact mechanics.     

An improved algorithm for McDowell’s analytical model of residual stress

The analytical model for two-dimensional elastoplastic rolling/sliding contact proposed by McDowell is an important tool for predicting residual stress in rolling/sliding processes. In application of the model, a problem of low predicting precision near the surface layer of the component is found. According to the volumeconstancy of plastic deformation, an improved algorithm for McDowell’s model is proposed in order to improve its predicting accuracy of the surface residual stress. In the algorithm, a relationship between three normal stresses perpendicular to each other at any point within the component is derived, and the relationship is applied to McDowell’s model. Meanwhile, an unnecessary hypothesis proposed by McDowell can be eliminated to make the model more reasonable. The simulation results show that the surface residual stress predicted by modified method is much closer to the FEM results than the results predicted by McDowell’s model under the same simulation conditions.     

Textured surfaces in sliding boundary lubricated contacts – mechanisms,possibilities and limitations

Abstract

The mechanisms of friction and wear in boundary lubrication are complex with influences from the surface roughness and hardness of surfaces, the lubricant and the wear products. Introduction of a texture on either surface can influence several important parameters. Wear particles can be collected or produced by the surface texture. A lubricating film can suffer or gain and the lubrication regime might change. This paper presents an overview of the tribological effects and important parameters of textured surfaces in sliding boundary lubricated contact, based on the experience of the authors and on published results. Examples of successful and less successful textured contacts are given and some recommendations regarding size, orientation and textured area fraction are presented.     

Contact problems for a wedge with rounded apex

Elastic contact between a shallow elastic wedge, whose apex is blunted by a finite radius, and an elastically similar half-plane is studied. A closed-form contact law is found, and the interior stress field is then deduced using a Muskhelishvili’s solution in series form, for frictionless and sliding conditions. This geometry removes one of the principal objections to classical solutions to the wedge indentation problem—the unrealistic infinite stress concentration implied by an atomically sharp apex—and in the latter part of the paper the strength of the contact is evaluated explicitly. Further, cases of partial slip associated with the application of tangential load less than needed to cause sliding are considered.     

Surface texturing by pulsed Nd:YAG laser

Introducing specific textures on a tribological surface can contribute to friction reduction in sliding contacts. In the present paper, a pulsed Nd:YAG laser emitting at 1064 nm, was used against 100Cr6 steel samples in order to produce well-defined surface micro-pores, which can act as lubricant reservoirs, micro-hydrodynamic bearings as well as traps for wear debris. Due to the high flexibility of the laser system, structural features such as shape, size, density and depth can be varied easily by changing the laser parameters. To optimize the parameters of the laser surface texturing process, an investigation was performed using different pulse numbers, various pulse energies and two different modes (single- and multi-mode). The microtextures were characterized with optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and by topography techniques. The relationship between the laser processing parameters and qualitative and quantitative profile of the micro-pores was studied. Tribological testing of laser textured surfaces was performed in a low frequency–long displacement reciprocating sliding wear tester under boundary lubrication and results compared to un-textured case. Tribological comparison of textured, textured and lapped, and untextured surfaces shows only minimal influence of texturing for contact conditions investigated.     

A quasistatic manipulation for multifingered robotic hands

A generalized algorithm for the motion/force planning of the multifingered hand is proposed to generate finite displacements and changes in orientation of objects by considering sliding contacts as well as rolling contacts between the fingertips and the object at the contact point. Specifically, an optimization problem is firstly formulated and solved to find joint velocities and contact forces to impart a desired motion to the object at each time step. Then the relative velocity at the contact point is found by calculating velocity of the fingertip and the velocity of the object at the contact point. Finally, time derivatives of the surface variables and the contact angle of the fingertip and the object at the present time step are computed using the Montana’s contact equation to find the contact parameters of the fingertip and the object at the next time step. To show the validity of the proposed algorithm, a numerical example is illustrated by employing the robotic hand manipulating a circular cylinder with three fingers each of which has four joints.     

人工髋关节球形凹坑微织构表面摩擦学性能研究*

为改善人工髋关节表面的摩擦学性能,在人工髋关节表面设计球形凹坑微织构;建立人工髋关节微织构表面的流体动压润滑模型,利用CFD软件ANSYS Fluent对微织构表面流体动压进行数值分析,得到摩擦副表面相对滑动时产生的油膜平均承载力以及摩擦因数,并分析表面微织构参数对摩擦学性能的影响。结果表明:在给定的织构参数范围内,平均承载力随深径比的增加呈现出先降低后升高再降低的趋势,随面积密度的增加呈先升高再降低的趋势;摩擦因数随深径比和面积密度增加的变化趋势与平均承载力相反;织构的最优参数分别为深径比0.06,面积密度25%。因此,在人工髋关节表面设置合适参数的球形凹坑微织构可以提高油膜平均承载力和降低摩擦因数,从而起到减小关节的摩擦磨损提高人工关节使用寿命的作用。     

THE SCATTER OF SURFACE RESIDUAL STRESSES PRODUCED BY FACE-TURNING AND GRINDING

Conventional studies on residual stresses induced by manufacturing processes have focused on the average residual stress value over the processed surface area. However, what dictates the fatigue life of a manufactured surface is its weakest point. Thus, it is not the average value of the stress but the local extreme that is most relevant for safety considerations. Therefore, it is very important to study the variations of residual stresses over the machined surface. This paper is the continuation of the work [1] investigating the magnitude of surface residual stress scatter between the face-turned and ground samples. The objective of this research is to test the hypotheses that the scatter of surface residual stresses over the faced samples is smaller than that of the ground ones and that the scatter of surface residual stresses varies significantly among ground samples while it does not vary in a statistically significant sense among faced specimens for the given cutting conditions. In order to compare the surface residual stress variations, two sets of the specimens of Ti 6Al-4V bar are ground while the other two sets faced. The residual stresses over a small surface area (5mm × 8 mm) are measured at four locations of each machined sample using an X-ray diffraction technique. Statistical analysis of the measured residual stresses shows that the proposed hypotheses hold. Experimental data also show that a different number of grinding passes may induce a different scatter of microhardness. The possible causes and ramifications of the foregoing results are discussed. It is suggested that the variations of residual stress be included as a surface integrity parameter, joining its average value.     

Effect of surface laser texture on friction properties of nickel-based composite

Laser surface texturing (LST) was performed on the nickel-based composites by a Nd:YAG pulsed laser and the regular-arranged dimples with diameter of 150 μm were fabricated on their surfaces. The textured surfaces were smeared with molybdenum disulfide powder. The tribological properties of the textured and filled composites were investigated by carrying out sliding wear tests against an alumina ball as a counterface using a high temperature ball-on-disk tribometer. The tests were conducted at a sliding speed of 0.4 m/s and at normal loads ranging from 20–100 N and from room temperature to 600 °C. The friction coefficient of nickel-based composite textured and smeared with molybdenum disulfide was found to reduce from 0.18 to 0.1 at the temperature range from 200 to 400 °C. The texture with a dimple density of 7.1% was observed to prolong wear life of MoS2 film by more than four times in comparison to the texture with other dimple densities. The lubricious oxide particles stored in the dimples reduce friction coefficient at elevated temperatures and compensate for the extra lubricant owing to the degradation of MoS₂ caused by its oxidation at high temperatures.     

Reciprocating sliding of uniaxially-stretched ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene for medical device applications

Solid-state deformation of UHMWPE used in total joint prosthesis could be a relevant treatment prior to cross-linking to obtain high strength. However, little is known about the influence of chain alignment (texture) on sliding wear behavior. In this work, we analyzed i) the deformation mechanisms of UHMWPE resulting from a uniaxial tension (elongation of about 300%) and ii) the influence of the texture on the friction behavior resulting from ball-on-flat sliding tests (reciprocating sliding mode). Microstructural investigations show that tension induces a transformation of the initial lamellar morphology into specific microfibrillar morphology. White light interferometer (WLI) studies show that texturing causes an increase of the roughness by a factor of about two. After 50,000 sliding cycles, the cumulative dissipated energy decreases from 109,300-103,600 μJ for untreated UHMWPE to 64,600 and 43,150 μJ for textured UHMWPE, parallel and perpendicular to the texture direction, respectively. Considering that wear resistance increases with decreasing dissipated energy, textured UHMWPE may have anti-wear properties. However, cracks are noted at microscopic scale for textured UHMWPE. Regarding wear resistance, such defects are not suitable and can be avoided by reducing the roughness of textured UHMWPE prior to wear tests.