Lubrication of Biomimetic Surfaces

A special issue of Lubricants (ISSN 2075-4442).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2025 | Viewed by 918

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
College of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
Interests: tribology; surface micro and nano processing; surface texture; water lubrication; mechanical seals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Most physical processes involving energy exchange, motion, and signal transmission are achieved through surface interactions. The characteristics of the surface are often key factors determining correct actuation. For over half a century, scientists have made tremendous progress in the development of functional materials, surface coatings, lubricants, and additives to reduce/increase friction and wear. Meanwhile, people have recognized that the structures of surfaces/interfaces are important to surface interactions as well. Nobel laureate Pauli once said, "God made solids, but surfaces were the work of the devil". Therefore, potential, difficulties, and challenges coexist.

After billions of years of evolution and competition, animals and plants have formed many excellent geometric structures and functionally rich surface textures, inspiring surface texture design for mechanical components. Biomimetic surface texture design could work with liquid/solid lubricants to decrease friction/wear or increase friction/adhesion. They have been successfully applied to the surface of sliding bearings, mechanical seals, etc.

This Special Issue welcomes manuscripts on the state of the art of functional surface texture design and case studies on biomimetic surface texture design to improve tribological properties such as friction, wear, lubrication, and adhesion.

Prof. Dr. Xiaolei Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • biomimetic
  • surface texture
  • friction
  • wear
  • lubrication
  • adhesion

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

41 pages, 11513 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in Biomimetic Related Lubrication
by Jinqiang Shao, Guiyao Lan, Haoxin Song, Xiaoxiao Dong and Ming Li
Lubricants 2024, 12(11), 377; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants12110377 - 30 Oct 2024
Viewed by 619
Abstract
Friction is ubiquitous in industry and daily life, which not only leads to the wear and tear of equipment and machinery, but also causes a lot of energy waste. Friction is one of the significant factors leading to energy loss in mechanical systems. [...] Read more.
Friction is ubiquitous in industry and daily life, which not only leads to the wear and tear of equipment and machinery, but also causes a lot of energy waste. Friction is one of the significant factors leading to energy loss in mechanical systems. Therefore, it is essential to minimize friction losses. Creatures in nature have evolved various surfaces with different tribological characteristics to adapt to the environment. By studying, understanding, and summarizing the friction and lubrication regulation phenomena of typical surfaces in nature, various bionic friction regulation theories and methods are obtained to guide the development of new lubrication materials and lubrication systems. This article primarily discusses the study of lubrication mechanisms through biomimetic design, which is mainly divided into chemical approaches, structural strategies, and chemical–structural coupling approaches. From the chemical point of view, this paper mainly summarizes joint lubrication and engineering lubrication in biomedicine, with inspiration from lotus leaves, fish skin, and snake skin, each with unique antifriction structures which are famous for their super hydrophobicity in nature. Finally, chemical–structural coupling simulates the lubrication mechanism of natural organisms from the joint action of biological structures and chemical substances, and is applied to coating design, so as to reduce the friction and wear on coating surfaces, improve the durability and anti-pollution ability of coatings, significantly improve the tribological performance of mechanical systems, promote scientific innovation, and promote energy conservation, emission reduction, and sustainable development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lubrication of Biomimetic Surfaces)
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