Study on the Optimization of Tribological Properties of Ductile Iron by Micro‐Texture and Solid Lubrication Coatings

ABSTRACT To address the performance degradation of ductile iron for traction sheaves caused by long‐term wear, this study innovatively proposes a soft‐hard alternating surface design. By combining composite micro‐textures with solid lubricant coatings, this study aims to synergistically optimise the tribological performance of the traction sheaves, achieving a stable friction coefficient within the range of 0.1 to 0.3 and significantly enhancing wear resistance. Laser processing technology was employed to fabricate four types of micro‐textures—pit, groove, wave and biomimetic sea shell on the surface of ductile iron (QT600‐3), followed by the application of a waterborne polyurethane (WPU)/polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)/molybdenum disulphide (MoS 2 ) solid lubricant coating. Various testing equipment is used to evaluate the friction coefficient, wear rate and surface morphology characteristics under different micro‐texture parameters. This study is the first time to propose the integration of micro‐texture with solid lubricant coatings on traction sheave materials, providing a feasible solution to enhance their service life. The results indicate that the composite of micro‐texture and MoS 2 nanoparticles significantly improves the friction and wear properties of ductile iron. The pit 0.2–0.4 mm exhibited the optimal performance, reducing the friction coefficient to 0.234 and the wear rate to 0.40 × 10 −5 mm 3 /(N m).