Effect of Groove Texture on Surface Hydrophobicity of Q345B High-speed Railway Brake Disc

SHA Zhihua; XIE Yong; SHI Li; JIANG Zeping; HUANG Lin; LIU Yu; ZHANG Shengfang

doi:10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.14.017

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Surface Technology ›› 2025, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (14) : 184-195. DOI: 10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.14.017

Surface Functionalization

Effect of Groove Texture on Surface Hydrophobicity of Q345B High-speed Railway Brake Disc

SHA Zhihua, XIE Yong, SHI Li, JIANG Zeping, HUANG Lin, LIU Yu, ZHANG Shengfang^*

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Abstract

The harsh environment of long-term severe cold and snowfall in winter causes severe ice on the surface of high-speed rail brake discs, which poses a serious safety risk to train operation in cold climates. Preparing a hydrophobic surface can undoubtedly reduce the adhesion of droplets, and become one of the feasible solutions to solve the problem of ice and snow accumulation on train brake discs and improve the hydrophobicity of the surface. Micro-nanotexturing, as a common surface modification technology, can improve the surface performance without changing the base material. The droplets on the textured hydrophobic surface have extremely low surface adhesion and strong motion performance, which can effectively promote the rapid removal of surface liquid. The work aims to study the hydrophobic properties of Q345B brake disc.
A simulation model of grooved textures with different widths (20-100 μm) was established to observe the wettability of the textured surface. The simulation results showed that as the texture width increased, the bearing capacity of the texture surface gradually increased, and the contact angle of the droplet also increased. Changing the texture width could improve the surface wettability.
At the same time, Q345B was cut into 40 mm×40 mm squares, polished with sandpaper, and cleaned. In this experiment, an FLS-FB50 ultraviolet laser marking machine was employed to etch a grooved texture consistent with the simulation model on the surface of the sample. The three-dimensional morphology of the surface texture was observed with a three-dimensional depth of field surface profiler (Alicona Infinite Focus G5), the wettability under different texture widths was observed with a JC2000C2 contact angle meter, the microtexture morphology was observed using a JSM6360-LV scanning electron microscope, the surface elements were analyzed with an EDS spectrometer and the surface chemical bonds were measured with a Shimadzu Axis Supra+X-ray photoelectron spectrometer. The static contact angle of the surface droplet and the droplet spreading radius were measured in different directions (texture perpendicular to the droplet and parallel to the droplet direction). It was found that the wettability of droplets was different when they fell in different directions. The contact angle of the droplet parallel to the texture direction was lower than the contact angle of the droplet perpendicular to the texture direction, indicating that the grooved surface microtexture was anisotropic. An organic solvent (1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecyltrimethoxysilane) was used to fluorinate a part of the texture surface, and another part of the textured sample was placed in an air environment for oxidation treatment for 60 days. The surface wettability under different treatment methods was observed, and it was found that the air-oxidized texture had the best hydrophobicity. On the one hand, it was due to the fine microtextures produced during the laser processing, forming a "secondary structure" of the rough surface and on the other hand, it was due to the surface being covered with a layer of C—C bonds, forming a "mechanical armor" effect, and the droplets rolled. By comparing the bounce process of the droplet impacting the surface under three surface states (unprocessed surface, laser textured surface, laser+air oxidation textured surface), it was found that when the droplet impacted the texture surface oxidized in the air environment, it experienced four processes of diffusion, retraction, rebound and falling, and the amount of droplet adhesion on the surface was very low. The grooved micro-texture can play a good hydrophobic role after oxidation treatment in the air environment.

Key words

grooved microtexture / Q345B steel / brake disc / hydrophobicity / high-speed photography

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SHA Zhihua, XIE Yong, SHI Li, JIANG Zeping, HUANG Lin, LIU Yu, ZHANG Shengfang. Effect of Groove Texture on Surface Hydrophobicity of Q345B High-speed Railway Brake Disc[J]. Surface Technology. 2025, 54(14): 184-195 https://doi.org/10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.14.017

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