Lubrication of textured surfaces: a general theory for flow and shear stress factors.

We report on a mean field theory of textured surface lubrication. We study the fluid flow dynamics occurring at the interface as a function of the texture characteristics, e.g. texture area density, shape and distribution of microstructures, and local slip lengths. The present results may be very important for the investigation of tailored microtextured surfaces for low-friction hydrodynamic applications.