Non-ferrous coating/lubricant interactions in tribological contacts: Assessment of tribofilms

Use of low friction non-ferrous coatings for engine tribo-components exposed to boundary lubrication is becoming popular in automotive industries. The excellent tribological behaviour of some non-ferrous coatings also reduces dependence on some harmful components of lubricants. In this work, hydrogenated diamond like carbon (HDLC) and chromium nitride (CrN) coatings sliding against cast iron counterbody have been used to study the interaction with friction modifiers (Moly dimer and Moly trimer) and antiwear additive zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) under boundary lubrication condition. The tribological results of the non-ferrous coatings are compared with those of uncoated steel. Tribofilms are formed using a reciprocating pin-on-plate tribometer. The chemical analysis of the tribofilms has been accomplished using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XPS analysis shows that the friction modifiers form a low friction tribofilm on the non-ferrous coatings. No antiwear tribofilm derived from ZDDP was observed on the HDLC coating but a stable antiwear tribofilm was found on the CrN coating. Moly dimer together with ZDDP+Base Oil showed the lowest friction coefficient for the CrN coating while Moly trimer along with ZDDP+Base Oil gave the lowest friction for the HDLC coating. This study will investigate the generic differences between the tribofilms formed on the DLC and CrN coatings by two additive-containing oils.     

Friction and wear properties of duplex MAO/CrN coatings sliding against Si3N4 ceramic balls in air, water and oil

It is evident that the micro-arc oxidation (MAO) ceramic coatings often exhibit relatively high friction coefficients as sliding against many mating materials. To reduce the friction coefficient for the MAO coatings, the duplex MAO/CrN coatings were deposited on 2024Al alloy using combined micro-arc oxidation and reactive radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The microstructure and phase of the duplex coatings were observed and determined using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The friction and wear behaviors of the duplex coatings sliding against Si₃N₄ balls in air, water and oil were investigated using a ball-on-disk tribometer. The wear rate of the duplex coating was determined by non-contact optical profilometer and the wear tracks on the duplex coatings were observed by SEM. The results showed the CrN coatings mainly consisted of Cr, CrN and Cr₂N phases. The duplex coatings/Si₃N₄ tribopair exhibited the highest friction coefficient in air, while displayed the lowest friction coefficient in oil. When the normal load and the sliding speed increased, the friction coefficient in air increased from 0.65 to 0.72, whereas decreased from 0.58 to 0.36 in water and 0.20 to 0.08 in oil. The specific wear rates for the duplex coatings in air were higher than those in oil. In comparison to the MAO coatings, the duplex MAO/CrN coatings displayed excellent tribological properties under the same conditions.     

A comparison of the tribological behaviour of steel/steel, steel/DLC and DLC/DLC contacts when lubricated with mineral and biodegradable oils

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings, which can nowadays be applied to many highly loaded mechanical components, sometimes need to operate under lubricated conditions. It is reasonable to expect that in steel/DLC contacts, at least the steel counter body will behave according to conventional lubrication mechanisms and will interact with lubricants and additives in the contact. However, in DLC/DLC contacts, such mechanisms are still unclear. For example, the “inertness” of DLC coatings raises several questions about whether they are able to provide real boundary “lubrication” or whether they are just a “passive” member in these contacts. On the other hand, biodegradable oils, in particular vegetable base oils, possess a good lubricating ability, often much better than mineral or conventional synthetic oils as a result of the large amount of un-saturated and polar components that can promote the lubricity of DLC coatings. Accordingly, in this study, we present the results of experiments under severe boundary-lubrication conditions during reciprocating sliding. We look at the effect of the type of mating surfaces - steel/DLC, DLC/DLC and steel/steel - and the type of oil on the tribological performance of DLC coatings. We compare the wear and friction behaviours of two types of DLC coatings, i.e., a “pure” non-doped a-C:H DLC coating (denoted as a-DLC) and a WC-containing multilayer coating (denoted as W-DLC) tested with a mineral oil and a biodegradable vegetable oil. These oils, which have very different chemical compositions, were used as base oils and also with mild AW and strong EP additives. Among other things, the results confirm the following: (1) coating/coating lubricated contacts can resemble metal-lubrication mechanisms; (2) additives reduce wear in coating/coating contacts by up to 80%; (3) better wear and friction performance are obtained with oils that contain large amounts of polar and un-saturated molecules; (4) a coating/coating combination generally results in less wear than a steel/coating combination.     

Boundary lubrication mechanisms of carbon coatings by MoDTC and ZDDP additives

Fuel economy and reduction of harmful elements in lubricants are becoming important issues in the automotive industry. An approach to respond to these requirements is the potential use of low friction coatings in engine components exposed to boundary lubrication conditions. Diamond-like-carbon (DLC) coatings present a wide range of tribological behavior, including friction coefficients in ultra-high vacuum below 0.02. The engine oil environment which provides similar favourable air free conditions might lead to such low friction levels.In this work, the friction and wear properties of DLC coatings in boundary lubrication conditions have been investigated as a function of the hydrogen content in the carbon coating. Their interaction with ZDDP which is the exclusive antiwear agent in most automotive lubrication blends and friction-modifier additive MoDTC has been studied. Hydrogenated DLC coatings can be better lubricated in the presence of the friction-modifier additive MoDTC through the formation of MoS₂ solid lubricant material than can non-hydrogenated DLC. In contrast, the antiwear additive ZDDP does not significantly affect the wear behavior of DLC coatings. The good tribological performances of the DLC coatings suggest that they can contribute to reduce friction and wear in the engine, and so permit the significant decrease of additive concentration.     

Tribological performance of three advanced piston rings in the presence of MoDTC-modified GF-3 oils

The piston assembly (piston ring and cylinder bore) is one of the key parts of the internal combustion (IC) engine. Its performance will directly determine the performance of the whole engine. The piston assemblys tribological performance will be influenced by both its mechanical properties and the tribochemical interactions that take place on their surfaces. In this paper, three kinds of advanced stainless steel piston rings with a single nitrided layer, CrN coating on the nitrided layer and a B₄C and CrN binary-layer coating on the nitrided layer, respectively, were employed. Their frictional behavior and wear performance, when sliding against the cast iron cylinder bore materials lubricated with two kinds of GF-3 category mineral-based engine oils (one of them blended with MoDTC friction modifier), were investigated on a SRV tribotester. The test conditions were set and maintained to simulate engine-operating conditions. SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and EDX (Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) were employed to characterize the morphology and elemental composition of the wear tracks. Tribotests and analysis results indicate that changes in both the mechanical properties of the tribomate (piston coatings) and tribochemical interactions (formulation of engine oils) have an impact on the tribological performance of the piston assembly. Tribochemical interactions will have a more obvious influence on friction coefficients while the mechanical properties of the tribomate have a more obvious influence on wear.     

Compatibility of DLC coatings with formulated oils

In the present study, the tribological performance and compatibility of hydrogenated amorphous carbon coating (a-C:H) and metal-doped diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating (Me-C:H) with formulated oils under the boundary lubrication regime was investigated. The investigation employed ball-on-flat contact geometry in reciprocating sliding motion and six formulated oils (manual gearbox oil, automatic gearbox oil, hydraulic oil, compressor oil, and normal and high performance motor oil), with pure poly-alpha-olefin (PAO) oil used as a reference. In addition, DLC coatings behavior in diesel and gasoline fuel was evaluated.Compared with the uncoated steel surfaces a-C:H coatings give improved wear resistance in base PAO as well as in fully formulated oils and fuels. On the other hand, W-doped DLC coatings show the lowest steady-state friction under boundary lubrication, especially when using oils with high additive contents.     

Tribological Properties of DLC Coatings in Helium

The aim of this research work was to investigate tribological properties of low-friction DLC coatings when operating in helium atmosphere. Two commercial DLC coatings (a-C:H and Me-C:H) were included in the investigation and compared to reference PTFE-based coatings, normally used on components operating in helium. Coatings were deposited on hardened 100Cr6 bearing steel discs and tested against uncoated steel balls in low-load pin-on-disc contact configuration. Investigation was focused on the effect of substrate roughness (R _a ?=?0.05?C0.2???m) and contact conditions, including contact pressure (150?C350?MPa) and sliding speed (0.2?C0.4?m/s) on the coefficient of friction of DLC coatings operating in helium. Results of this investigation show that for low-load sliding contact DLC coatings provide low friction in helium atmosphere, similar to soft PTFE-based coatings. At the same time DLC coatings investigated were found to substantially reduce wear of the coated surface. However, while the wear of the coated part has been more or less eliminated, application of DLC coating prolongs running-in and increases wear of the steel counter-part. Furthermore, also in helium atmosphere tribolgical behaviour of DLC coatings showed dependence on the coating type and contact conditions.     

Tribological behaviour and wear mechanism of MoS2–Cr coatings sliding against various counterbody

MoS₂–Cr coatings with different Cr contents have been deposited on high speed steel substrates by closed field unbalanced magnetron (CFUBM) sputtering. The tribological properties of the coatings have been tested against different counterbodies under dry conditions using an oscillating friction and wear tester. The coating microstructures, mechanical properties and wear resistance vary according to the Cr metal-content. MoS₂ tribological properties are improved with a Cr metal dopant in the MoS₂ matrix. The optimum Cr content varies with different counterbodies. Showing especially good tribological properties were MoS₂–Cr8% coating sliding against either AISI 1045 steel or AA 6061 aluminum alloy, and MoS₂–Cr5% coating sliding against bronze. Enhanced tribological behavior included low wear depth on coating, low wear width on counterbody, low friction coefficients and long durability.     

Tribological studies of coated pistons sliding against cylinder liners under laboratory test conditions

The presence of coatings and surface topography play an important role in the tribological performance of sliding components. Depending on the coating used, it is possible to reduce friction and/or reduce wear. However, although there may be low friction and wear‐resistant coatings suitable for use in pistons, some coatings may hinder the tribological performance by changing the lubrication regime or by preventing additives from their intended function through chemical mechanisms. In this work, piston skirt segments extracted from a commercial aluminium alloy piston were coated with a diamond‐like carbon (DLC) coating, a graphite–resin coating or a nickel–polytetrafluoroethylene (Ni–PTFE) coating and were tribologically tested using a reciprocating laboratory test rig against commercial grey cast iron liner segments. The tribological tests used commercial synthetic motor oil at a temperature of 120 °C with a 20 mm stroke length at a reciprocating frequency of 2 Hz. Results showed that the graphite–resin coating, although it may serve as a good break‐in coating, wears rapidly. The Ni–PTFE coating showed friction reduction, whereas the DLC coating wore off quickly due to its small thickness. Furthermore, the higher hardness of the DLC coating relative to the cast iron liner surface led to pronounced changes on the liner counterface by polishing. In contrast with the uncoated piston skirt segments, all of the coatings prevented the formation of a visible tribochemical film on the cast iron surface. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of contact configuration and coating morphology on the tribological behaviour of tetrahedral amorphous diamond-like carbon (ta-C DLC) coatings under boundary lubrication

ABSTRACT

Tribological studies were carried out with tetrahedral amorphous diamond-like carbon (ta-C DLC) coatings, varying in thickness and roughness, using two different contact configurations lubricated with seven types of hydraulic oils. Tribopair of cast iron and ta-C coated steel were tested in both non-conformal and conformal, unidirectional sliding contacts. The friction and wear results were mainly affected by the thickness of the coating in the non-conformal contact and the surface roughness of the coating in the conformal contact. Tests done with mineral base oil containing rust inhibitor in the non-conformal contact and with Polyalphaolefins and synthetic ester base oils in the conformal contact resulted in the lowest friction while that with mineral base oil containing zinc resulted in high friction and counterface wear. The results highlight the interdependence of contact configuration, lubricant chemistry, coating’s surface morphology and coating’s thickness in determining the tribological behaviour of ta-C coatings under boundary lubrication.     

Effects of sliding velocity and normal load on friction and wear characteristics of multi-layered diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating prepared by reactive sputtering

Friction and wear tests were performed to investigate effects of sliding velocity and normal load on tribological characteristics of a multi-layered diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating for machine elements. The DLC coatings which consist of sequentially deposited gradient Cr/CrN, W-doped DLC (a-C:H:W) and DLC (a-C:H) layers were formed on carburized SCM 415 Cr–Mo steel disks using a reactive sputtering system. The tests against AISI 52100 steel balls were performed under various sliding velocities (0.0625, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 m/s) and normal loads (6.1, 20.7 and 49.0 N) in ambient air (relative humidity=26±2%, temperature=18±2 °C). Each test was conducted for 20 km sliding distance without lubricating oil. The results show that friction coefficients decrease with the increase in sliding velocity and normal load. Wear rates of both surfaces decrease with the increase in normal load. The increase in sliding velocity leads initially to the increase in wear rates up to the maximum value. Then, they decrease, as the sliding velocity increases above specific value that corresponds to the maximum wear rate. Through surface observation and analysis, it is confirmed that formation of transfer layers and graphitized degree of wear surfaces of DLC coatings mainly affect its tribological characteristics.     

DLC coating of boundary lubricated components—advantages of coating one of the contact surfaces rather than both or none

The influence of conventional extreme-pressure (EP) and anti-wear (AW) additives on the wear and friction behaviour of DLC coatings has been investigated. Special emphasis was put on exploring if it is most beneficial to coat only one or both the contacting surfaces and on when and how the coatings may improve the friction situation in sliding contact boundary lubricated systems. Tests were performed in a load-scanning test rig, which allows the normal load to gradually increase during the forward stroke and to correspondingly decrease during the reverse stroke. The sliding speed was set to 0.1 m/s, while the normal load was in the range between 140 and 1700 N (2.4–5.6 GPa).This investigation indicates that, under boundary lubrication conditions, addition of commercial AW and EP additives to PAO oil may significantly improve the tribological properties of DLC coatings. Furthermore, the DLC/steel combination was found to give a smoother running-in process and a better tribological performance than the DLC/DLC and steel/steel combination.     

Super low friction of DLC applied to engine cam follower lubricated with ester-containing oil

This paper presents a material combination that reduces the friction coefficient markedly to a superlow friction regime (below 0.01) under boundary lubrication. A state approaching superlubricity was obtained by sliding hardened steel pins on a hydrogen-free diamond-like carbon (DLC) film (ta-C) lubricated with a poly-alpha-olefin (PAO) oil containing 1 mass% of an ester additive. This ta-C/steel material combination showed a superlow friction coefficient of 0.006 at a sliding speed of 0.1 m/s. A hydrogencontaining DLC coating/steel combination also showed a lower friction coefficient in air than a steel/steel combination, 0.1 vs. 0.8, but no large reduction was observed when the sliding surfaces were lubricated with ordinary 5W-30 engine oil and the PAO oil containing an ester additive. The friction coefficient of the hydrogen containing DLC/steel combination lubricated with the PAO containing an ester additive was above 0.05. On the other hand, the superlow friction performance demonstrates that the rolling contact friction level of needle roller bearings can be obtained in sliding contact under a boundary lubrication condition. It is planned to apply this advanced DLC coating technology to valve lifters lubricated with a newly formulated engine oil in actual mass-produced gasoline engines. A larger friction reduction of more than 45% is expected to be obtained at an engine speed of 2000 rpm.     

Tribological Behavior of Carbide-derived Carbon Coating on SiC Polycrystal against SAE52100 Steel in Moderately Humid Air

In this article, carbide-derived carbon coating (CDC) on a substrate of silicon carbide was produced by chlorination at 1000 °C. The influence of dechlorination on the friction and wear of CDC coating sliding against SAE52100 steel was investigated. It was found that dechlorination is crucial and necessary for obtaining good tribological performance of CDC coating against steel. The CDC coatings exhibit excellent tribological performance in air at loads lower than 30 N and provide good protection from wear damage of steel as well. The tribological performance of CDC coating against steel is superior to that of commercially available graphite.     

Tribological characterisation of hard coatings with and without DLC top layer in fretting tests

The potential of coatings to protect components against wear and to reduce friction has led to a large variety of protective coatings. In order to check the success of coating modifications and to find solutions for different purposes, initial tests with laboratory tribometers are usually done to give information about the performance of a coating. Different Ti‐based coatings (TiN, Ti(C,N), and TiAlN) and NiP were tested in comparison to coatings with an additional diamond‐like carbon (DLC) top coating. Tests were done in laboratory air at room temperature with oscillating sliding (gross slip fretting) with a ball‐on‐disc arrangement against a ceramic ball (Al₂O₃). Special attention was paid to possible effects of moisture (relative humidity). The coefficient of friction was measured on line, and the volumetric wear at the disc was determined after the test from microscopic measurements of the wear scar and additional profiles. The friction and wear behaviour is quite different for the different coatings and depends more or less on the relative humidity. The DLC coating on top of the other coatings reduces friction and wear considerably. In normal and in moist air the coefficient of wear of the DLC top‐layer coating is significantly less than 10⁻⁶ mm³/Nm and the coefficient of friction is below 0.1. In dry air, however, there is a certain tendency to high wear and high friction. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative tribological behaviors of TiN, CrN and MoNCu nanocomposite coatings

The purpose of this study is to investigate comparative tribological behaviors of Cu-doped TiN, CrN, and MoN coatings under a wide range of dry sliding conditions. TiN and CrN coatings have been developed and used by industry in numerous tribological applications including, machining, manufacturing and transportation. In contrast, MoN has attracted very little attention as a tribological coating in the past, despite being much harder than both TiN and CrN. In this paper, we will mainly concentrate on the Cu-doped versions of these coatings whose tribological properties have not yet been fully explored. The results of this study have confirmed that the addition of Cu into TiN, CrN and MoN coatings has indeed modified the grain size and morphology, but had a beneficial effect only on the friction and wear behavior of MoN. The tribological behavior of CrN did not change much with the addition of Cu but that of TiN became worse after Cu additions. Raman spectroscopy technique was used to elucidate the structural and chemical natures of the oxide films forming on sliding surfaces of Cu-doped TiN, CrN and MoN films. The differences in the friction and wear behavior of Cu-doped TiN, CrN, and MoN is fully considered and a mechanistic explanation has been provided using the principles of a crystal chemical model that can relate the lubricity of complex oxides to their ionic potentials.     

表面处理复合涂层的摩擦学评价方法

从涂层的摩擦学评价的重要参数、涂层与基体间的粘合力、涂层力学性能、涂层的摩擦学特性以及涂层零件的摩擦学特性等方面介绍了金属切削刀具和模具等工件的复合涂层的摩擦学涂层的评价方法,指出了在轻合金涂层材料、低摩擦因数的涂层、涂层韧性的改进、涂层磨损试验方法、涂层设计和评价的工具等方面需要进一步研究。     

Investigation of antiwear coatings deposited by the pvd process

The tribological properties of various PVD‐deposited coatings (vacuum arc method) have been tested, both single‐layer coatings (TiN, CrN, Ti(C,N), and Cr(C,N)) and multilayer coatings (Cr(C,N)/CrN/Cr and CR(C,N)/(CrN+Cr₂N)/CrN/Cr). An unlubricated ball‐on‐disc tribosystem was used in which an Al₂O₃ ball is pressed against a coated steel disc rotating in the horizontal plane. A novelty of the method is the removal of wear debris from the contact zone using a draught of dry argon. This improves the repeatability of the test results and the stability of the tribological characteristics. It is shown that CrN coatings exhibit the best antiwear properties and Ti(C,N) the worst. Multilayer coatings have better antiwear properties than single‐layer ones. The friction coefficients for CrN and Cr(C,N) coatings are much smaller than for the commonly used TiN. A correlation has also been found between the physical properties of the coatings tested (adhesion of the coating to the substrate assessed in scratch tests, and coating hardness) and their antiwear properties. An improvement in coating‐substrate adhesion results in wear reduction, while greater hardness (causing a coating embrittlement increase and a change in the wear mechanism) brings about greater wear. There is no correlation between the physical properties and the friction coefficients of the coatings tested.     

Study of tribological performance of ECR-CVD diamond-like carbon coatings on steel substrates: Part 1. The effect of processing parameters and operating conditions

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings were prepared on AISI 440C steel substrates at room temperature by electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition (ECR-CVD) process in C₂H₂/Ar plasma. Using the designed Ti/TiN/TiCN/TiC interfacial transition layers, relatively thick DLC coatings (1-2 μm) were successfully prepared on the steel substrates. The friction and wear performance of the DLC coatings was evaluated by ball-on-disk tribometry using a steel counterbody at various normal loads (1-10 N) and sliding speeds (2-15 cm/s). By optimizing the deposition parameters such as negative bias voltage, DLC coatings with hardness up to 30 GPa and friction coefficients lower than 0.15 against the 100Cr6 steel ball could be obtained. The friction coefficient was maintained for 100,000 cycles (∼2.2 km) of dry sliding in ambient environments. In addition, the specific wear rates of the coatings were found to be extremely low (∼10⁻⁸ mm³/Nm); at the same time, the ball wear rates were one order of magnitude lower. The influences of the processing parameters and the sliding conditions were determined, and the frictional behavior of the coatings was discussed. It has been found that higher normal loads or sliding speeds reduced the wear rates of the coatings. Therefore, it is feasible to prepare hard and highly adherent DLC coatings with low friction coefficient and low wear rate on engineering steel substrates by the ECR-CVD process. The excellent tribological performance of DLC coatings enables their industrial applications as wear-resistant solid lubricants on sliding parts.     

Tribological behaviour of DLC coatings compared to different materials used in hip joint prostheses

The goal of the study carried out in the laboratory was to quantify the wear and the friction of two materials used for the manufacturing of hip prostheses. Tests used had to obtain in a short time the tribological behaviour laws of the materials. Tests on a hip simulator have been excluded because their cost and their duration were too high for a program of preliminary development of new materials.

To amplify wear phenomena, dry friction tests were carried out for two configurations: ball-on-disc and pin-on-disc. The influence of the contact pressure at constant sliding velocity on the wear of materials has been clearly shown.

Results obtained with several different tested materials (stainless steel/UHMWPE, stainless steel+DLC coating/UHMWPE, stainless steel+DLC coating/stainless steel+DLC coating, titanium alloy+DLC coating/UHMWPE, titanium alloy+DLC coating/titanium alloy+DLC coating, zirconium dioxide/UHMWPE, alumina/UHMWPE, alumina/alumina) have shown the superiority of DLC coatings. Promising results obtained during this study are in the validation stage on a hip simulator.