Tribological Performance of NFC Coatings Under Oil Lubrication

An increase in engine and vehicle efficiency usually requires an increase in the severity of contact at the interfaces of many critical components. Examples of such components include piston rings and cylinder liners in the engine, gears in the transmission and axle, bearings, etc. These components are oil-lubricated and require enhancement of their tribological performance. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) recently developed a carbon-based coating with very low friction and wear properties. These near-frictionless-carbon (NFC) coatings have potential for application in various engine components for performance enhancement. This paper presents our study of the tribological performance of NFC-coated steel surfaces when lubricated with fully formulated and basestock synthetic oils. The NFC coatings reduced both the friction and wear of lubricated steel surfaces. The effect of the coating was much more pronounced in tests with basestock oil. This suggests that NFC-coated parts may not require heavily formulated lubricant oils to perform satisfactorily in terms of reliability and durability.