Synergistic Effect of Cr-Doped DLC Coatings and Lubricant Additives
The combination of diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings and fluid lubrication is an efficacious method to improve the performance and service life of the friction-pairs working under the severe conditions, but the synergistic effect of DLC coatings and lubricant additives have not been clearly unveiled. The synergistic effect of Cr-doped DLC coatings with different Cr content and the lubricant additives of ZDDP, MoDTC, and T307 on the wear of DLC-coated stainless steel sample was studied, and it was found that the wear resistance of DLC-coated stainless steel sample can be further improve by the combination of DLC coatings and fluid lubrication; doping DLC coatings with Cr at an optimum level is beneficial for the wear resistance of DLC-coated stainless steel sample lubricated by PAO, PAO+ZDDP or PAO + MoDTC, but DLC coatings with a moderate Cr content is harmful to the wear resistance of DLC-coated stainless steel sample lubricated by PAO+T307. The synergistic effect of T307 and undoped DLC coatings or Cr-doped DLC coatings with a Cr content of 23.3 % is the best, while the three studied lubricant additives are harmful for the wear resistance of DLC coatings with a Cr content of 2.4 %.