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Developing energy-efficient
lubricants and coatings for
automotive applications
keY ConCePts
44 History of Petroleum: 1861 California: First oil well in California is drilled manually in Humboldt County.
antifRiCtion Coatings engine that wears prematurely is a much worse choice
In an internal combustion engine, around 15% of en- than a robust engine that has marginally higher fuel
ergy is lost due to friction, as shown in Figure 2. This
1,2
consumption.
15% can be further subdivided, in a proportion 9:1, The development of hard coatings started in the
into a dissipative part (viscous dissipation due to lubri- 1960s with chemical (CVD) and physical (PVD) vapor-
cant flow) and a frictional part (mostly due to bound- deposition techniques. There are many PVD variants in
ary friction in piston ring/cylinder bore, cranktrain use today (magnetron sputtering, evaporation by laser,
and valvetrain systems). The dissipative losses can be wire arc, electron beam, etc.) Hard coatings have many
reduced by using lower-viscosity oils and smaller dis- unique properties such as chemical inertness and ex-
placement volumes. The frictional part can be reduced treme resistance against abrasion, making them invalu-
by using antifriction coatings on performance-critical able in the tooling industry. Notwithstanding their im-
parts, as well as by deploying special friction-reducing
additives
Figure 1.in engine
Agelis oil. built at Royal Institute of Technology, KTH in Stockholm, Sweden
ecocar
managed to run for
the481 kmofatadditives
1 L of gasoline
in oil during Shell Eco Marathon 2010. Critical
engine components had antifriction coatings made by Applied NanoIn an internal combustion engine, around
Unfortunately, use may cause
Surfaces, and a fuel
exhaust
economy catalyst poisoning
engine oil produced by andElektrion
must be s.a. constrained.
was used.
Thus, the phosphorus content in ILSAC GF-5 engine 15% of energy is lost due to friction.
oils must not exceed 800 ppm. This makes coatings an
attractive alternative, minimizing the dependence on
additives. pressive antiwear performance, hard coatings help little
Nowadays, various coatings are used in automotive to improve fuel economy. The fact that DLC coatings
engineering to compensate deficiencies of bulk materi- afford a reduction of the coefficient of friction from 0.3
als. Coatings can be used to improve wear resistance, to 0.15 in a dry steel vs. steel contact does not mean
corrosion resistance, appearance, adhesive properties, one is going to enjoy a 50% friction reduction in an
etc. For instance, Nikasil, Alusil or wire-arc sprayed engine where all moving parts are lubricated and the
iron coatings are used for reinforcement of cylinder characteristic value of the coefficient of friction is al-
bore walls and improved oil film retention in alumi- ready well below 0.1. As a matter of fact, hard coatings
num engines. Other classical methods used for enhanc- may increase friction by inhibiting the effect of lubric-
ing the tribological properties of various automotive ity additives in oil.
components are chrome plating, ferritic nitrocarbura- The goal of antifriction coatings is to reduce friction,
tion and phosphatation. thereby minimizing dependence on the additive pack-
From an automotive engineering perspective, age. In an attempt to combine the mechanical tough-
whenever advancements in coatings are discussed, one ness of hard coatings with high lubricity, composite
often tends to focus exclusively on hard antiwear coat- PVD coatings, which exhibit self-lubricating proper-
ings such as diamond-like carbon (DLC), boron nitride ties, such as Balinit C (WC/C, Balzers Ltd.) and MoST
(BN), silicon carbide (SiC), titanium nitride (TiN), (MoS2/Ti, Teer Coatings Ltd.) have been developed.
tungsten carbide (WC), etc. This is probably explained Soft-sacrificial coatings represent a fundamentally
byFigure
the fact that, fromdistribution
2. Approximate the car owner s perspective,
of energy losses withinan different
the internal philosophy
combustion engine. in the development of antifriction
and antiwear coatings, as
the coating can be sacri-
ficed in action while pro-
tecting the coated parts.
For example, molyb-
denum disulfide (MoS2)
coatings were pioneered
by Alfa Molykote af-
ter World War II. After
acquiring Molykote in
1964, Dow Corning de-
veloped and manufac-
tured a few lines of Mo-
lykote solid lubricant
coatings. Molykote coat-
ings are based on MoS2 as
the main friction-reduc-
Figure 2 | Approximate distribution of energy losses within the internal combustion engine. ing component, but they
46 History of Petroleum: 1866 California: First steam-powered rig in California drills an oil well at Ojai.
dichalcogenides (LTMD) used as a substitute for MoS2 in the aeronautics and spacecraft
industry. As compared to MoS2, WS2 has superior high-temperature performance and is less
sensitive to humidity. Applied Nano Surfaces (ANS) has pioneered a revolutionary new
technology for friction and wear reduction using WS2-based tribocoatings.
ThemayANScontain
technologya (known
number as the
of ANS
other conditioning method) is a dedi-
triboconditioning method) is
ingredients such as graphite,a dedicated cated metalworking/finishing
metalworking process that combines elements
resin binder, corrosion
of extreme-pressure inhibitor,of
mechanical burnishing process that combines elements
theetc., whichsurface
component are required to control or
with a tribochemical of extreme-pressure mechanical
mechanochemical
consistency, deposition
adhesion,of corrosion
a low-friction burnishing of the component
antiwear film of WS
resistance, 2. The mechanical
appearance and other surface with a tribochemical or
treatment is essential for improving the
properties. A similar concept has
surface finish by leveling off asperities and
mechanochemical deposition of
beenupused
building in thestresses
compressive development
within the a low-friction antiwear film of
of EcoTough
underlying material coatings for piston
and for initiating the WS2. The mechanical treatment
triboreaction, leading to the in situ
skirt by Federal-Mogul formation
Corp. is essential for improving the sur-
and interfacial nucleation ofcoating
The EcoTough tungsten disulfide
con- face finish by leveling off asperi-
onto the surface.
sists of a blend of graphite, car- ties and building up compressive
bon fibre and molybdenum
When applied to components made of steel or disul- stresses within the underlying
castfide
ironbound in a resin
such as cylinder binder,
liners, and
camshafts, material and for initiating the tri-
piston pins, gears, etc. (see
is claimed to provide superior graphic), the ANS boreaction, leading to the in situ
process significantly
friction reduction improves their resis-
and scuff formation and interfacial nucle-
tribological properties. The primary effects
tance. Tungsten disulfide
are a reduction in wear and a shift in the 2 (WS ) ation of tungsten disulfide onto
is another member
Stribeck diagram down (WS2 effectively of layered the surface.
reduces boundary friction)
transition metal dichalcogen- and to the left When applied to components
(removal of asperities
ides (LTMD) extends
used as athe full film
substitute made of steel or cast iron such as
lubrication towards higher loads), as shown in
for MoS2 in the aeronautics and cylinder liners, camshafts, pis-
Figure 3.
spacecraft industry. As compared ton pins, gears, etc. (see graphic),
to MoS , WSthe
As a 2result, has superior high-temperature perfor- the ANS process significantly improves their tribologi-
2 coefficient of boundary friction is reduced by 20% to 60% while wear is
mance
reduced by 4andto 10istimes.
less sensitive
Other benefitsto humidity. Applied
include improved Nano
surface finish andcal properties.
surface integrity, The primary effects are a reduction in
reduced tribomutation
Surfaces (ANS) and hasfatigue accumulation
pioneered during the running-in
a revolutionary new period, compressive
wear stress in the Stribeck diagram down (WS
and a shift 2
build-up and improved
technology lubricantand
for friction filmwear
strength.
reduction using WS2- effectively reduces boundary friction) and to the left
The tribocoatings generated by the ANS triboconditioning process had exceptionally
based
strong tribocoatings.
adhesion to the component surface. No coating delamination was observed (removal
in the of asperities extends the full film lubrication
scratch
The
test until ANS technology
a cohesive failure or plastic(known
deformationas in
the
the ANS tribo-
substrate towardsThe
material occurred. higher loads), as shown in Figure 3.
outstanding wear resistance of ANS-coated parts allows one to switch to lower viscosity
lubricants for improved energy efficiency without accruing risk of wear-related failures.
Figure 3 | Changes in the surface topography and tribological properties of the cylinder liner surface induced by the ANS triboconditioning
process: (a) cylinder liner and liner segments used in the tests, (b) SEM images of the honing structure and (c) friction between liner and piston
ring measured using a reciprocating test rig (shown on top) and the bearing curves of surface roughness (shown on bottom).
48 History of Petroleum: 1875 California: First commercial oil fi eld in California is discovered at Pico Canyon in Los Angeles County.
which most intense friction and wear occur. EP/AW additives, as well as regular
boundary lubricity additives, shift the Stribeck curve down, reducing friction in the
boundary lubrication regime. Superlubricity additives shift the Stribeck curve to
the left, maintaining the film lubrication regime over a broader range of
tribological conditions.