Warm carbon coat reduces friction

• A coating material made of carbon reduces friction not just by providing a slippery surface, but also by keeping the points of contact warm. Marcus Björling at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden and his team coated steel balls with ``diamond-like-carbon'' - a material in which carbon atoms have a bonding pattern similar to that of diamond. They rolled the balls against a metal disk with an oil lubricant in between, and showed that the carbon coating acts as an insulator, lowering the viscosity of the lubricant and thus reducing the fricion between the ball and the disk. These findings could encourage the development of lubricant coatings made from insulating materials.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Maskinteknik -- Tribologi (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Mechanical Engineering -- Tribology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Machine Elements

Maskinelement

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

art (subject category)