Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
619068 | Wear | 2008 | 5 Pages |
Abstract
Silicon nitride (Si3N4)-based ceramics are useful materials for tribological purposes due to their superior mechanical properties. One of their applications is as mechanical face seals. However, Si3N4 rings failed as self-mated systems, leading to fluid leakage and catastrophic failure under high-sealing loads. In order to improve the tribological behaviour and to provide efficient full-sealing conditions, the coating of the Si3N4 surfaces with a solid lubricating diamond-like carbon (DLC) film is here proposed. Plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) DLC coatings with approx. thickness of 1.5 μm were deposited on Si3N4 rings by conventional RF glow discharge taking only pure methane or a 95:5 methane/silane mixture, under an applied self-bias voltage of â800 V. After 419 h of continuous work (4300 km), the self-mated pure DLC ring-on-ring tribosystem proved its outstanding performance in sealing of 2 bar of internal pressure of water, at 4 m sâ1, in the range 0.48-1 kN of applied normal load, without any signs of surface damage and a super low-friction coefficient value less than 0.001. The Si-DLC coatings have a slightly worse performance, with a running-in period and a steady-state friction coefficient of about 0.02.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Colloid and Surface Chemistry
Authors
M. Vila, J.M. Carrapichano, J.R. Gomes, S.S. Jr., C.A. Achete, R.F. Silva,