Tribological Behaviour of W-DLC against an Aluminium Alloy Subjected to Lubricated Sliding

Diamond like carbon (DLC) coatings mitigate aluminium adhesion and reduce friction under the ambient conditions but their tribological behaviour under lubricated sliding need to be further investigated. In this study, tribological tests were performed to evaluate the friction and wear characteristics of W-DLC and H-DLC coatings sliding against an aluminium alloy (319 Al) under unlubricated (40 % RH) and lubricated sliding conditions. For unlubricated sliding, coefficient of friction (COF) values of H-DLC and W-DLC were 0.15 and 0.20. A lower COF value of 0.11 was observed when W-DLC was tested using lubricant oil incorporating sulphur while the H-DLC’s COF remained almost unchanged. The mechanisms responsible for the low friction of W-DLC observed during lubricated sliding were revealed by studying the compositions of the coating surfaces and the transfer layers formed on 319 Al. Micro-Raman spectroscopy indicated that the transfer layers formed during lubricated sliding of W-DLC incorporated tungsten disulphide (WS2).