Preparation of self-lubricating coating by mechanical milling

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to fabricate nickel-aluminum (Ni-Al)-based self-lubricating composite coating on aluminum (Al) alloy by mechanical milling (MM).

Design/methodology/approach

A new carrier transport (CT) way was designed to solve the slippage fracture of the coating due to silver (Ag) accumulation (Ag powders were cold welded with nickel [Ni] powders by MM in advance to avoid accumulation, then Al powder and samples were added to fabricate the coating).

Findings

Microstructure analysis reveals that the solid lubricant Ag exists as particles in the composite coating via CT technique, which is different from the typical morphology (strip-type) of Ag tailored by normal methods. The unique granular form of Ag can effectively avoid the gliding fracture of the coating, thus forming an efficacious lubrication film on the worn surface, which is responsible for the excellent tribological properties of the coating.

Practical implications

Most of the papers reported that coatings synthesized by MM mainly concentrated on hard coatings, but the fabrication of self-lubricating coatings have not yet reported.

Originality/value

The uniform dispersion of solid lubricant Ag can effectively solves a fatal problem that the fracture failure of coating triggered by the Ag accumulation. This experiment provides a novel method for preparation of self-lubricating coating by MM.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-01-2020-0030

Citation

Yan, C., Karthik, N., Kang, Y. and Xiong, D. (2020), "Preparation of self-lubricating coating by mechanical milling", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 72 No. 7, pp. 829-833. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILT-11-2019-0471