A Pathway to Improve Tribological Performance of Ni-W Coating: Inhibition of Delamination

Abstract

In this work, delamination is found to dominate the materials removal process of Ni-W coating sliding against different counterparts. Metal counterpart with high hardness and deformation resistance, can lead large area of mechanical mixed layer (MML) around oxide layer (OL) and depress the delamination of tribo-layer. Decreasing frictional temperature and tribo-chemical reaction activity of ceramic counterparts could diminish the delamination of OL forming during the tribo-oxidation. Combing the advantages of high deformation resistance and thermal conductivity, WC-Co composite can highly improve tribological performance of Ni-W coating through inhibiting delamination. These results not only advance the understanding of wear mechanisms but also offer a pathway to improve tribological performance as well as a reference for design of tribo-pairs.

Keywords: Ni-W, Counterpart materials, Delamination, Tribo-layer