A Study on Friction and Wear Properties of Tetrahedral Amorphous Carbon Coatings on Various Counterpart Materials

This research addresses the improvement of tribo-systems, specifically regarding the reduction of friction and wear through tribo-coupling between tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) with different types of counterpart materials, namely bearing steel (SUJ2), tungsten carbide (WC), stainless steel (SUS304), and alumina ($Al_2O_3$). A second variable in this project is the utilization of different values of duct bias voltage in the deposition of the ta-C coating - 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 V. The results of this research are expected to determine the optimum duct bias and best counter materials associated with ta-C to produce the lowest friction and wear. Results obtained reveal that the tribo-couple between the ta-C coating and SUJ2 balls produces the lowest friction coefficient and wear rate. In terms of duct bias changes, deposition using 5 V produces the most optimum tribological behavior with lowest friction and wear on the tribo-system. In contrast, the tribo-couple between ta-C with a WC ball causes penetration through the coating surface layer and hence high surface delamination. This study demonstrates that the most effective ta-C coating duct bias is 5 V associated with SUJ2 counter material to produce the lowest friction and wear.