Current Development of Automotive Powertrain Components for Low Friction and Wear Reduction through Coating and Heat Treatment Technology

Abstract

Recent findings of R&D for powertrain components concerning friction and wear reduction are described in this chapter. These are realized through lubrication technology of coating and heat treatment, which are fit for this book. In the first part, nano-complex coatings for parts of future mobility are presented with their friction and wear behavior. The application of an alloying target was proposed to promote the commercial use of nanocomposite coatings. In the second part, the importance on pre-treatments-related silicon oxide-diamond-like carbon (SiO-DLC) coating for the smallest part of fuel system is described. The optimization of cleaning for the balls before coating was resulted: The best cleaning performance presented the addition of acetone cleaning, water boiling, and then acetone cleaning, confirmed by fluorescence analyzers. The third part of this work was developing low-temperature vacuum carburizing and pre-treatment for parts of injector, stopper (SUS303), and position ring (1.4305) with high wear resistance. The difference between two steels led to the result: high molybdenum of 1.4305 formed Mo-oxides on the surface during acid etching. These Mo-oxides resolved quickly by hydrogen during carburizing and then enabled activated carburizing. The 1.4305 was appropriate for the carburizing and was chosen for stopper.