Influence of Oxides on the Performance of Cylinder Inner Coatings of Combustion Engines

Although regulations regarding emissions have become stricter, combustion engines are still the most common way to impel vehicles. The deposition of coatings on tribological systems have emerged as key strategy to reduce friction and wear. For example, cost effective, low alloyed carbon steel is frequently used as coating materials for inner surfaces of combustion engines.

Low alloyed carbon steel as feedstock material such as 0.8 % C-steel in combination with thermal spray processes such as plasma transferred wire arc (PTWA) results in the formation of oxides in the coatings, influencing the tribological performance and the corrosion resistance. Within this study, different atomization gases such as nitrogen were used in order to affect the amount of oxides in the coating. Subsequently, tests with regard to tribological performance and corrosion resistance were conducted, showing dependency regarding different oxygen contents.