Effect of MoS2-based composite coatings on tribological behavior and efficiency of gear

Abstract

MoS2-based Ti composite coatings were deposited on the SCM420 alloy and gears using an RF magnetron sputtering (RFMS) system. While MoS2 coating had been coated on the silicon substrate. The coatings structures were compared to each other to find the effect of Ti. The composite coatings have been tested in a ball-on-disk tribometer to investigate tribological behavior at various conditions. The scratch test was conducted to characterize adhesion force between composite coatings and substrates. The structure of the coatings has been extensively studied by a variety of techniques, including optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), etc. The composite coatings were also applied to the gears of a reduction gearbox. The efficiency of uncoated and MoS2-based Ti coated gear was measured and compared at various input rotating speed under absorption oil film condition. It was found that the efficiency of gear had significantly improved after MoS2-based Ti composite coatings deposition.