Electrical contact resistance and tribological behaviors of self-lubricated dielectric coating under different conditions

Abstract In this study, the electro-tribological performance of hydrogenated amorphous carbon coatings against bearing steel in different experimental conditions was continuously monitored by means of coefficient of friction (CoF) and electrical contact resistance (ECR). The influence of tribosystem variables such as humidity, velocity and lifetime on frictional and electrical response were also compared with specific wear energy calculation method. The main findings of both tribological and electrical behaviors include the dissipated energy and the micro-slip dielectric failures that can be linked to the properties of self-lubricating layers, which depend also on the working media. In this framework, the electro-tribological evaluation provides an electrical monitoring tool for coating premature wear detection in real time.