The influence of diamond-like carbon and anodised aluminium oxide coatings on the surface properties of the SAE 305 aluminium alloy

This paper presents an analysis of two surface treatments applied on the SAE 305 aluminium alloy: a diamond-like carbon coating and an anodisation process. The objective is to verify a potential wear resistance increase on the clamp-cable interface of an overhead transmission system. The evaluation of the coatings was carried out using micro-indentation technique, micro-abrasive wear tests and surface analysis. The parameters under study are hardness, roughness, wear volume and wear regime. The diamond-like carbon coating showed a significant improvement in wear resistance, whereas the anodisation process led to the opposite effect. The porosity of the anodised coating was identified as a cause for the wear resistance decrease while the enhancement provided by the diamond-like carbon coating is attributed to its high hardness, low roughness and to the occurring three-body wear regime.