Wear Characteristics of Traditional Manganese Phosphate and Composite hBN Coatings

Abstract

In this study, the tribological properties of traditional manganese phosphate coatings and composite hBN coatings composed of nano-hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) in layered manganese phosphate crystals on AISI 1040 steel were investigated. Wear tests were carried out under controlled temperature and humidity using ball-on-disc tribometers for samples that were either submerged in oil or retaining oil on their surfaces at a sliding speed of 2.5 cm/s with loads of 1, 3, 5, and 10 N and sliding distances of 40, 80, 100, and 120 m. The surface profiles before and after the tests were used to characterize the wear. The surfaces of the coated samples were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The coefficients of friction and wear rates of the coated samples were also measured. The average wear rates of the composite hBN-coated samples were significantly lower than those of the traditional manganese phosphate–coated samples for each of the loading conditions for the oil submersion and retained oil tests. The coefficient of friction (COF) values for the traditional manganese phosphate–coated samples did not change significantly with increasing load. The COF values for the composite hBN coated–samples decreased with increasing load in the oil submersion test.