Investigation of tribological properties of carbide coatings deposited by electrospark at piezoelectric tribocontact

Abstract

Investigations presented in this paper were carried out using an originally designed rotary piezoelec tric motor of a standing wave tribotester. Test conditions, such as the normal force value in the friction pair, the rotor stop torque value, and the test duration can be programmed and changed in a desirable mode. The rotation speed, covered distance and loading torque of a piezo actuator were measured. Two different coatings (WC Co8 and TiC15 Co6) were tested as the rotor friction surface and the wear of friction pairs (rotor, counter body) was evaluated after the tests. Investigations reveal an incidental advantage of output parameters of the piezo actuator with the TiC15 Co6 coating on the friction pair. Besides, high hardness of carbide surfaces requires paying more attention to the wear resistance of the frictional material of the counter body.