Performance of DLC coatings in heated commercial engine oils

Multilayer Diamond Like Coatings (DLC) are widely used to protect highly loaded components from wear and/or to reduce the friction losses in combustion engines. The uppermost layer of the coating controls the chemical situation in the contact and is therefore a very important part of modern multilayer coatings. To examine the individual performances and assess differences and potentials of modern DLC coatings, four commercially available DLCs designed for automotive components with different doping elements together with an uncoated reference were tested in high performance engine oils heated to 90°C at two different initial contact pressures. The coefficient of friction generally was higher in the tests with the lower initial contact pressure (approximately 20% for all combinations) and the specific wear rate was also up to 100% higher for some combinations. It was also found that a used motor oil showed up to 30% higher friction than when fresh and at the same time reduced the wear in most cases. The tungsten doped coating showed the highest wear, but also the lowest coefficient of friction. The Si doped coating showed the best wear results, most probably due to the ability to make use of the additives in the oil to form a protecting tribofilm. •Si-doped coating promoted formation of protective tribofilms.•W-doped coating inhibited the formation of protective tribofilms.•Doubling the normal load decreased the coefficient of friction.•Used oil formed less sulfides and more sulfates which increased the friction.•WS2-film formed on tungsten doped coating tested in PAO.