Wear Resistance of Coated SAE 305 Aluminum Alloy Under Dry Friction Reciprocate Sliding

This work investigates the influence of two coatings on the wear resistance of the SAE 305 aluminum alloy. This material is widely used in power transmission components, and improvement in its surface properties can lead to remarkable impacts in the energy sector. The tested treatments are: (1) anodization and (2) diamond-like carbon coating. Dry friction reciprocate sliding tests using a sphere-on-plane configuration are presented. The untreated reference surface and both treatments are evaluated regarding their roughness, hardness, coefficient of friction, wear rate and morphology. The surface analyzes were carried out using confocal laser and SEM techniques. In comparison with the reference, the diamond-like carbon coating showed a significantly higher wear resistance, whereas the anodization process showed only a minor improvement.