RT Journal Article T1 Tribological and electric contact resistance properties of pulsed plasma duplex treatments on a low alloy steel A1 Murua, Joseba A1 Ibañez, Iñigo A1 Dianova, Anastasia A1 Domínguez-Meister, Santiago A1 Larrañaga, Oihane A1 Larrañaga, Aitor A1 Braceras, Iñigo AB Low friction low cost tribology systems involve most often use of lubricants, which must be periodically refurbished and often present environmental issues. Furthermore, use of liquid lubricants is a non-starter in many critical applications. In this work, the performance of single process duplex tribo-conditioning treatments is explored. The treatments are based on pulsed low-pressure plasma treatments, where nitriding processes are complemented with the deposition of carbonaceous solid lubricating top layers. The duplex treatments are carried out sequentially in the same chamber. The study comprised, among others, exploring the use of different residual gas mixes and pulse frequencies. Roughened blasted 42CrMo4 low alloy steel (AISI 4140 equivalent) was used as substrate. Resulting surface properties were studied with nano-indentation, profilometry and contact angle measurements. Besides, tribological studies were carried out against 100Cr6 steel at different humidities. The evolution of the coefficient of friction and the electrical contact resistance (ECR) was assessed for each test, as well as the wear rates. Results showed tribological outcomes heavily dependent of ambient conditions, and ECR of the wear track surface condition, i.e. the amount of remaining coated surfaces. The use of pulsed plasmas generated comparatively softer, smoother and more hydrophobic surfaces. SN 0257-8972 YR 2023 FD 2023-02-15 LK https://hdl.handle.net/11556/3007 UL https://hdl.handle.net/11556/3007 LA eng NO Murua , J , Ibañez , I , Dianova , A , Domínguez-Meister , S , Larrañaga , O , Larrañaga , A & Braceras , I 2023 , ' Tribological and electric contact resistance properties of pulsed plasma duplex treatments on a low alloy steel ' , Surface and Coatings Technology , vol. 454 , 129155 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2022.129155 NO Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Elsevier B.V. NO This work was supported by the Hazitek ZL-2021/00142 and Elkartek Frontiers grants from the Department for Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment of the Basque Government . DS TECNALIA Publications RD 30 jul 2024