(June 10, 2015) Coating
engine components with hard carbon reduces friction to almost zero – a
development that could save billions of liters of fuel worldwide every year.
Now researchers have developed a new laser method to apply the coating on the
production line.
Scientists already know how to coat components with
diamond-like carbon to minimize friction. But now Fraunhofer researchers have
developed a laser arc method with which layers of carbon almost as hard as
diamond can be applied on an industrial scale at high coating rates and with
high thicknesses. By applying carbon coatings to engine components such as
piston rings and pins, fuel consumption can be reduced. “Systematic application
of our new method could save more than 100 billion liters of fuel each year
over the next ten years,” says Prof. Andreas Leson from the Fraunhofer
Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden, referencing a study
that was published in the journal Tribology International in 2012.