Formation of Robust Polydimethylsiloxane Coatings on the Flexspline Material and Mechanism of the Tribological Property Improvement

CaiXia Zhang; CaiXia Xu; ZhiFeng Liu; MengMeng Liu; HongYan Chu; KaiCheng Zhang

doi:10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c00645

Formation of Robust Polydimethylsiloxane Coatings on the Flexspline Material and Mechanism of the Tribological Property Improvement

Langmuir. 2022 Sep 6;38(35):10749-10759. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c00645. Epub 2022 Aug 24.

Authors

CaiXia Zhang^{1

2}, CaiXia Xu¹, ZhiFeng Liu^{1

3}, MengMeng Liu¹, HongYan Chu^{1

2}, KaiCheng Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Advanced Manufacturing and Intelligent Technology, Faculty of Materials and Manufacturing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.
² Beijing Key Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100022, China.
³ Key Laboratory of CNC Equipment Reliability, Ministry of Education, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Jilin University, Jilin 130012, China.

PMID: 36001401
DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c00645

Abstract

Flexspline frictional degradation causes failure of harmonic drives. This study focused on the improvement of the flexspline tribological properties. Flexspline material 40Cr was modified with a robust polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coating. Etched and chemically modified films were utilized to enhance the organic PDMS coating-substrate link strength. Comparing modified and unmodified 40Cr, the surface friction coefficient decreased by 82.2%. Moreover, the modified 40Cr exhibited excellent load-bearing properties. The effects of speed and lubricant-coating interaction on the tribological properties were verified. This study provides an essential theoretical basis for improving the tribological performance of harmonic drives via soft coating modification.