SBIR Phase I: Advanced Materials - Nano-diamond Coatings for Light-Weight Engine Components

该SBIR一期项目旨在开发一种新型的汽车内燃机用铝合金表面改性技术，以提高耐磨性。零部件磨损引起的能量损失直接影响汽车的燃油效率。将使用的工艺是基于CO2激光的技术，结合流态化方法在部件表面涂覆纳米金刚石(n-D)颗粒，以创建低摩擦的类金刚石(DLC)薄膜。这项技术的独特之处在于，它允许将n-D快速转化为DLC，并允许沉积与轻质基材具有良好附着力的厚涂层。该技术的更广泛影响包括提高燃油效率的能力，从而减少有毒部件的排放，并由于减少运动部件的磨损而延长使用寿命。这项技术如果成功开发并商业化，将成为医疗器械、微电子、MEMS、信息存储等领域的应用技术。将本科生和研究生纳入该项目将使学生了解如何将课堂知识应用于现实生活中的先进工程部件的新方法，从而潜在地减少环境污染、能源和材料浪费。

This SBIR Phase I project aims to develop a novel surface modification technology for aluminum alloys used in automotive internal combustion engines to improve resistance to friction. The related energy loss due to wear of components directly impacts the fuel efficiency of the automobile. The process to be used is a CO2-laser-based technique, combined with a fluidized-bed method to coat the component surfaces with nano-diamond (n-D)particles, in order to create a low-friction diamondlike carbon (DLC) film. The specific novelty is the technique is that it allows rapid transition of n-D into DLC, and permits deposition of thick coatings with excellent adhesion to the lightweight substrates.The broader impacts of this technology include the ability to improve the fuel efficiency, and therefore reduction in exhaust emissions of toxic components and increased lifetime due to reduction in the wear of moving parts. This technology, if successfully developed and commercialized, will be an enabling technology for applications in medical devices, microelectronics, MEMS, information storage, etc. The inclusion of undergraduate and graduate students in the program will allow the students to learn about the novel ways of applying classroom knowledge into real-life advanced engineering components, with a potential benefit to the environmental pollution, energy and materials waste reduction.