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

SBIR第一阶段项目旨在为汽车内燃机中使用的铝合金开发一种新型表面改性技术，以提高耐摩擦性。由于部件磨损而导致的相关能量损失直接影响汽车的燃油效率。使用的工艺是基于CO2激光的技术，结合流化床方法，用纳米金刚石（n-D）颗粒涂覆部件表面，以产生低摩擦的类金刚石碳（DLC）膜。该技术的新奇在于，它允许n-D快速转变为DLC，并允许在轻质基材上沉积具有优异附着力的厚涂层。该技术的更广泛影响包括能够提高燃油效率，从而减少有毒成分的废气排放，并由于减少运动部件的磨损而延长寿命。这项技术，如果成功地开发和商业化，将是一个使能技术的应用在医疗设备，微电子，MEMS，信息存储等的本科生和研究生在该计划的纳入将使学生了解的新方法，将课堂知识应用到现实生活中的先进工程部件，与潜在的好处，对环境污染，减少能源和材料浪费。

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.