Nanostructured Coating Used to Reduce Friction

This paper shows the experimental results obtained using a biomometic nano-coating applied to the slippers of an axial piston pump, to reduce the friction losses in order to improve the pump overall efficiency. Axial piston pumps and motors are widely used in heavy-duty applications and play a fundamental role in hydrostatic and power split drives. The mechanical power losses in hydraulic piston pumps come from the friction between parts in relative motion. The application of special surface treatments have been exploited in pioneering works in the past, trying different surface finishing or adding ceramic or heterogeneous metallic layers. The potential of structured coatings at nanoscale, with superhydrophobic and oleophobic characteristics, has never been exploited until now.