Conductive nanocomposite ceramics as tribological and electrical contact materials

¹ ABB Corporate Research, Västerås, Sweden
² Uppsala University, Department of Engineering Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
³ Uppsala University, Department of Materials Chemistry, Uppsala, Sweden
⁴ Linköping University, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Linköping, Sweden
⁵ Impact Coatings AB, Linköping, Sweden

Corresponding author: ake.oberg@se.abb.com

Received: 28 November 2008
Revised: 2 March 2009
Accepted: 28 April 2009
Published online: 22 December 2009

Abstract

Conductive ceramics have widespread use in many industrial applications. One important application for such materials is electrical contact technology. Over the last few years, a new class of nanocomposite ceramic thin film materials has been developed with contact coatings as one key objective. This family of materials has proven to combine the favorable contact properties of metals, such as low electrical and thermal resistivity, and high ductility, with those of ceramics such as low friction and wear rate, high chemical integrity and good high-temperature properties. Furthermore, it is also found that the tribological properties of such materials can be tailored by alloying thus creating a triboactive system. The technology is now industrialized, and a practical example of a contact system utilizing a nanocomposite coating for improved performance is given.