Shihao Yang

Water-lubricated seal interfaces are particularly vulnerable to fluid-film instability, which accelerates interfacial friction and wear and compromises the reliability and service life of underwater equipment. Here, a novel graphite-microcrystalline diamond (Graphite-MCD) soft–hard seal-face tribopair was proposed and systematically benchmarked against SiC-SiC and Graphite-SiC tribopairs under high-pressure water lubrication. Their sealing capacity, friction and wear behavior, and interfacial evolution were evaluated. The polished Graphite-MCD pair achieved the highest limiting PcV (90.73 MPa·m·s⁻¹) and the lowest wear rate, markedly outperforming the SiC-SiC and Graphite-SiC pairs. Multiscale interfacial characterization showed that the SiC-SiC pair failed primarily through adhesive instability after breakdown of the water film. Although the Graphite-SiC pair reduced interfacial shear resistance, sliding generated a continuous triboreaction layer accompanied by third-body wear. In contrast, the Graphite-MCD pair preserved interfacial structural integrity and suppressed the formation of an unstable continuous reaction layer and abundant abrasive debris. This behavior enabled a synergistic combination of a low-shear lubricating interface and a stiff load-bearing counterface. These results demonstrate that improving the limiting PcV of mechanical seals cannot be achieved by reducing the friction coefficient alone; rather, it requires simultaneous control of lubricity and interfacial stability. The findings provide a mechanistic basis for designing soft–hard tribopairs for high-pressure, water-lubricated mechanical seals.

In this study, a diamond/diamond-like carbon (DLC) composite coating was designed and fabricated utilizing a combination of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and magnetron-sputtering-assisted ion beam deposition. This was designed to cope with severe problems such as high wear due to insufficient lubrication under dry sliding conditions with a single diamond. The tribological properties of the fabricated coatings under dry conditions were comparatively evaluated. The results demonstrate that the diamond/DLC composite coatings significantly enhance the tribological performance relative to their single-layer diamond counterparts. Specifically, a 33.73% reduction in the average friction coefficient and a 39.55% decrease in the average wear rate were observed with the MCD (microcrystalline diamond/DLC coating. Similarly, a 16.85% reduction in the average friction coefficient and a 9.69% decrease in the average wear rate were observed with the UNCD (ultrananocrystalline diamond)/DLC coating. Analysis of the worn track morphology and structure elucidated the underlying friction mechanism. It is proposed that the DLC top layer reduces the surface roughness of the underlying diamond coating and mitigates abrasive wear in the dry environment. Furthermore, the presence of the DLC film promotes graphitization via phase transition during sliding, which enhances lubricity and facilitates the establishment of a smooth friction interface.