Advanced Protective Composite Coatings and Films: Tribological Mechanisms and Applications

A special issue of Lubricants (ISSN 2075-4442).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 115

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: coatings; surface engineering; tribology; advanced manufacturing; materials degradation; materials characterization
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wear is one of the three principal failure modes (wear, corrosion, fatigue) of engineering components, causing substantial national economic losses in engineering applications. Therefore, technologies such as coatings, surface strengthening, and high-energy beam remanufacturing are crucial for overcoming wear-related issues in modern industries. Functional protective coating technology offers low input and high yield, and is highly environmentally friendly, making it it an indispensable component bridging new surface remanufacturing technologies and industry, thereby generating enormous economic and social benefits. The tribological characteristics of functional coatings are not inherent properties; rather, they depend on the entire tribological system and are influenced by numerous factors, including preparation methods, substrates, interlayers design, working environments (temperature, humidity, loads, oxygen, irradiation, vacuum, etc.).

In recent years, researchers have conducted numerous experiments on coatings to better understand the fundamental principles of tribocoatings for reducing friction and providing lubrication. The key to the research lies in the preparation methods, tribological characteristics, coating functionality, and degradation mechanisms of the advanced friction-reducing and lubricating coatings. These aspects not only enhance the lubricating and friction-reducing performance of the coatings but also extend the service life of coated parts, thereby reducing economic losses caused by friction and wear.

This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances in tribological coatings and provide researchers with a platform to publish their latest findings, reviews, methodologies, and engineering applications. Our goal is to advance the research landscape and tackle challenges related to wear reduction and lubrication in coatings. We welcome high-quality original research papers and reviews. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Preparation for tribological coatings (such as PVD, CVD, and high energy beam surface modification);
  • Classification of tribological coatings;
  • Microstructure, tribological behavior, and mechanical properties of friction-reducing and lubricating coatings;
  • Lubrication mechanisms of tribological coatings;
  • Wear mechanism of tribological coatings;
  • Materials characteristics of tribological coatings;
  • Functionality of tribological coatings (self-lubricating, self-adaptive, self-healing, self-organized);
  • Application of tribological coatings.

We thank you for your interest and look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Huatang Cao
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Lubricants is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • coatings
  • wear
  • friction
  • lubrication
  • surface modification
  • composites
  • materials degradation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 2309 KB  
Article
A Real-Time Dynamic Temperature Prediction Method for Double-Steel Plates in Wet Clutches
by Zhigang Zhang, Yongle Liu and Xiaoxia Yu
Lubricants 2025, 13(10), 425; https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants13100425 - 23 Sep 2025
Abstract
Wet clutches are extensively employed in automotive transmission systems due to their benefits of smooth shift and stable operation. However, existing methodologies have not yet thoroughly analyzed the real-time dynamic temperature distribution of wet clutches, and the heating and heat transfer mechanisms during [...] Read more.
Wet clutches are extensively employed in automotive transmission systems due to their benefits of smooth shift and stable operation. However, existing methodologies have not yet thoroughly analyzed the real-time dynamic temperature distribution of wet clutches, and the heating and heat transfer mechanisms during the sliding friction process of friction pairs remain underexplored. To address these gaps, this study proposes a real-time dynamic temperature prediction model for wet clutches and investigates the heat generation and transfer mechanisms in the friction pair sliding process. Specifically, the heat production and exchange dynamics of the wet clutch friction pair are systematically analyzed, followed by an examination of the real-time temperature variation of the separator plate under both high-slip and low-slip speed conditions. In the numerical simulations, the predicted temperature values from the proposed model demonstrate excellent agreement with experimental measurements, with dynamic peak temperature discrepancies remaining within ±2 °C. Furthermore, the validated temperature evolution laws are corroborated by experimental results obtained from a dedicated wet clutch performance test rig, thereby providing comprehensive empirical verification of the proposed real-time dynamic temperature prediction framework for wet clutch separator plates. In summary, the model can accurately capture the temperature variation characteristics of wet clutches under different operating conditions, providing a reliable basis for real-time thermal management of transmission systems. It holds significant practical value for optimizing cooling system design, extending clutch service life, and ensuring shifting quality in vehicles. Full article
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