Driving Efficiency and Sustainability—Interface Functional Materials
Research Background
● TECO technology imparts high wear-resistant and low-friction ceramic materials onto the surface of lightweight substrates—such as aluminum-based materials that have poor tribological performance—enabling overall machine weight reduction and cost savings while ensuring superior wear resistance and friction reduction in friction-prone areas. Moreover, this technology provides strong bonding between the substrate and the ceramic layer.
● As a unique innovation in the field of surface engineering, TECO technology breakthroughingly addresses the industry challenge of the “performance-versus-weight dilemma” inherent in lightweight metal materials. This technology leverages a synergistic electrochemical-thermodynamic effect to in-situ generate metallurgically bonded ceramic functional layers on the surfaces of lightweight alloy substrates such as aluminum, magnesium, and titanium.
● Providing the equipment manufacturing industry with a “perfect balance between lightweight design and high performance,” which, while ensuring the service life of friction pairs, also boosts system energy efficiency by 15%–20%, thereby supporting industrial upgrading in pursuit of carbon neutrality goals.
The ceramic coating applied to aluminum alloy surfaces boasts ultra-high strength, exceptional hardness, and adhesion strength comparable to that of the substrate itself. It can be used in applications such as cylinder walls in internal combustion engines, compressor cylinders, and inner walls of piston-type hydraulic cylinders, helping to reduce friction and wear and thereby improving fuel efficiency. Meanwhile, TECO’s surface protection offers outstanding corrosion resistance, enabling it to easily handle even the harshest environmental conditions.
01
Performance leap
Transform lightweight substrates with insufficient tribological performance into composite materials that combine high wear resistance (with wear resistance improved by more than five times) and a low coefficient of friction (friction reduction effect reaching up to 40%), thereby meeting the demands of extreme operating conditions such as high speed, heavy load, and dry friction.
02
Lightweight empowerment
By replacing traditional plating/coating solutions, while ensuring the functional layer thickness remains ≤50 μm, we achieve overall device lightweighting and cost optimization, with a weight reduction ratio for the entire machine reaching 20% to 35%.
03
Structural Reliability
Through atomic-level diffusion bonding between the ceramic phase and the metal matrix, a gradient composite structure with no interfacial defects is formed. The bonding strength exceeds 25 MPa, and the structure withstands over 100,000 cycles of cyclic fatigue testing without any delamination.
Friction Reduction and Wear Resistance—Surface Treatment for Piston-Type Aluminum Alloy Cylinder Blocks
TECO features enhanced high-hardness, low-friction surfaces, reducing fuel consumption and improving performance in harsh environments.
Stable roughness
Enhance the hard crystalline phase
Improve hardness distribution
The friction coefficient of TECO-coated cylinder liners remains stable at a low level even under prolonged testing. Under oil-bath lubrication, in low-temperature conditions (24 ± 1℃), the friction coefficient is reduced by 23.2% to 38.4% compared to Ni-SiC-coated liners; in high-temperature conditions (90 ± 5℃), the friction coefficient is reduced by approximately 14.2% to 31.5%. Overall, this coating not only reduces fuel consumption but also enhances engine output power. At an operating speed of 3,000 rpm, fuel consumption can be reduced by up to ~12%, while power output increases by nearly ~13%.
Corrosion-resistant – Overhead Line Suspension Clamp (High-speed Railway Network)
Rust formation on aluminum components such as aluminum alloy track network locators in coastal, humid, and hot environments.
a. TECO b. MAO c. Anodizing
After 240 hours of CASS testing, TECO products (a) demonstrated a significant corrosion resistance advantage over commercially available MAO and anodizing competitors.
A product series covering castings, forgings, and aluminum alloys with various elemental compositions.
Tested by the China Railway Inspection and Certification Center/National Railway Product Quality Inspection and Testing Center;
The adhesion strength of the coating has been tested and found to reach approximately 70 MPa, significantly exceeding the standard requirement of ≥28 MPa typically specified for coatings.
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