E!4548 De-Amatech: Development of new actuators, materials and technology for the production of advanced pneumatic and hydraulic valves

摘要

The main goal of De_Amatech Eureka project is to develop new actuators andudnew materials, a^s well as technology, for the production of piston valves with much betteruddynamic properties and lesser energy consumption as compared to the traditional ones madeudof metals [1].udIn this work we report the results of our investigation on model systems advancedudmaterial/surface coating. Several types of advanced materials have been developed and testedudfor manufacturing of parts for pneumatic and hydraulic valves, and theil' basic mechanicaludproperties have been determined. Attempts have been made to use FTIR and micro-Ramanudspectroscopy for characterization of these systems aimed for the productioir of the alternativeudmaterials for piston valves. PVD magnetron sputtering metal targets were used in order toudfind best solution for the application of an appropriate thin coating on the sudace of theudsamples. Characterization of the abrasion resistance of the coated samples was perfotmedudusing internal methods developed by EUREKA partners. Testing of the surface microhardnessudof the coated materials was performed in order to evaluate the quality of theudcoatings.