Valve component with improved wear resistance
View Patent ↗A valve component for a faucet includes a substrate, a first layer of material provided above the substrate in an amount sufficient to improve abrasion resistance of the substrate, and a second layer of material provided above the first layer of material. The second layer of material includes amorphous diamond having sp 3 bonding of at least about 40%, a hardness of at least about 45 GPa, and an elastic modulus of at least about 400 GPa.
1. A valve component for a faucet comprising:
a substrate;
a first layer of material provided above the substrate in an amount sufficient to improve abrasion resistance of the substrate; and
a second layer of material provided above the first layer of material, the second layer of material comprising amorphous diamond having sp 3 bonding of at least about 40%, a hardness of at least about 45 GPa, and an elastic modulus of at least about 400 GPa.
2. The valve component of claim 1 , wherein the second layer of material has a coefficient of friction that is lower than that of diamond-like carbon.
3. The valve component of claim 1 , wherein the second layer of material has a hardness that is higher than that of diamond-like carbon.
4. The valve component of claim 1 , wherein the second layer of material consists essentially of carbon.
5. The valve component of claim 1 , wherein the first layer of material comprises diamond-like carbon, the diamond-like carbon having a hardness less than that of amorphous diamond.
6. The valve component of claim 1 , wherein the first layer of material comprises chromium nitride.
7. The valve component of claim 1 , wherein the first layer of material comprises a compound of at least one of chromium, titanium, tungsten, and zirconium, the compound comprising one of a nitride, a carbide, an oxide, and a carbo-nitride.
8. The valve component of claim 1 , wherein the first layer of material comprises a plurality of superlattice layers.
9. The valve component of claim 1 , wherein the first layer of material has a hardness that is greater than that of the substrate.
10. The valve component of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, aluminum, brass, titanium and zirconium.
11. The valve component of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises a material selected from the group consisting of a glass, a cermet, a glass containing material, a polymeric material and a composite material.
12. The valve component of claim 1 , wherein the second layer of material comprises a plurality of layers of different phases of diamond, wherein at least one of the plurality of layers comprises amorphous diamond.
13. The valve component of claim 1 , wherein the second layer of material has a thickness less than about 10 microns.
14. The valve component of claim 13 , wherein the first layer of material has a thickness of between approximately 500 nanometers and 6 microns.
15. The valve component of claim 1 , wherein the first layer of material includes a dopant of at least one of nitrogen and a metal.
16. The valve component of claim 1 , further comprising an adhesion-promoting layer provided between the first and second layers of material.
17. The valve component of claim 16 , wherein the adhesion-promoting layer comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of chromium, titanium, tungsten, and silicon.
18. A valve component for a faucet comprising:
a substrate;
a first layer of material provided above the substrate in an amount sufficient to improve abrasion resistance of the substrate, the first layer of material having a hardness greater than that of the substrate; and
a second layer of material provided above the first layer of material, the second layer of material comprising amorphous diamond having sp 3 bonding of at least about 40%, a hardness of at least about 45 GPa, and an elastic modulus of at least about 400 GPa;
wherein the second layer of material has a coefficient of friction that is lower than that of diamond-like carbon and a hardness that is higher than that of diamond-like carbon.
19. The valve component of claim 18 , wherein the second layer of material consists essentially of carbon.
20. The valve component of claim 18 , wherein the first layer of material comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of diamond-like carbon and chromium nitride.
21. The valve component of claim 18 , wherein the first layer of material comprises a compound of at least one of chromium, titanium, tungsten, and zirconium, the compound comprising one of a nitride, a carbide, an oxide, and a carbo-nitride.
22. The valve component of claim 18 , wherein the first layer of material comprises a plurality of superlattice layers.
23. The valve component of claim 18 , wherein the substrate comprises a material selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, aluminum, brass, titanium, zirconium, a glass, a cermet, a glass containing material, a polymeric material, and a composite material.
24. The valve component of claim 18 , wherein the second layer of material comprises a plurality of layers of different phases of diamond, wherein at least one of the plurality of layers comprises amorphous diamond.
25. The valve component of claim 18 , wherein the second layer of material has a thickness less than about 10 microns and the first layer of material has a thickness of between approximately 500 nanometers and 6 microns.
26. The valve component of claim 18 , wherein the first layer of material includes a dopant of at least one of nitrogen and a metal.
27. The valve component of claim 18 , further comprising an adhesion-promoting layer provided between the first and second layers of material.
28. The valve component of claim 27 , wherein the adhesion-promoting layer comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of chromium, titanium, tungsten, and silicon.