Self-Sensing and Self-Healing rGO–MOF Adaptive Coatings via Swirl-Enhanced HVOF for Intelligent Tribology

The most crucial aspect of the tribology interfaces of Industry 5.0 is the intelligent coating with the ability to sense mechanical degradation and automatically repair microstructural damage. The paper introduces a swirl-enhanced High-Velocity Oxy-Fuel (HVOF) procedure to produce reduced graphene oxide-metal-organic framework (rGO-MOF) reinforced ceramic finishes, which have real-time damage detection and Joule-induced micro-healing. Particle rotation through swirl enhances splat layering and decreases porosity, as well as increases continuity of reinforcement at long-range. The conductive rGOMOF network is used as a localized heat generator and a self-sensing route to heal a crack site. It has been shown to decrease wear-rate by 33 to 40 percent, exhibit a linear resistance-based sensing response, and close cracks with up to 68 percent efficiency after electrical stimulation. Swirl and splat densification hybrid reinforcement and swirl enhancement Hardness and elastic modulus are enhanced by 1822 percent. These findings validate that the proposed coating is a self-aware, adaptive tribological coating that has a strong aerospace, manufacturing, robotics, and precision machinery systems potential.