This paper presents an analysis of two surface treatments applied on the SAE 305 aluminium alloy: a diamond-like carbon coating and an anodisation process. The objective is to verify a potential wear resistance increase on the clamp-cable interface of an overhead transmission system. The evaluation of the coatings was carried out using micro-indentation technique, micro-abrasive wear tests and surface analysis. The parameters under study are hardness, roughness, wear volume and wear regime. The

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... diamond-like carbon coating showed a significant improvement in wear resistance, whereas the anodisation process led to the opposite effect. The porosity of the anodised coating was identified as a cause for the wear resistance decrease while the enhancement provided by the diamond-like carbon coating is attributed to its high hardness, low roughness and to the occurring three-body wear regime.