Cooperative effect of surface alloying and laser texturing on tribological performance of lubricated surfaces

The cooperative effect of laser surface texturing(LST) and double glow plasma surface alloying on tribological performance of lubricated sliding contacts was investigated.A Nd:YAG laser was used to generate microdimples on steel surfaces. Dimples with the diameter of 150μm and the depth of 30-35μm distributed circumferentially on the disc surface.The alloying element Cr was sputtered to the laser texturing steel surface by double glow plasma technique.A deep diffusion layer with a thickness of 30μm and a high hardness of HV900 was formed in this alloy.Tribological experiments of three types of samples(smooth,texturing and texturing+alloying) were conducted with a ring-on-disc tribometer to simulate the face seal.It is found that,in comparison with smooth steel surfaces,the laser texturing samples significantly reduce the friction coefficient.Moreover,the lower wear rate of the sample treated with the two surface techniques is observed.

Study on microstructure and properties of Mg-alloy surface alloying layer fabricated by EPC

AZ91D surface alloying was investigated through evaporative pattern casting （EPC） technology. Aluminum powder （0.074 to 0.104 mm） was used as the alloying element in the experiment. An alloying coating with excellent properties was fabricated, which mainly consisted of adhesive, co-solvent, suspending agent and other ingredients according to desired proportion. Mg-alloy melt was poured under certain temperature and the degree of negative pressure. The microstructure of the surface layer was examined by means of scanning electron microscopy. It has been found that a large volume fraction of network new phases were formed on the Mg-alloy surface, the thickness of the alloying surface layer increased with the alloying coating increasing from 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm, and the microstructure became compact. Energy dispersive X-ray （EDX） analysis was used to determine the chemical composition of the new phases. It showed that the new phases mainly consist of/3-MglTAI12, in addition to a small quantity of inter-metallic compounds and oxides. A micro-hardness test and a corrosion experiment to simulate the effect of sea water were performed. The result indicated that the highest micro-hardness of the surface reaches three times that of the matrix. The corrosion rate of alloying samples declines to about a fifth of that of the as-cast AZ91D specimen.

Tribological Properties of Dimpled Surface Alloying Layer on Carbon Steel

The effect of surface structure and coating on tribological properties of 45^# carbon steel disc was analyzed. A Nd：YAG laser was used to generate rnicrodirnples on steel surfaces. Dimples with diameter of 150 rn and depth of 50 rn were distributed in an orbicular array on disc surface. Then the alloying element Mo was sputtered to 45# carbon steel disc surface by means of double glow plasma technology. Diffusion Mo alloying layer with 30min thickness and high hardness up to 0.025 was formed on the disc surface. Tribological experiments of three types samples （smooth, texturing and texturing＋alloying） were conducted with a pin-on-disc tribometer. It is found that the dimpled-samples are most effective for reducing friction in comparison with smooth steel surthces, improving the lubricating state from boundary to hydrodynamic region.

Microstructure and high-temperature wear properties of in situ TiC composite coatings by plasma transferred arc surface alloying on gray cast iron

In this work, an in situ synthesized TiC-reinforced metal matrix composite （MMC） coating of approximately 350-400μm thickness was fabricated on a gray cast iron （GCI） substrate by plasma transferred arc （PTA） surface alloying of Ti-Fe alloy powder. Microhard- ness tests showed that the surface hardness increased approximately four-fold after the alloying treatment. The microstructure of the MMC coating was mainly composed of residual austenite, acicular martensite, and eutectic ledeburite. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and X-ray diffraction analyzes revealed that the in situ TiC particles, which were formed by direct reaction of Ti with carbon originally contained in the GCI, was uniformly distributed at the boundary of residual anstenite in the alloying zone. Pin-on-disc high-temperature wear tests were performed on samples both with and without the MMC coating at room temperature and at elevated temperatures （473 K and 623 K）, and the wear behavior and mechanism were investigated. The results showed that, after the PTA alloying treatment, the wear resistance of the sam- ples improved significantly. On the basis of our analysis of the composite coatings by optical microscopy, SEM with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and microhardness measurements, we attributed this improvement of wear resistance to the transformation of the microstruc- ture and to the presence of TiC particles.

Plasma Niobium Surface Alloying of Pure Titanium and its Oxidation at 900 ℃

A niobium-modified layer on pure titanium surface was obtained by means of double glow plasma surface alloying technique. The modified layer was uniform, continuous, compact and well adhered to the substrate. The niobium composition in the modified layer decreased gradually from the surface to the substrate. The oxidation behavior of the niobium-modified layer was investigated and com- pared with the untreated surface at 900 ~C for 100 h. Characterization of the layers was performed using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope, respectively. The test results show that the oxidation behavior of pure titanium was improved by niobium alloying process. Niobium has a positive influence on the oxidation resistance.

EVOLUTION OF MICROSTRUCTURE OF LASER SURFACE ALLOYING OF γ TiAi ALLOY WITH NITROGEN

Laser surface alloying of γ TiAl alloy with nitrogen was studied under the constant protective nitrogen current (20l /min). The experimental results shown that the surface multi layers formed with experimental parameters could be up to 600μm depth; it consists of TiN,Ti 2AlN,α 2 and γ phases, without AlN, and the irregular coarse continuous “flow” line,dendrite,needle and granular nitrides disperse on the fine dendrite casting α 2 and γ phases substrate. The microstructure and compositions in the nitiding layer were determined and analyzed by SEM and EPMA and the mechanism for the formation of microstructure in the nitriding layer was also discussed.

Oxidation behavior of niobized TiAl by plasma surface alloying

Plasma surface alloying of element Nb in TiAl-based alloys and the oxidation behavior were studied. The composition and microstructure of the surface alloyed layers were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy （SEM）,energy dispersive X-ray analysis （EDX）,and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The experimental results indicate that the diffusion layers are formed on the TiAl substrate during the plasma niobizing process. The result from oxidation resistance investigation shows that plasma niobizing greatly improves the oxidation resistance of TiAl compared with the untreated TiAl. The role of element Nb for improving the oxidation resistance is considered to be achieved by strengthening the activity of Al,which is induced by the plasma niobizing process.

Effects of C,N-Codoped on the Corrosion Resistance of TiO_2 Films Prepared by Plasma Surface Alloying and Thermal Oxidation Duplex Process

C,N-codoped TiO 2 films have been deposited onto stainless steel substrates using plasma surface alloying and thermal oxidation duplex process.Composition analysis shows that the films shield the substrates entirely.The TiO 2 films are anatase in structure as characterized by X-ray diffraction.The electrochemical measurements show that the equilibrium corrosion potential positively shifts from-0.275 eV for bare stainless steel to-0.267 eV for C,N-codoped TiO 2 coated stainless steel,and the corrosion current density decreases from 1.3×10-5 A/cm2 to 4.1×10-6 A/cm2.The corrosion resistance obtained by electrochemistry noise also reveals that the C,N-codoped TiO 2 films provide good protection for stainless steel against corrosion in stimulated body fluid.The above results indicate that C,N-codoped TiO 2 films deposited by plasma surface alloying and thermal oxidation duplex process are effective in protecting stainless steel from corrosion.

Microstructure and Properties of Laser Surface Alloying 304 Stainless Steel with Si

Silicon was added to the surface of 304 stain- less steel by laser melting the sprayed preplaced Si powders.The optical microscopy,X-ray diffraction and EPMA were employed to investigate the microstructure and chemical composition of the laser surface alloyed layer.The hardness of the al- loyed layer was measured by microhardness test and wear resistance was evaluated by scratch test. Corrosion resistance of laser alloyed sample was studied in 1N H_2SO_4+0.1N NaCl and 0.5N HCl+0.5N NaCl aqueous solutions.A microcrystalline intermetallic compound coating with smooth surface and good chemical homogeneity without porosity and crack is ob- tained.The hardness is about 720 HV.The wear re- sistance is 2 times better than that of the substrate. The corrosion resistance of the laser alloyed sample is much better than that of 304 stainless steel sample.

Mg alloy surface alloying layer fabricated through evaporative pattern casting technology

The influencing factors of surface alloying layer by evaporative pattern casting technology were investigated.A certain thickness alloying layer was formed on the surface of Mg-alloy matrix when the pouring temperature was 780°C with different vacuum degree and alloying powder size.The surface layer microstructure,micro area composition of the new phase formed on the matrix and the composition characteristics on the surface layer were examined by SEM and element scanning.The results show that the content of aluminum increases greatly on the surface layer.The micro-hardness of alloyed layer has a more obvious increase compared with that of the matrix.The size of alloying element and the vacuum degree are the key factors influencing the alloying layer,with the increase of element powder size from 0.074 to 0.15 mm and vacuum degree from 0.04 to 0.06 MPa,the surface alloying effect becomes better.

HIGH-CURRENT PULSED ELECTRON BEAM: RAPID SURFACE ALLOYING AND WEAR RESISTANCE IMPROVEMENT

The present paper reports the rapid surface alloying induced by the bombardment of high-current pulsed electron beam. Two kinds of substrate materials were examined to show this effect. The first sample was a pure Al metal pre-coated with fine carbon powders prior to the bombardment, and the second alloy is the D2-Crl2MolVl mould steel pre-coated with Cr, Ti, and TiN powders. The surface elements diffuse about several micrometers into the substrate materials only after several bombardments. Tribological behaviors of these samples were characterized and significant improvement in wear resistance was found. Finally, a TEM analysis reveals the presence of stress waves generated by coupled thermal and stress fields, which was considered as the main cause of the enhanced properties.

Effect of Counterface Materials on Friction and Wear Behavior of Double Glow Glasma Discharge Surface Alloying on Ti22Al25Nb Alloy

Samples of surface chromising layer were prepared by the double glow plasma discharge technique. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS） analysis of dif-ferent elements confirmed the formation of chrome in the layer. Their tribological properties were investigated by pin-on-disk tribometer. Silicon nitride, GCr15, and nickel-based alloy were selected as counterface materials. Results indicated that the lowest friction coefficients and wear rate were ob-tained when substrate and chromising layer against nickel-based alloy, and tribological properties of chromising layer were better than those of substrate. The highest friction and wear rate were samples against silicon nitride alloys. In the case of three rubbing pairs, the unchangeable materials against different hardness counterfaces leaded to different wear mechanisms. Samples against silicon nitride exhibited abrasive mechanism, and when GCr15 and nickel-based alloy were used as counterface, transfer film and glaze layer formed on the contact surface, which played the main role in decreasing friction and wear.

The Diagnosis of Plasma Parameters in Surface Alloying Technique by Optical Emission Spectrometry

Electron density （Ne） in a glow discharge plasma for the surface alloying technique is diagnosed by optical emission spectrometry （OES）. With CH4 as the feeding gas, Ne is obtained by comparing the Hβ spectrum according to the Stark broadening effect. It is noticed that Ne varies with the working pressures （30 Pa to 70 Pa） and cathode voltages （500 V to 1000 V）, respectively. Due to an abnormal glow discharge, Ne is between 1. 71 × 10^15 /cm^3 to 6.64 × 10^15 /cm^3 and increases rapidly with working gas pressures and cathode voltages. The results show that OES is a useful method to measure the plasma parameters in a surface alloying glow discharge plasma.

Optimizing Domain Distribution of Grain Oriented Silicon Steel by Using Antimony as the Laser Surface Alloying Element

For reducing the core loss of grain oriented silicon steel and improving its aging property, a new method, the LLSA by using Sb as the laser surface alloying element, was investigated, and at proper technique conditions rather good result was obtained.

Enhancement of mechanical and tribological performance of Ti-6Al-4V alloy by laser surface alloying with Inconel 625 and SiC precursor materials

This study focused on producing metal matrix composite(MMC)coatings on Ti–6Al–4V alloy through laser surface alloying using a novel combination of Inconel 625 and SiC precursor materials.Various ratios of alloying powders were examined to evaluate surface properties such as microhardness,wear resistance,and friction coefficient,along with analyzing the phase composition and microstructure of the coatings.The in situ synthesized MMC coatings exhibited the presence ofα-Ti,NiTi,NiTi_(2),and TiC phases.Additionally,Ti_(5)Si_(3)andα-Ti/Ti_(5)Si_(3)eutectic structures were observed when the SiC content exceeded 20%.In comparison to the titanium substrate,the MMC coating significantly enhanced microhardness by over threefold and reduced wear by 95%.However,it was crucial to carefully select the appropriate combination of alloying powders to avoid a substantial decrease in friction performance and excessive formation of cracks.Through a comparative analysis of experimental results,the optimal precursor material composition was identified as 85%Inconel 625 and 15%SiC.This study demonstrated the effective utilization of Inconel 625 and SiC alloying materials to enhance the surface properties of titanium alloys,thereby expanding their application in challenging environments.

Effect of surface diffusion alloying on erosion wear property of ZM5 magnesium alloy

Specimens of ZM5 magnesium alloy were dipped into the mixed powder of Al and Zn at （390±5） ℃ for 8 h in argon gas protective environment and subjected to surface diffusion alloying processing （SDAP）. The erosion wear behaviors of ZM5 magnesium alloy before and after SDAP were investigated in two different erosion wear environments： oil and quartz environment; tap water and quartz environment. The surfaces of erosion wear specimens exhibited cutting scratch grooves in the oil and quartz environment. Corrosive attack was weak and cutting wear mechanism was responsible for the mass loss. When the erosion wear medium was changed to tap water and quartz environment, corrosion pits and cracks were obviously observed after erosion wear test. The corrosion from tap water and the scour from quartz intensified mass losses. Compared with the untreated specimens, the application of SDAP improved the erosion wear resistance in the same environment.

Influence of yttrium on laser surface alloying organization of 40Cr steel

In order to improve the performance of the metal rollers, Mo＋Y2O3 alloy powders were used to coat uniformly on the surface of 40Cr steel roller substrates for the laser surface alloying treatment by a CO2 laser, The results showed that many good consequences were ob- tained after adding the rare earth oxide Y2O3. The crystal grains of the alloy layer were significantly refined. The boundary of crystal grains was strengthened. The unifomaity and density of the microstructure were increased. The hardness and wearing resistance of the alloy layer were considerably improved. The valence electron structure analysis of the alloy layer was made by the empirical electron theory of solids and molecules （EET）. The calculated results demonstrated that Y should be mixed in the first stage and Fe should be in the eighteenth hybrid bands. The analyzed outcomes illustrated that the electron theory of the solid solution shows the strengthening effect on the alloying layer, which has enhanced bond and confirrned the experimental results.

Microstructure and Wear Resistance of N-Doped TiO_2 Coatings Grown on Stainless Steel by Plasma Surface Alloying Technology

N doped TiO2 （N-TiO2） coatings were obtained by oxidation of titanium nitride coatings, which were pre pared by the plasma surface alloying technique on stainless steel （SS）. The microstructure of N-TiO2 coatings was characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, glow discharge optical emission spectrometry （GDOES）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, respectively. Ball-on-disc sliding wear was applied to test and compare the tribological behaviors of the coatings and substrate. XRD patterns showed that anatase type TiO2 existed in the coatings after oxidation. GDOES showed that the resultant coatings had a layered structure, comprising of N-TiO2 layer at the top and a diffusion-type interface. Such a hybrid coatings system showed good adhesion with the substrate. According to XPS, residual N atoms partially occupied O atom sites in the TiO2 lattice. Uniform, continuous and compact coatings were observed by SEM images of coatings after oxidation. Under a load of 7.6 N, the coefficient of friction was in the range of 0.27--0.38 for the N-TiO2/Al2O3 systems and the wear rate of the coatings was only one-fourteenth of that for untreated 316L SS. N-TiO2 coatings displayed much better wear resistance and antifrietion performance than SS substrate.

Effects of TIG Surface Melting and Chromium Surface Alloying on Microstructure, Hardness and Wear Resistance of ADI

Microhardness and wear resistance of different rnicrostructures formed by TIG （tungsten inert gas） surface melting and chromium surface alloying （using ferrochromium） of ADI （austempered ductile iron） were studied. Surface melting resulted in the formation of a ledeburitic structure in the melted zone, and this structure has a hardness up to 896 HV as compared to 360 HV in that of ADI. Moreover, chromium surface alloying resulted in the formation of different structures including： （1） a hypereutectic structure consisting of primary （Fe,Cr）7C3 carbides and a eutectic matrix of transformed austenite （into martensite and retained austenite）, as also （Fe,Cr）7C3 carbides, with a hardness of 1078 HV; （2） a hypoeutectic structure consisting of the same eutectic along with transformed primary austenite, with a hardness of 755 HV; and （3） a ledeburitic structure with an acicular morphology and a hardness of 896 HV. The results also indicated that surface melting reduced the wear rate of the ADI by approximately 37%. Also, chromium surface alloying yielded a superior wear behavior and reduced the wear rate of the treated specimens by about 38% and 70%, depending on the structures formed.

Laser Surface Alloying of Low Carbon Steel Using High-entropy Alloy Precursors

The Al0. 5CoCrCuFeNi high-entropy alloy powders with simple face-centered-cubic （FCC） solid solution structure were introduced into the surface layer of a low carbon steel during laser surface alloying. A high performance surface layer with extremely fine martensite as the dominant phase was obtained, resulting in a great improvement in microhardness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. The great enhancement of microhardness and wear resistance of the laser alloyed layer is mainly due to the formation of extremely fine martensite hard phase, the solid solution strengthening of the alloying e!.ements in supersaturated a-Fe solid solution, and the existence of size effect and strain effect under rapid solidification. The enhancement of corrosion resistance is due to the alloying of Al, Co, Ni, Cr and Cu in the laser alloyed layer.