Tribological behaviors of spot-textured TiN coatings on M2 high-speed steel under boundary lubricated conditions

The effect of sliding duration on the tribological behaviors of spot patterned coatings was investigated. Two patterns based on physical vapor deposition （PVD） TiN coatings were used, such as, in-lined （IN） and staggered （ST） spots. The tribological behaviors were evaluated by using a Cameron-Plint wear test rig. The M2 steel discs deposited TiN coatings with IN and ST patterns slid against the ASSAB 17 tool steel pins at a speed of 0.23 m/s, in Shell Tellus T32 lubricant and were loaded with 900 N. The testing results on disc specimens with two types of PVD TiN spot patterns, all coated with a bias voltage of-180 V and slid for 4, 8 and 11 h respectively, were presented. The results revealed that the in-lined coatings possessed relatively better wear behaviors than the staggered pattern coatings. Mechanisms for such superiority and for the cause of peeling were discussed. A relevant design approach was suggested for the application of such patterned coatings.

Synthesis and characterization of carbon-coated cobalt ferrite nanoparticles

Cobalt ferrite nanoparticles（CFNPs） were prepared via a reverse micelle method. The CFNPs were subsequently coated with carbon shells by means of thermal chemical vapor deposition（TCVD）. In this process, acetylene gas（C2H2） was used as a carbon source and the coating was carried out for 1, 2, or 3 h at 750℃. The Ar/C2H2 ratio was 10：1. Heating during the TCVD process resulted in a NP core size that approached 30 nm; the thickness of the shell was less than 10 nm. The composition, structure, and morphology of the fabricated composites were characterized using X-ray diffraction, simultaneous thermal analysis, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and selected-area diffraction. A vibrating sample magnetometer was used to survey the samples＇ magnetic properties. The deposited carbon shell substantially affected the growth and magnetic properties of the CFNPs. Micro-Raman spectroscopy was used to study the carbon coating and revealed that the deposited carbon comprised graphite, multiwalled carbon nanotubes, and diamond-like carbon. With an increase in coating time, the intensity ratio between the amorphous and ordered peaks in the Raman spectra decreased, which indicated an increase in crystallite size.

Cyclic oxidation behavior of Cr-/Si-modified NiAlHf coatings on single-crystal superalloy produced by EB-PVD

The Cr-/Si-modified Ni Al Hf coatings were produced on single-crystal（SC） superalloy N5 by electron beam physical vapor deposition（EB-PVD）. The cyclic oxidation behavior of the coatings at 1100 °C was investigated. The microstructures of the oxide scales grown on the coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscope（SEM） with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrum（EDX）,electron probe micro-analyzer（EPMA） and X-ray diffraction（XRD）. The effects of Cr and Si on the cyclic oxidation behavior of the Ni Al Hf coatings were discussed. The addition of Si to the Ni Al Hf Cr coating not only reduces the oxidation rate but also enhances the oxide scale adherence.Owing to the addition of Si in the coating, the segregation of Cr and Mo beneath the oxide scale is effectively avoided,which contributes to enhancing oxide scale adherence.

A novel coated-particle design and fluidized-bed chemical vapor deposition preparation method for fuel-element identification in a nuclear reactor

Particle coating is an important method that can be used to expand particle-technology applications. Coated-particle design and preparation for nuclear fuel-element trajectory tracing were focused on in this paper. Particles that contain elemental cobalt were selected because of the characteristic gamma ray spectra of 60Co. A novel particle-structure design was proposed by coating particles that contain elemental cobalt with a high-density silicon-carbide （SiC） layer. During the coating process with the high-density SiC layer, cobalt metal was formed and diffused towards the coating, so an inner SiC–CoxSi layer was designed and obtained by fluidized-bed chemical vapor deposition coupled with in-situ chemical reaction. The coating layers were studied by X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy techniques. The chemical composition was also determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. The novel particle design can reduce the formation of metallic cobalt and prevent cobalt diffusion in the coating process, which can maintain safety in a nuclear reactor for an extended period. The experimental results also validated that coated particles maintain their structural integrity at extremely high temperatures （～1950 °C）, which meets the requirements of next-generation nuclear reactors.