Influence of magnetic field on microstructure and properties of Ni60 plasma surfacing layer

In order to control the shape and distribution of hardening phase in plasma surfacing deposit, a longitudinal DC magnetic field was applied during plasma surfacing of nickel-based alloy Ni60. Hardness, wearing resistance, microstructure and phase coastitnent of the plasma surfacing layer were investigated. It was revealed that the hardness and wearing resistance of the Ni60 plasma surfacing layer could gotten significantly enhanced through introducing magnetic field. The mechanical properties of the surfacing deposit were optimal when magnetic field current is 1 A. The metallurgical analysis showed that the microstructure of the Ni60 plasma surfacing layer was mainly composed of γ solid solution and some hardening phase particles such as Cr7C3 with an application of the magnetic field.

FORMATION OF GRADIENT COATING OF Fe-BASED ALLOY WITH RARE EARTHS BY PLASMA SURFACING

A gradient coating of Fe-based alloy was manufactured with rare earths (RE) by plasma surfacing on Q235 steel substrate. The coatings were studied by using X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscope(SEM), differential thermal analyzer(DTA), and electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA). The results show that the phases of the two kinds of coatings(with and without RE) both include α-Fe, Fe7C3, Fe3C, Cr2B, Fe2B and FeB. The microstructure of F314 coating is mainly hypereutectic, the pro-phases Cr7C3 and Cr2B are loose, crassi, spiculate and contain microcracks. The brittleness of the coating is high, and the average hardness is 787 HV. When 0.8wt% RE was added into the F314 alloy, the microstructure varied from hypoeutectic to hypereutectic continuously, The hardness appears as gradient distribution with the highest value of 773 HV, meanwhile, the brittleness decreases significantly. The formation of gradient structure depends on the fallowing factors: (i) the conversion of RE. The addition of RE lowers the elements point and Fe-C eutectic temperature, thus the base metal melting acutely. (ii) the heating of plasma arc. Graded temperature results in directional solidification, thus the gradient structure forms easily. The main reasons for the hardness decrease with RE addition in the alloy are the ratio of hard phase lowering and the hardness of the hard phase decreasing.

Preparation and Characterization of Ni60-Cr_3C_2-WC/TiC Plasma Welding Surfacing Layer

Using plasma build-up welding technology, Ni60, WC, Cr3C2, and TiC composite powders were clad on the surface of the substrate in a certain proportion according to the metallurgical bonding method to increase the bond strength between the coating and the substrate. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy were used to observe the microstructure of the surfacing layer and the chemical composition of the sample. The hardness and wear resistance of the surfacing layer were tested and analyzed by the HV-1000 hardness tester and the impact wear device. The results showed that in the microstructure, fishbone, spider-web, and floral-like structures appeared in the surfacing layer. When the micro-hardness was tested, the depth of the indentation reflected the hardness of the surfacing layer. When analyzing wear resistance, the amount of wear increases with time.

Thermal behavior of B_4 Cparticles under plasma arc powder surfacing condition

The effect of plasma arc powder surfacing process on the amount of B4C particles in the coating and the thermal behavior of B4C particles in different surfacing stages has been investigated.The results showed that the feeding rate of B4C partiles is the most important factor affecting the amount of B4C particles in the surfacing coating among all the surfacing parameters,and the most part of B4C Particles in the coating is nto the remainders of original solid B4C particles,but the consolidation products of the unmelted liquid B4C globules in the pool.The results also showed that the B4C particles would not be melted in the plasma arc column, their melting process mainly takes place in the anode spot region on the surface of the pool when surfacing current is less than 200A.

Application of orthogonal design in the experiment of plasma arc powder surfacing technology

In this paper, the influence of plasma arc powder surfacing technical parameters on the property of layer is defined using the orthogonal design. By the orthogonal polynomial regression, when plasma arc powder surfacing is used on the surface of the X65 steel plate with the Fe-07 alloy powder, the optimum technical parameters are the following: I=180～190 A , G=41.5 g/min , v=102 mm/min , T_0=350 ℃ , Q_l=280 L/h , Q_s=400 L/h . Further, analysis of the cracking test data showed that the cracking preheat temperature is 350 ℃ .

Multifunction Plasma Arc Equipment

A new type of plasma arc equipment with four functions including plasma arc welding, cutting, spraying and a surfacing process was designed and manufactured. To obtain good processing stability and multifunction integration, a silicon controlled rectifier (SCR), and the programmable controller (PC) were introduced. The operation of this new machine shows that it has the advantage of simple circuit design, flexible control pattern, low fault rate and easy maintenance.

Effect of Low-Pressure Nitrogen DC Plasma Treatment on the Surface Properties of Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene, Poly (Methyl Methacrylate) and Polyvinyl Chloride Films

In this study, commercial biaxially oriented polypropylene （BOPP）, polyvinyl chlo- ride （PVC） and poly （methyl methacrylate） （PMMA） films were treated with nitrogen plasma over different exposure times in a Pyrex tube surrounded by a DC variable magnetic field. The chemi- cal changes that appeared on the surface of the samples were investigated using Fourier transform infrared （FT4R） spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared （ATR- FTIR） spectroscopy after treatment for 2 min, 4 min and 6 rain in a nitrogen plasma chamber. Effects of the plasma treatment on the surface topographies and contact angles of the untreated and plasma treated films were also analyzed by atomic force microscopy （AFM） and a contact angle measuring system. The results show that the plasma treated films become more hydrophilic with an enhanced wettability due to the formation of some new polar groups on the surface of the treated films. Moreover, at higher exposure times, the total surface energy in all treated films increased while a reduction in contact angle occurred. The behavior of surface roughness in each sample was completely different at higher exposure times.

Effect of Cold Plasma Treatment on the Mechanical Properties of RTM Composites

Cold plasma technology was used to treat the surface of carbon fibers braided by PET in this paper and SEM was used to analyze the fracture microstructure of composite interlaminar shear stress (ILSS). The result shows that the surface polarity of carbon fibers was modified by cold plasma treatment, which increases the impregnation of PET braided carbon fibers during the process of resin flowing, improves the interfacial properties of RTM composites, and therefore enhances the mechanical properties of the KTM composites.

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.

Self-consistent three-dimensional modeling and simulation of large-scale rectangular surface-wave plasma source

A self-consistent and three-dimensional （3D） model of argon discharge in a large-scale rectangular surface-wave plasma （SWP） source is presented in this paper, which is based on the finite-difference time-domain （FDTD） approximation to Maxwell＇s equations self-consistently coupled with a fluid model for plasma evolution. The discharge characteristics at an input microwave power of 1200 W and a filling gas pressure of 50 Pa in the SWP source are analyzed. The simulation shows the time evolution of deposited power density at different stages, and the 3D distributions of electron density and temperature in the chamber at steady state. In addition, the results show that there is a peak of plasma density approximately at a vertical distance of 3 cm from the quartz window.

The Effect of Plasma Surface Treatment on a Porous Green Ceramic Film with Polymeric Binder Materials

To reduce time and energy during thermal binder removal in the ceramic process, plasma surface treatment was applied before the lamination process.The adhesion strength in the lamination films was enhanced by oxidative plasma treatment of the porous green ceramic film with polymeric binding materials.The oxygen plasma characteristics were investigated through experimental parameters and weight loss analysis.The experimental results revealed the need for parameter analysis,including gas material,process time,flow rate,and discharge power,and supported a mechanism consisting of competing ablation and deposition processes.The weight loss analysis was conducted for cyclic plasma treatment rather than continuous plasma treatment for the purpose of improving the film’s permeability by suppressing deposition of the ablated species.The cyclic plasma treatment improved the permeability compared to the continuous plasma treatment.

Anti-oxidation characteristics of Cr-coating on surface of Ti-45Al-8.5Nb alloy by plasma surface metallurgy technique

TiAl-based alloys have received extensive attention recently due to their excellent properties. However, the weak oxidation resistance at temperatures higher than 800℃ can limit their further high-temperature structural applications.To improve the oxidation resistance of a high-Nb-content γ-TiAl alloy(Ti-45 Al-8.5 Nb, in units of at.%), a chromium(Cr)coating is prepared by using the plasma surface alloying technique, separately, at 800℃ and 1000℃. The x-ray diffraction(XRD) patterns reveal that an oxide surface layer consisting of Cr2O3, Al2O3, and TiO2 is produced on the Cr-coated Nb containing γ-TiAl substrates during the initial oxidation. However, the Cr2O3 is dominated in the oxide surface layer after being isothermally oxidized for 300 h. The oxidation kinetic curves are composed of a parabolic law stage(≤ 90 h) and a biquadratic law stage(≥ 90 h), fit by weight–gain curves. Due to diffusion in the fabrication process and oxidation process,the Cr-coated specimens have an adhesion force after being isothermally oxidized, specifically 69 N for a specimen after oxidation for 300 h. These results demonstrate that the Cr coating enhances the oxidation resistance and adhesion of a Ti-45 Al-8.5 Nb alloy, which may provide a new feasible scheme for designing oxidation protection layers.

Large area planar plasma sustained by surface microwave

In this paper, we show theoretically and experimentally that the large-area planar plasma with high density and good uniformity can be sustained by a surface microwave when the electron density is over-dense. From the experimental results we find that the nonuniformities in azimuthal plasma density and electron temperature have been greatly improved and in particular the nonuniformity is less than 10% when the gas pressure is 30 Pa. By improving the antenna shape, enhancing the microwave power and choosing the appropriate gas pressure, the large area planar plasma with high density can be produced.

A numerical simulation of surface wave excitation in a rectangular planar-type plasma source

The principle of surface wave plasma discharge in a rectangular cavity is introduced simply based on surface plasmon polariton theory. The distribution of surface-wave electric field at the interface of the plasma-dielectric slab is investigated by using the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method （3D-FDTD） with different slotantenna structures. And the experimental image of discharge with a novel slot antenna array and the simulation of the electric field with this slot antenna array are both displayed. Combined with the distribution of surface wave excitation and experimental results, the numerical simulation performed by using 3D-FDTD is shown to be a useful tool in the computer-aided antenna design for large area planar-type surface-wave plasma sources.

Effect of RE on Cracking Resistance and Microstructure of Coatings Formed by Plasma Jet Surface Metallurgy

Metallurgical coatings of iron-based alloy with RE oxide were prepared on low-carbon steel using a home-made DC-plasma jet surface metallurgy equipment. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) microanalysis and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) were employed to observe the microstructure and analyze the chemical compositions of coatings. And the cracking susceptibility of coatings was studied in terms of RE addition. Experimental results show that addition of RE oxide (La_2O_3 and CeO_2) can refine and purify the microstructure, and can reduce the cracking susceptibility of coatings.

Three-Dimensional Modeling of Argon Discharge Characteristics of a Large-Scale Rectangular Surface-Wave Plasma Source

A three-dimensional fluid model for surface-wave plasma （SWP）, to investigate the discharge characteristics of a rectangular SWP source working in a steady state, was presented. The simulation is performed for different gas pressures in argon and different deposited powers. The results showed that there is a peak of plasma density at a distance of 2 cm to 3 cm from the plasma-quartz interface whose position depends mainly on the gas pressure but not the deposited power. The spatial distributions of plasma parameters and their dependence on the gas pressure and deposited power are also presented and discussed. Using this model a good agreement between the simulation results and the available experimental data is obtained.

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.

Plasma Limiter Based on Surface Wave Plasma Excited by Microwave

A novel plasma limiter, in which the plasma is excited by surface wave, is presented. The breakdown time of some gases filled in the limiter were calculated as a function of gas pres- sure, ionization degree and density of seed electrons under low pressure （0.01 -1 Torr） and high pressure （10 -1000 Torr） cases. The results show that the limiter filled with Xe with a pressure of 0.9 Torr, seed electron density of 10^16 m^-3, and ionization degree of 10^-4, has a breakdown time of approximate 19.6 ns.

Resonant magneto-optical Kerr effect induced by hybrid plasma modes in ferromagnetic nanovoids

With nanovoids buried in Co films, resonant structures were observed in spectra of polar magneto-optical Kerr effect（MOKE）, where both a narrow bandwidth and high intensity were acquired. Through changing the thickness of Co films and the lattice of voids, different optical modes were introduced. For a very shallow array of voids, the resonant MOKE was induced by Ag plasma edge resonance, for deeper ones, hybrid plasma modes, such as void plasmons in the voids, surface lattice plasmons between the voids, and the co-action of them, etc. resulted in resonant MOKE. We found that resonant MOKE resulted from the void plasmons resonance which possesses the narrowest bandwidth for the lowest absorption of voids. The simulated electromagnetic field（EF） distribution consolidated different effects of these three optical modes on resonant MOKE modulation. Such resonant polar MOKE possesses high sensitivity, which might pave the way to on-chip MO devices.

Electromagnetic interaction between local surface plasmon polaritons and an atmospheric surface wave plasma jet

We analyze the electromagnetic interaction between local surface plasmon polaritons （SPPs） and an atmospheric surface wave plasma jet （ASWPJ） in combination with our designed discharge device. Before discharge, the excitation of the SPPs and the spatial distribution of the enhanced electric field are analyzed. During discharge, the critical breakdown electric field of the gases at atmospheric gas pressure and the surface wave of the SPPs converted into electron plasma waves at resonant points are studied. After discharge, the ionization development process of the ASWPJ is simulated using a two- dimensional fluid model. Our results suggest that the local enhanced electric field of SPPs is merely the precondition of gas breakdown, and the key mechanism in maintaining the discharge development of a low-power ASWPJ is the wave-mode conversion of the local enhanced electric field at the resonant point.