Structural phase states and properties of the layer surfaced on low-carbon steel with Fe‒C‒Cr‒Nb‒W powder-core wire followed by electron-beam processing

Structural phase states and tribological properties of the coating surfaced onto Hardox 450 martensite low-carbon steel with powder wire Fe?C?Cr?Nb?W and modified by subsequent electron-beam processing are studied by methods of modern physical material science. It is shown that irradiation of ~5 thick surfaced layer with high intensity pulsed electron beams results in the formation of ~20 μm thick surface layer with the master phases of α-Fe and NbC, Fe₃C and M₆C(Fe₃W₃C) carbides. The main difference of the surface layer modified with electron-beam processing from the unmodified volume of the surfacing is the morphology and dimensions of the second phase inclusions. In the modified layer of the surfacing the inclusions have smaller dimensions and are located in the form of interlayers along the grain boundaries. In unmodified surfacing the particles of the faceted shape located chaotically in the grain volume are the basic morphological type of the inclusions. It is noted that the small value of crystal lattice Nb parameter observed in the experiment may be caused by the high level of vacant interstitial sites having the smaller size in comparison with the occupied interstitial sites. It is established that wear resistance of the surfaced layer after electron-beam processing increases more than 70-fold relative to wear resistance of Hardox 450 steel and friction coefficient decreases significantly (~3-fold).     

Structural-phase states and properties of coatings welded onto steel surfaces using powder wires

Structural-phase states and mechanical properties of coatings welded onto Hardox 400 steel using En-DOtecDO*30, EnDOtecDOtec*33, and SK A 70-G weld wires are investigated via X-ray structural analysis, optical and scanning electron microscopy, and measuring microhardness, wear resistance, and friction coefficients. It is shown that the coatings had microhardnesses and wear resistances were higher than those of their substrate by factors of 2–3 and 2, respectively, while the friction coefficients of coatings were lower than those of the substrates by a factor of 1.2. Hardening was due to the formation of disperse structures containing up to 40 vol % of Fe₃C, Fe₂₃(C, B)₆, NbC, Fe₃B, and Fe₃Si_0.97 particles.     

Structure and properties of laser quenched 4Cr13 steel

The structure and properties of laser quenched 4Cr13 steel were reported. The results show that: (1) Fine martensite is obtained after laser quenching. The highest content of retained austenite in the surface area 10 μm thick of laser hardened zone is 47. 13 percent, but only 3.6 percent of retained austenite is measured inside the laser hardened layer after the surface layer 10μm thick is worn off. (2) The hardness of laser quenched layer is much higher (HV_(0.1) 690) than that of the substrate (HV_(0.1) 237). (3) The wear resistance of laser quenched layer is 3.3 times higher than that of traditionally treated specimen and the corrosion resistance of 4Cr13 steel is also improved greatly by laser quenching.     

Development of new-generation low-carbon steel: Part II-wear behaviour

A new-generation unalloyed low-carbon steel (containing 0.1?wt.% C) has been recently developed by the research group of the present corresponding author through incomplete austenitisation-based cyclic ice-brine quenching possessing an exceptionally high strength (UTS?=?1.7?GPa) along with elimination of a yield point phenomenon. This is attributed to the evolution of a novel microstructure that consists of fine plate martensite crystals with a dispersion of nano-sized cementite particles and clusters. The present research work is conceived as the Part II of this investigation to establish this new-generation ultrahigh strength low-carbon steel as a unique wear-resistant steel substituting the conventional dual-phase steel along with the readily awaited in-depth correlation between wear mechanism and structural evolution. The wear behaviour of heat-treated steels is investigated against an alumina disc using a pin-on-disc tribometer. The steel subjected to incomplete austenitisation-based cyclic ice-brine quenching exhibits much better wear resistance than conventional dual-phase steel. Dominant microcutting and microploughing abrasion aggravate wear loss, especially at higher load, in dual-phase steel that inherently possesses lower matrix hardness. But, very high-surface hardness is attained in the incomplete austenitisation-based cyclic ice-brine quenched steel by virtue of a significant strain hardening of martensite matrix in between hard nano-sized cementite particles. Besides, the wear rate is not allowed to shoot up even at the highest load through the generation of hard abrasion-resistant tribo-oxide layer of Al₂FeO₄. This envisages an advent of novel wear-resistant steel as a better substitution for the dual-phase steel.     

Electro-spark alloying using graphite electrode on titanium alloy surface for biomedical applications

In order to improve the biomedical properties of a titanium alloy surface, electro-spark surface alloying was carried out using a graphite electrode in air, in a nitrogen gas atmosphere and in silicone oil. The morphology and microstructure of the strengthened layers were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The hardness distributions as a function of depth were measured by a micro-hardness tester. Corrosion resistance capacities of the modified layers were evaluated using potentiodynamic polarization measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). In addition, wear resistance and corrosive wear properties in a simulated body fluid (SBF) were studied with a pin-on-disk tribometer. Alloyed layers, completely covering the substrate surface and about 40 μm thick mainly composed of the TiC phase and with strong metallurgical bonding and adhesion to the substrate, were obtained. This can markedly improve hardness and wear resistance of the surface layer of the substrate. In comparison to coatings prepared in air and nitrogen gas atmospheres, the coating produced in silicone oil media exhibits a denser and more perfect surface structure. The wear resistance in air and corrosive wear resistance in SBF solution is the best for the coating produced in silicone oil. For instance, the wear rate in air with a GCr15 steel ball counterpart is reduced by a factor of 29 compared with the original titanium alloy and the corrosive wear rate in SBF solution with a corundum ball can decrease by a factor of 13.8. Simultaneously, the effect of electron-spark surface alloying of the titanium alloy surface on biocompatibility and biological activity was also investigated. The electron-spark surface strengthened layer treated in silicone oil shows good biocompatibility and biological activity, and can help cell attachment to the substrate surface.     

Improving wear resistance of pure copper by laser surface modification

With the aim of improving surface strength on copper with the electrical conductivity of the integral bulk retained, laser surface modification on copper was carried out using powder preplacement. The microstructures, hardness, wear resistance and electrical conductivity of the sample was investigated. It was shown that the modified layer of sample had crack-free, fine and homogeneous microstructures. Compared with pure copper, the average hardness of the sample was enhanced by a factor of six (about HV_0.1650), and the wear mass loss was reduced by 4/5, but the electrical conductivity of the integral bulk was only slightly decreased. The improvement of hardness and wear resistance could be attributed to the precipitation hardening of boride and carbide, grain refinement and solid solution strengthening in the layer.     

Principles of the alloying of steel in a beam of relativistic electrons

It is shown that it is possible to significantly strengthen steel by alloying a surface layer melted by the energy from a beam of relativistic electrons. A study was made of the effect of different treatment parameters (accelerating voltage, beam current, specimen velocity and temperature, etc.) on the structure, depth, hardness, and wear resistance of the alloyed layer. Several types of alloying mixtures were developed based on carbides of tungsten, chromium, and boron, and including special additions and modifiers. The proportions of the components was optimized. The technology of alloying in a beam of relativistic electrons is compared with vacuum electron-beam alloying. Heat treatment is used to additionally improve the structure of the layers.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 115–125, March, 1996.     

Evolution of the phase composition and defect substructure of rail steel subjected to high-intensity electron-beam treatment

The morphology, structure-phase states, and defect substructure of annealed rail steel subjected to electron-beam treatment in the surface-layer melting mode are studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy methods. The formation of the lath martensite structure, as well as cellular and dendritelike structures, containing nanoscale martensite crystals, is revealed.     

Effect of pulsed plasma and high-current electron beam treatments on the structure and properties of nickel-based coatings

Using plasma-detonation technology (PDT), nickel-based powder (PGAN-33, PG-10N-01 and PG-19N-01) coatings 80–300 μm thick were deposited on a low-carbon St-3 steel substrate. Coatings were then subjected to additional treatment either by a high-current electron beam (HCEB) or by a high-velocity pulsed plasma jet until melting. The structure was analyzed using x-ray diffraction and conversion Mössbauer spectroscopy in the transmission and scattering modes. The morphology and elemental composition were studied using scanning electron microscopy and microanalysis. The micro-and nanohardness, volumetric wear, and corrosion resistance of the grown coatings were measured. It was found that, as the HCEB and PDT energy density increase, the phase composition changes, phase redistribution occurs, and new phases are formed. The last process is caused by mass transfer from the erosion plasmatron electrode and from a gas plasma jet, and interdiffusion of coating and substrate elements. After the exposure to concentrated energy fluxes, the coating surface roughness decreased. It is shown that physicochemical and mechanical characteristics of modified coatings improve in the case of optimum treatment conditions.     

Influence of process time on microstructure and properties of 17-4PH steel plasma nitrocarburized with rare earths addition at low temperature

17-4PH stainless steel was plasma nitrocarburized at 430 °C for different time with rare earths (RE) addition. Plasma RE nitrocarburized layers were studied by optical microscope, scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer, X-ray diffraction, microhardness tests, pin-on-disc tribometer and anodic polarization tests. The results show that rare earths atoms can diffuse into the surface of 17-4PH steel. The modified layer depths increase with increasing process time and the layer growth conforms approximately to the parabolic law. The phases in the modified layer are mainly of γ′-Fe₄N, nitrogen and carbon expanded martensite (α′_N) as well as some incipient CrN at short time (2 h). With increasing of process time, the phases of CrN and γ′-Fe₄N increase but α′_N decomposes gradually. Interestingly, the peaks of γ′-Fe₄N display a high (2 0 0) plane preferred orientation. The hardness of the modified specimen is more than 1340 HV, which is about 3.7 times higher than that of untreated one. The friction coefficients and wear rates of specimens can be dramatically decreased by plasma RE nitrocarburizing. The surface hardness and the friction coefficients decrease gradually with increasing process time. The corrosion test shows that the 8 h treated specimen has the best corrosion resistance with the characterization of lower corrosion current density, a higher corrosion potential and a large passive region as compared with those of untreated one.     

Atomic layer deposition of HfO2 on graphene from HfCl4 and H2O

Atomic layer deposition of HfO₂ on unmodified graphene from HfCl₄ and H₂O was investigated. Surface RMS roughness down to 0.5 nm was obtained for amorphous, 30 nm thick hafnia film grown at 180°C. HfO₂ was also deposited in a two-step temperature process where the initial growth of about 1 nm at 170°C was continued up to 10–30 nm at 300°C. This process yielded uniform, monoclinic HfO₂ films with RMS roughness of 1.7 nm for 10–12 nm thick films and 2.5 nm for 30 nm thick films. Raman spectroscopy studies revealed that the deposition process caused compressive biaxial strain in graphene, whereas no extra defects were generated. An 11 nm thick HfO₂ film deposited onto bilayer graphene reduced the electron mobility by less than 10% at the Dirac point and by 30–40% far away from it.     

Effect of active screen plasma nitriding pretreatment on wear behavior of TiN coating deposited by PACVD technique

Titanium based alloys are used extensively for improving wear properties of different parts due to their high hardness contents. Titanium nitride (TiN) is among these coatings which can be deposited on surface using various techniques such as CVD, PVD and PACVD. Their weak interface with substrate is one major drawback which can increase the total wear in spite of favorite wear behavior of TiN. Disc shaped samples from AISI H13 (DIN 1.2344) steel were prepared in this study. Single TiN coating was deposited on some of them while others have experienced a TiN deposition by active screen plasma nitriding (ASPN). Hardness at the surface and depth of samples was measured through Vickers micro hardness test which revealed 1810 Hv hardness as the maximum values for a dual-layered ASPN–TiN. Pin-on-disc wear test was done in order to study the wear mechanism. In this regard, the wear behavior of samples was investigated against pins from 100Cr6 (Din 1.3505) bearing steel and tungsten carbide–cobalt (WC–Co) steel. It was evidenced that the dual-layer ASPN–TiN coating has shown the least weight loss with the best wearing behavior because of its high hardness values, stable interface and acceptable resistance against peeling during wearing period.     

Structure and tribological performance by nitrogen and oxygen plasma based ion implantation on Ti6Al4V alloy

Ti6Al4V alloy was implanted with nitrogen-oxygen mixture by using plasma based ion implantation (PBII) at pulsed voltage −10, −30 and −50 kV. The implantation was up to 6 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm² fluence. The changes in chemical composition, structure and hardness of the modified surfaces were studied by XPS and nanoindentation measurements. According to XPS, it was found that the modified layer was predominantly TiO₂, but contained small amounts of TiO, Ti₂O₃, TiN and Al₂O₃ between the outmost layer and metallic substrate. Surface hardness and wear resistance of the samples increased significantly after PBII treatment, the wear rate of the sample implanted N₂-O₂ mixture at −50 kV decreased eight times than the untreated one. The sample implanted N₂-O₂ mixture showed better wear resistance than that of the sample only implanted oxygen at − 50 kV. The wear mechanism of untreated sample was abrasive-dominated and adhesive, and the wear scar of the sample implanted at −50 kV was characterized by abrasive wear-type ploughing.     

激光冲击与渗碳复合工艺改善12CrNi3A钢磨损性能

为了提高12CrNi3A钢渗碳层质量及其抗磨损性能,提出了激光冲击与渗碳不同顺序复合的工艺方法。球磨实验结果表明,相比渗碳处理,激光冲击后渗碳试样的比磨损率降低了51%,而渗碳后激光冲击强化试样的比磨损率降低了13%,说明激光冲击后渗碳的复合工艺能更好地改善抗磨损性能。在摩擦系数差别不大的情况下,抗磨损性能的提升与显微硬度提高、微观组织变化有关,从这两方面讨论抗磨损性能提升的机理。研究表明:激光冲击强化可促进渗碳的过程,强化后渗碳形成的渗碳层结构致密,大量细小碳化物形成,固溶强化、第二相强化作用增强,显微硬度增大,从而提高抗磨损性能;而渗碳后激光冲击强化只使渗层表面发生了形变强化,与渗碳工艺相比,显微硬度略有提高,抗磨损性能提高有限。     

Corrosion and wear properties of PEO coatings formed on AM60B alloy in NaAlO2 electrolytes

Coatings with a thickness of 22-32 μm were formed on an AM60B magnesium alloy by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) in electrolytes containing 12.0-24.0 g/l NaAlO₂ and other additives. SEM analyses of the coated samples showed that the coatings were compact with relatively low porosity. X-ray diffraction revealed that the coatings consisted of mainly MgAl₂O₄ and MgO phases. The relative amount of MgAl₂O₄ in the coating increased with increasing NaAlO₂ concentration. The relatively compact and thick coatings provide good corrosion protection for magnesium, as indicated by the results of potentiodynamic polarization tests. In addition, the PEO treatment also significantly improved the wear resistance of the alloy. Pin-on-disk wear tests showed that the PEO treatment reduced the wear volume loss by a factor of 10.     

Thermally oxidised rutile-TiO2 coating on stainless steel for tribological properties and corrosion resistance enhancement

In the present work, a novel process has been developed to improve the tribological and corrosion properties of austenitic stainless steels. Efforts have been made to deposit titanium coatings onto AISI 316L stainless steel by magnetron sputtering, and then to partially convert the titanium coatings to titanium oxide by thermal oxidation. The resultant coating has a layered structure, comprising of rutile-TiO₂ layer at the top, an oxygen and nitrogen dissolved α-Ti layer in the middle and a diffuse-type interface. Such a hybrid coating system showed good adhesion with the substrate, improved corrosion resistance, and significantly enhanced surface hardness and tribological properties of the stainless steel in terms of much reduced friction coefficient and increased wear resistance.     

Surface property enhancement by RE-borosulphurizing on high-carbon steel

Pack boronizing and rare-earth (RE)-borosulphurizing of high-carbon steel (T8) were conducted at 950 ^°C for 6 h. Characterizations of the layers formed on the surface of the high carbon steel were carried out by metallographic techniques, scanning electron microscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy and wear and corrosion resistance tests. It has been revealed that the diffusion front of the boride layer (BL) has a sawtooth shape, while that of the RE-borosulfide layer (RBSL) is flat. Different from the BL layer, the RBSL layer is compact, continuous and flat. The formation of FeS, Fe₂B and FeB phases on the substrates was confirmed by Auger electron spectroscopy analysis. The wear resistance test indicated that within a certain range, the abrasion resistance of the RBSL layer is better than that of the BL layer, especially under high-load conditions. The corrosion resistance test using the weight loss method has shown that the corrosion resistance of the RBSL layer is better but decreases faster with time extension than that of the BL layer.     

Characterization of silane layers on modified stainless steel surfaces and related stainless steel-plastic hybrids

The aim of this work was to characterize silane layers on the modified stainless steel surfaces and relate it to the adhesion in the injection-molded thermoplastic urethane-stainless steel hybrids. The silane layers were characterized with scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope, allowing the direct quantization of silane layer thickness and its variation. The surface topographies were characterized with atomic force microscope and chemical analyses were performed with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The mechanical strength of the respective stainless steel-thermoplastic urethane hybrids was determined by peel test. Polishing and oxidation treatment of the steel surface improved the silane layer uniformity compared to the industrially pickled surface and increased the adhesion strength of the hybrids, resulting mainly cohesive failure in TPU. XPS analysis indicated that the improved silane bonding to the modified steel surface was due to clean Fe₂O₃-type surface oxide and stronger interaction with TPU was due to more amino species on the silane layer surface compared to the cleaned, industrially pickled surface. Silane layer thickness affected failure type of the hybrids, with a thick silane layer the hybrids failed mainly in the silane layer and with a thinner layer cohesively in plastic.     

The measurement of thermal conductivity of the superconductive tape provided with vapour-deposited Nb3Sn layer

The paper deals with the measurement of thermal conductivity of tapes made of stainless steel provided on both sides with deposited layers of superconductive Nb₃Sn material. Tape specimen was measured in the direction perpendicular to the layer surface. For the measurement of the specimen provided with the Nb₃Sn layer as well as of the substrate itself, modified thermopotentiometric method in helium stationary cryostat was applied. From the measured values the thermal conductivity of the Nb₃Sn layer was derived. Discussed also is the rise of thermal resistance of the Nb₃Sn layer in comparison with the data found in the literature.     

镍过渡层对磁控溅射银自润滑涂层性能的影响

研究了镍(Ni)过渡层对镍基合金718基底上沉积的银自润滑涂层性能的影响.实验结果显示,具有过渡层的银涂层晶粒尺寸变小,晶格参数和晶格应变无明显变化,涂层表面更加致密,缺陷减少.在77～300K热冲击50次后,涂层表面无裂纹、剥落等现象,具有良好的抗热震性能.在常温大气、常温真空和?100°C真空三种下,对涂层的摩擦磨...