Deposition of duplex Al2O3/TiN coatings on aluminum alloys for tribological applications using a combined microplasma oxidation (MPO) and arc ion plating (AIP)

Microplasma oxidation (MPO) has recently been studied as a cost-effective plasma electrolytic process to provide thick and hard ceramic coatings with excellent surface load-bearing capacity on aluminum alloys. However, for sliding wear applications, such ceramic coatings often exhibit relatively high friction coefficients against many counterface materials. Although coatings deposited by physical vapour deposition (PVD) techniques such as TiN coatings are well known for providing surfaces with a high hardness, in practice they often exhibit poor performance under mechanical loading, since the coatings are usually too thin to protect the substrate from the contact conditions. In this paper, these challenges were overcome by a duplex process of microplasma oxidation and arc ion plating (AIP), in which an alumina layer Al₂O₃ was deposited on an Al alloy substrate (using MPO as a pre-treatment process) for load support, and a TiN hard coatings were deposited (using AIP) on top of the Al₂O₃ layer for low friction coefficient. Microhardness measurements, pin-on-disc sliding wear tests, and antiwear tests using a Timken tester were performed to evaluate the mechanical and tribological properties. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe coating morphology, and to examine wear scars from pin-on-disc test. The research demonstrates that a hard and uniform TiN coating, with good adhesion and a low coefficient of friction, can successfully be deposited on top of an alumina intermediate layer to provide excellent load support. The investigations indicate that a duplex combination of MPO coating and TiN PVD coating represents a promising technique for surface modification of Al alloys for heavy surface load bearing application.     

Surface quality improvement of EDMed Ti–6Al–4V alloy using plasma etching and TiN coating

This paper seeks to improve the surface quality of electrical discharge machining (EDM) Ti–6Al–4V using plasma etching treatment and TiN coating. The EDM parameter setting is optimized firstly based on grey-Taguchi method. Four EDM parameters, including current (A), voltage (V), pulse duration (μs), and duty factor (%), are selected for multiple performance of lower electrode wear rate (EWR), higher material removal rate (MRR), and better surface roughness (SR). An orthogonal array, signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) are used to analyze the effects of these EDM parameters. Normality tests show that all the distributions fit normality assumption with p?=?0.276, 0.688, and 0.663, respectively. The EDM process is stable over time monitored by Shewhart control charts. It is observed that there is an EDM damaged layer on the surface consisting of debris, microcracks, molten drops, and solidified metals by scanning electron microscopy. The plasma etching and TiN coating are employed to improve surface quality of the EDMed Ti–6Al–4V alloys. The results demonstrate that using the oxygen plasma etching treatment, the damaged phenomena are decreased, and the mean SR value is reduced from Ra?=?2.91 to Ra?=?2.50 μm. In addition, when the plasma-treated alloy is coated with Ti buffer/TiN coating by physical vapor deposition, the surface morphology exhibits less defects and a better surface finish. The mean SR values are further reduced from Ra?=?2.50 μm to Ra?=?1.48 μm (for 740 nm TiN film) and Ra?=?0.61 μm (for 1450 nm TiN film), respectively.     

Investigation of the performance of carbide cutting tools with hard coatings in hard milling based on the response surface methodology

Machining of hard materials has become a great challenge for several decades. One of the problems in this machining process is early tool wear, and this affects the machinability of hard materials. In order to increase machinability, cutting tools are widely coated with nanostructured physical vapor deposition hard coatings. The main characteristics of such advanced hard coatings are high microhardness and toughness as well as good adhesion to the substrate. In this paper, the influence of hard coatings (nanolayer AlTiN/TiN, multilayer nanocomposite TiAlSiN/TiSiN/TiAlN, and commercially available TiN/TiAlN) and cutting parameters (cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut) on cutting forces and surface roughness were investigated during face milling of AISI O2 cold work tool steel (～61 HRC). The experiments were conducted based on 3¹³ factorial design by response surface methodology, and response surface equations of cutting forces and surface roughness were obtained. In addition, the cutting forces obtained with the coated and uncoated tools were compared. The results showed that the interaction of coating type and depth of cut affects surface roughness. The hard coating type has no significant effect on cutting forces, while the cutting force F _z is approximately two times higher in the case of uncoated tool.     

Performance studies of multilayer hard surface coatings (TiN/TiCN/Al2O3/TiN) of indexable carbide inserts in hard machining: Part-I (An experimental approach)

In recent years, hard machining using CBN and ceramic inserts became an emerging technology than traditional grinding and widely used manufacturing processes. However the relatively high cost factors associated with such tools has left a space to look for relatively low cost cutting tool materials to perform in an acceptable range. Multilayer coated carbide insert is the proposed alternative in the present study due to its low cost. Thus, an attempt has been made to have an extensive study on the machinability aspects such as flank wear, chip morphology, surface roughness in finish hard turning of AISI 4340 steel (HRC 47 ± 1) using multilayer coated carbide (TiN/TiCN/Al₂O₃/TiN) insert under dry environment. Parametric influences on turning forces are also analyzed. From the machinability study, abrasion and chipping are found to be the dominant wear mechanism in hard turning. Multilayer TiN coated carbide inserts produced better surface quality and within recommendable range of 1.6 μm i.e. comparable with cylindrical grinding. At extreme parametric conditions, the growth of tool wear was observed to be rapid thus surface quality affected adversely. The chip morphology study reveals a more favorable machining environment in dry machining using TiN coated carbide inserts. The cutting speed and feed are found to have the significant effect on the tool wear and surface roughness from ANOVA study. It is evident that, thrust force (Fy) is the largest component followed by tangential force (Fz) and the feed force (Fx) in finish hard turning. The observations yield the machining ability of multilayer TiN coated carbide inserts in hard turning of AISI 4340 steel even at higher cutting speeds.     

Substrate Effects on the Micro/Nanomechanical Properties of TiN Coatings

Nanoindentation and nanoscratch tests were performed for titanium nitride (TiN) coatings on different tool steel substrates to investigate the indentation/scratch induced deformation behavior of the coatings and the adhesion of the coating–substrate interfaces and their tribological property. In this work, TiN coatings with a thickness of about 500 nm were grown on GT35, 9Cr18 and 40CrNiMo steels using vacuum magnetic-filtering arc plasma deposition. In the nanoindentation tests, the hardness and modulus curves for TiN/GT35 reduced the slowest around the film thickness 500 nm with the increase of indentation depth, followed by TiN/9Cr18 and TiN/40CrNiMo. Improving adhesion properties of coating and substrate can decrease the differences of internal stress field. The scratch tests showed that the scratch response was controlled by plastic deformation in the substrate. The substrate plays an important role in determining the mechanical properties and wear resistance of such coatings. TiN/GT35 exhibited the best load-carrying capacity and scratch/wear resistance. As a consequence, GT35 is the best substrate for TiN coatings of the substrate materials tested.     

Wear behavior and cutting performance of nanostructured hard coatings on cemented carbide cutting tools in hard milling

The influence of nanolayer AlTiN/TiN and multilayer nanocomposite TiAlSiN/TiSiN/TiAlN hard coatings on the wear behavior and cutting performance of carbide cutting tools was investigated in face milling of hardened AISI O2 cold work tool steel (∼58 HRC) at dry conditions. Characterization of the coatings was performed using nanoindentation, scratch test, reciprocating multi-pass wear test. The chips forming during cutting process were also analyzed. Results showed that abrasive and oxidation wear are dominant tool failures. The nanolayer AlTiN/TiN coating gives the best adhesion to the substrate, the best wear resistance in machining and thus provides the longest lifetime with carbide inserts.     

Evaluation of erosive wear resistance of TiN coatings by a slurry jet impact test

In this paper, it is proposed to use a new type of solid particle impact test (slurry jet) to swiftly evaluate wear properties of thin, single layered or multilayered coatings. By the slurry jet, 1.2 μm alumina particles were impacted at high velocity perpendicular to thin PVD coatings of TiN deposited on high speed steel substrate materials under various substrate temperatures. Since the coatings have a much higher wear resistance than the substrate material, the wear rate increases significantly to the higher level of the HSS material when the coatings are penetrated. This is utilized in the quantification of the assessment of coating wear. A ranking of wear resistance and correlations to the coating surface hardness measured by nano-indentation tests, and coating morphology and structures are given and discussed. The TiN deposited under the highest substrate temperature proved to have the highest wear resistance although it had a relatively low hardness. The wear rate of the TiN coatings varies with the orientation of grains, that is, the {1 1 1} orientation that dominates for the high temperature deposition shows a higher wear resistance than the {1 0 0} orientation, which corresponds with the cleavage fracture behavior. Thus, it can be recommended as a screening test when evaluating coatings and coated materials.     

物理气相沉积TiN薄膜疲劳磨损形貌的AFM观测

采用物理气相沉积工艺在高速钢表面沉积TiN薄膜,研究了TiN薄膜的疲劳磨损过程。采用原子力显微镜(AFM)观测分析了表面疲劳点蚀的形貌特征。试验结果表明:较厚TiN薄膜具有较低的疲劳磨损寿命,而较薄的TiN膜层具有较高的疲劳磨损寿命。在试验的初始阶段,磨损轨迹上都出现大量显微凹坑,AFM观测分析可知显微凹坑起源于薄膜表面,呈菱形状。随试验的进行,较薄的TiN薄膜出现典型的疲劳麻坑,而较厚的TiN薄膜在薄膜与基体的界面处形成疲劳裂纹,并出现严重的剥层和断裂。     

Performance Evaluation of a Hard Composite Solid Lubricant Coating When Dry Machining of High-carbon Steel

A novel hard composite solid lubricant coating combining TiN and MoS_x has been developed using pulsed DC closed-field unbalanced magnetron sputtering (CFUBMS). The tribological and mechanical properties together with their interdependencies with the coating microstructures have been assessed and reported elsewhere. This article evaluates the machining performance and correlates the underlying tribological aspects of different TiN-MoS_x coating architectures (deposited at titanium (Ti) cathode currents of 1, 3.5, and 5 A) when dry turning AISI 1080 high-carbon steel. A comparative performance study clearly established the supremacy of the composite coating (deposited at 3.5 A Ti cathode current with ～12 wt% of MoS_x) with a hard TiN underlayer over monolayer TiN, MoS_x, and other related coating architectures in terms of cutting force, tool wear, and workpiece surface roughness. The superlubricity behavior of the said composite coated tool resulted in a reduction of cutting force (by up to ～45% compared to the uncoated tool) and exhibited a tool life of 8 min, which was eight times and more than two times longer than that of the uncoated and conventional hard TiN coated counterparts, respectively. The workpiece surface roughness, R_a, also decreased by 13 to 21% when machined with the TiN-MoS_x coated tool in comparison to the uncoated cemented carbide.     

Friction and Wear Properties of Graphite-Like Carbon Films Deposited on Different Substrates with a Different Interlayer Under High Hertzian Contact Stress

Four types of graphite-like carbon (GLC) films were deposited on different substrates (Ti6Al4V, WC-27CrNi) with a different interlayer (TiC/Ti, TiC/Ti/TiN) using an unbalanced magnetron sputtering system. The effect of substrate and interlayer on the microstructure and properties of the studied GLC films was then investigated using different characterization techniques. The results show that both the substrate and interlayer had an obvious influence on the tribological properties of the studied GLC films even though there was no significant structural difference between these films. Specifically, a substrate with a high hardness was propitious to achieving superior tribological behaviors for carbon film even with a different interlayer. However, the interlayer had a distinct influence on the tribological properties of the carbon film deposited on different substrates, and this effect varied with the hardness property of the substrate. For a hard substrate, the wear rate and wear life were similar irrespective of the interlayer. For a soft substrate, the addition of a TiN interlayer improved the wear life sevenfold compared to the film with only a TiC/Ti interlayer, but the wear rate for a film with and without a TiN interlayer was approximately the same. The obvious discrepancy between wear life and wear rate for a carbon film deposited on soft substrate was closely related with the film adhesion strength and plastic deformation of the substrate materials. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the wear life is a better parameter than wear rate in terms of characterization of the wear resistance of carbon film once the applied load causes the plastic deformation of the substrate.     

Fretting damage of TiN coated zircaloy-4 tube

Fretting has been reported and investigated for over 50 years. However, it is still one of the modern plagues for several industrial machineries. Especially, fretting of fuel rod cladding material, zircaloy-4 tube, in pressurized water reactor (PWR) must be reduced and avoided. Thin hard coatings are employed to improve the tribological properties such as friction and wear of conventional engineering materials. Among these coatings, physical vapor deposition (PVD) TiN coating is probably one of the most frequently and successfully used PVD coatings for the mitigation of fretting wear. Therefore, in this study a fretting wear experiment was performed using TiN coated zircaloy-4 tube as the fuel rod cladding material and uncoated zircaloy-4 tube as one of the grids. The fretting tester was designed and manufactured for this experiment. The number of cycles, slip amplitude and normal load were selected as main factors of fretting. The type of contact was cylinder-to-cylinder contact. The worn surface was observed by optical microscope, 3-D surface measuring instrument and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results of this research showed that the wear volume of TiN coated zircaloy-4 tube decreased about 1.2–3 times more than uncoated tube and wear mechanisms were brittle fracture, fatigue fracture, adhesion, abrasion and oxidation.     

基体表面粗糙度对磁控溅射TiN涂层界面结合力的影响

利用球与平面的赫兹接触应力分布的经验修正公式∧［1］,对磁控溅处理前的基体表面粗糙度对沉积层和基体的界面结合力进行了研究,并和其他涂层界面结合力的测量方法方法进行了比较。结果表明：基体表面粗糙度对界面结合力有很大影响,表面粗糙度的改善有利于TiN层/基体的界面结合力的提高,同时改善了TiN层的摩擦学性能。     

Micro-scale abrasive wear testing of duplex and non-duplex (single-layered) PVD (Ti,Al)N, TiN and Cr–N coatings

A micro-scale abrasive wear test, based on ball-cratering, has been used to evaluate the wear resistance of duplex and non-duplex (Ti,Al)N, TiN and Cr–N coatings. The term duplex is used here when plasma nitriding is followed by PVD coating. Coatings without the plasma nitriding stage are termed single-layered. Coating properties were evaluated by surface profilometry, hardness and scratch testing. All duplex coatings showed higher micro-abrasive wear resistance than their single-layered counterparts, with the duplex (Ti,Al)N coating achieving the best performance. After a certain number of ball revolutions, the coating material became worn through, exposing the substrate material. After this point, the presence of a hard nitrided case diminished the scratching action of the SiC abrasive particles. The experimental results also indicate that the choice of the PVD coating plays an important role in improving the micro-abrasive wear resistance. Apart from single-layered and duplex Cr–N coatings, all the other coating systems provided a higher micro-abrasive wear resistance than the uncoated substrate (hardened AISI H13 steel). The poor abrasive wear resistance recorded for the single-layered and duplex Cr–N coatings could be attributed to the hardness of the Cr–N being much lower than that of the SiC abrasive particles, which caused tearing of the coating with subsequent delamination. The wear pattern observed was found to change from surfaces characterised by grooves (uncoated substrate, single-layered TiN and Cr–N systems and duplex Cr–N system) to surfaces which exhibited multiply indented surfaces (single-layered and duplex (Ti,Al)N systems), indicating a transition between wear mechanisms. This transition was found to be dependent on the ratio between the hardness of the SiC abrasive particles and surface (coating) or subsurface hardness. By decreasing this ratio, the ability of the SiC abrasive particles to scratch the composite surface was reduced and the resistance to micro-scale abrasion was improved.     

Monitoring of Wear Characteristics of TiN and TiAlN Coatings at Long Sliding Distances

TiN and TiAlN thin hard coatings have been widely applied on machine components and cutting tools to increase their wear resistance. These coatings have different wear behaviors, and determination of their wear characteristics in high-temperature and high-speed applications has great importance in the selection of suitable coating material to application. In this article, the wear behavior of single-layer TiN and TiAlN coatings was investigated at higher sliding speed and higher sliding distances than those in the literature. The coatings were deposited on AISI D2 cold-worked tool steel substrates using a magnetron sputtering system. The wear tests were performed at a sliding speed of 45 cm/s using a ball-on-disc method, and the wear area was investigated at seven different sliding distances (36–1,416 m). An Al₂O₃ ball was used as the counterpart material. The wear evolution was monitored using a confocal optical microscope and surface profilometer after each sliding test. The coefficient of friction and coefficient of wear were recorded with increasing sliding distance. It was found that the wear rate of the TiAlN coating decreases with sliding distance and it is much lower than that of TiN coating at longer sliding distance. This is due to the Al₂O₃ film formation at high temperature in the contact zone. Both coatings give similar coefficient of friction data during sliding with a slight increase in that of the TiAlN coating at high sliding distances due to the increasing alumina formation. When considering all results, the TiAlN coating is more suitable for hard machining applications.     

电沉积稀土改性陶瓷涂层磨损性能研究

探讨了在电火花加工机床上沉积碳化钛金属陶瓷涂层方法,利用TiC,WC,Mo,N i粉未添加不同比例稀土元素在高压下压制并烧结了试验电极,在45#钢表面沉积了不同稀土含量的TiC陶瓷涂层,并用扫描电镜(SEM)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)、显微硬度计、环块式磨损试验机对涂层组成、组织形态进行、硬度及摩擦学性能分别进行了研究,并结合试验结果进行了理论分析。试验结果表明:用电火花放电法可沉积TiC陶瓷涂层,涂层中加入质量分数为0.5%的氧化镧后,涂层的耐磨性能较未加稀土涂层提高了3倍,摩擦因数减少10%,而加入过多的稀土镧氧化物则不利于涂层组织性能及耐磨性能的改善。稀土氧化镧对涂层的组织有改善作用,加入适量的稀土元素使得涂层致密性提高,减少涂层中的缺陷,涂层表面呈多孔结构特性。     

High-Speed Machining of Malleable Cast Iron by Various Cutting Tools Coated by Physical Vapor Deposition

The coating material of a tool directly affects the efficiency and cost of machining malleable cast iron.However,the machining adaptability of various coating materials to malleable cast iron has been insufficiently researched.In this paper,turning tests were conducted on cemented carbide tools with different coatings(a thick TiN/TiAlN coating,a thin TiN/TiAlN coating,and a nanocomposite(nc)TiAlSiN coating).All coatings were applied by physical vapor deposi-tion.In a comparative study of chip morphology,cutting force,cutting temperature,specific cutting energy,tool wear,and surface roughness,this study analyzed the cutting characteristics of the tools coated with various materials,and established the relationship between the cutting parameters and machining objectives.The results showed that in malleable cast iron machining,the coating material significantly affects the cutting performance of the tool.Among the three tools,the nc-TiAlSiN-coated carbide tool achieved the minimum cutting force,the lowest cutting tempera-ture,least tool wear,longest tool life,and best surface quality.Moreover,in comparisons between cemented-carbide and compacted-graphite cast iron machined under the same conditions,the wear mechanism of the coated tools was found to depend on the cast iron being machined.Therefore,the performance requirements of a tool depend on multiple factors,and selecting an appropriately coated tool for a particular cast iron material is essential.     

空气中微细电火花沉积与去除可逆加工技术研究

论述了一种新的电火花加工方法。它使用通用的电火花成形加工机床,利用常见的电极材料,在空气介质中,通过脉冲放电在工件表面上沉积生长电极材料,再通过反转极性和适当的轨迹控制对所生成的沉积材料进行有选择的去除加工,进而实现材料的生长与去除可逆加工。通过对电火花加工理论的研究,预测和论证了实现这一新加工方法的可能性和实现条件。通过试验成功地将钢、铜和钨三种电极材料沉积到工件上,形成直径为 100~240 mm、高度为1 000~2 500 mm的微小圆柱体。并对沉积物进行了选择去除,实现了在同一设备上的可逆电火花加工。对沉积材料的致密性、硬度及其与工件的结合强度等进行了系统的分析,表明沉积物组织致密、坚硬,可以满足功能材料的要求。     

Evaluation of braze bonded hard complex boride based coatings for sliding,erosion and abrasion wear

Materials requiring improved resistance to wear have been researched in coatings as well as in bulk form. A new process that aims to produce a wear resistant surface through powder metallurgy exists. The process brazes a green tape containing a reactive mixture of Mo, Fe, Cr, MoB and FeB and which produces a microstructure of hard complex borides dispersed in a soft metallic matrix, onto a compatible metallic substrate. Hence the process is called as “Braze-bonding”. In the process the phenomena of coating densification, microstructure development and interface development occur simultaneously. The resultant hard layer is evaluated for performance under sliding wear, erosive wear and abrasive wear conditions. It has been found that the coating is competitive to other hard materials. The process has inherent advantages like applying the coating in situ and easily allows for varying the thickness of the coated layer. A diffusion driven interface between coating and substrate improves bond strength. Complex borides of more than 50 vol.% dispersed in a Fe based ductile matrix help in abating wear through different mechanisms, which have been discussed here. The braze coatings can be used for applications involving wear resistance like pump impeller parts, machining tools, and injection molding screws.     

Improvements in the thread cutting torque for a 6082-T6 aluminum-based alloy with tapping tools utilizing diamond coating

The use of thin film diamond as a hard tool coating offers a significant wear protection in numerous machining operations and increases considerably tool's lifetime. The extreme hardness of the diamond is especially needed in machining highly abrasive materials such as aluminum-silicon alloys. Tapping is widely used for thread fabrication and it is often a time consuming process causing a delay on an automated production line. This study investigated diamond coatings in thread cutting and the aim was to gain knowledge about the performance of diamond-coated taps. PVD diamond coatings were deposited using ultra short pulsed laser deposition (USPLD) techniques. Another type of nanodiamond coating was a chrome-nanodiamond (CND) coating deposited by a two-phase electrochemical process to produce a metal matrix with embedded detonation nanodiamond (DND) particles. The main points were the analysis of tool torques of the thread machining data, sticking of aluminum alloy and wear behavior and mechanism of tested tapping tools. The tested tools were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) regarding tool wear and sticking of aluminum on tool surface caused by mechanical interaction. Coating approaches turned out to provide 13–30% improvements in cutting and 37–51% improvements in reversing for overall mean torques compared to uncoated reference tools.     

The Effect of Coolant Concentration on the Machinability of Nickel-Base, Nimonic C-263, Alloy

This paper investigates the effect of coolant concentration on tool performance when machining nickel-base, C-263, alloy with triple coated (TiN/TiCN/TiN) carbide insert at various (3–9%) coolant concentrations and under different cutting speed conditions. Tool life, tool-failure modes, wear rates, component forces and surface finish generated during machining were recorded, analyzed and used to formulate mechanisms responsible for tool wear at the cutting conditions investigated. Analysis of the recorded data shows that tool performance during machining is dependent on coolant concentration. 6% coolant concentration gave the best overall performance as effective combination of cooling and lubrication functions were achieved during machining. Increasing coolant concentration to 9% reduced tool performance due to a reduction of the tool-chip contact length area and the consequent increase in compressive stresses at the tool-chip and tool-workpiece interfaces. This action often leads to pronounced chipping of the tool cutting edge during machining. Friction coefficient between the workpiece material and substrate increases once the coating layer(s) is broken as a result of the direct contact between the tool substrate and the work material. This action increases mechanical wear of the tool, which in turn leads to a significant increase in the cutting force with negligible effect on the feed forces during machining.