Al–Cu–Fe coatings manufactured by the flame spraying process

Two-hour milled (activated) Al–20Cu–15Fe (at%) powders were subjected to annealing at 600°C for 1?h. The phase and microstructural evolutions were characterized by X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy. Al₇Cu₂Fe and Al₆₀Cu₃₀Fe₁₀ phases were formed after annealing. Both annealed and milled powders were consolidated using the flame spraying process. In both cases, FeAl(Cu) was the major phase while some oxides and α-Fe(Al,Cu) were also found. The coating produced from the milled powder was severely cracked and showed higher oxide content. The coating prepared from the annealed powder showed better quality. It was annealed at 600°C for 1?h to investigate the thermal stability of the various phases. All phases persevered after annealing while the Fe₂Al₅ phase was formed as a new phase.     

Phase and microstructural development in alumina sol–gel coatings on CoCr alloy

Phase transformation of -Al₂O₃ to -Al₂O₃ in alumina sol gel coatings on biomedical CoCr alloy was studied as function of heat treatment temperature and time. Transformation in unseeded coatings was significant only above 1200 °C. Addition of -Al₂O₃ seed particles having an average size of approximately 40 nm lowered the phase transformation temperature to around 800 °C. These particles were considered to act as heterogeneous nucleation sites for epitaxial growth of the -Al₂O₃ phase. The kinetics and activation energy (420 kJ/mol) for the phase transformation in the seeded coatings were similar to those reported for seeded monolithic alumina gels indicating that the transformation mechanism is the same in the two material configurations. Avrami growth parameters indicated that the mechanism was diffusion controlled and invariant over the temperature range studied but that growth was possibly constrained by the finite size of the seed particles and/or coating thickness. The phase transformation occurred by the growth of -Al₂O₃ grains at the expense of the precursor fine-grained -Al₂O₃ matrix and near-complete transformation coincided with physical impingement of the growing grains. The grain size at impingement was 100 nm which agreed well with that predicted from the theoretical linear spacing of seed particles in the initial sol.     

Synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline CoCr coatings by plasma spraying

The present paper describes the synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline CoCr (ASTM F75) coating produced by plasma spraying for possible surgical implant applications. The feedstock powders were synthesized by mechanical milling to produce irregular agglomerates with an average grain size of less than 100 nm. The powders were then introduced into an argon plasma spray to successfully produce a nanocrystalline coating. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to study the morphology of the nanometric particles and the resultant sprayed coatings. Microhardness and porosity measurements were performed on the conventional and the nanocrystalline coatings to characterize and compare the physical and mechanical properties.     

Fatigue resistance and failure mechanisms of plasma-sprayed CrC–NiCr cermet coatings in rolling contact

The rolling contact fatigue (RCF) resistance and failure mechanisms of plasma-sprayed CrC–NiCr cermet coatings were experimentally investigated. Fatigue tests were conducted at two different contact stresses. At a given contact stress, thirteen rolling contact tests were performed to obtain the statistical result. The Weibull distribution plots of fatigue life data of the coatings were obtained. At higher contact stress, the bimodal distribution of the fatigue life data of the coatings was observed in the Weibull plot. The fatigue life of the coating decreased with increasing the contact stress. The failure modes of coatings could be classified into two main categories, i.e., spalling and delamination.     

Phase formation and properties of vanadium-modified Ni–Cr–B-Si–C laser-deposited coatings

A Ni–Cr–B-Si–C alloy powder was modified by addition of 2 and 5 wt% of vanadium to tackle the high cracking sensitivity of the original composition during laser deposition. The effects of vanadium on microstructure and phases were investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy, and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and the changes in the hardness and cracking tendency of the deposits were evaluated. In comparison to the original composition, V-modified alloys produced deposits with lower hardness and moderately reduced cracking tendencies. Addition of vanadium transformed the nature and the morphology of the boride precipitates and added VC particles to the microstructure but did not induce a significant microstructural refinement. TEM characterizations confirmed that borides phases in the modified deposits consisted of alternating layers of CrB and (Cr_1?xV_x)B but the VC existed as independent particles which were formed on the boride precipitates. The final phase constitution of the modified alloys was dramatically influenced by the complete solid solubility between CrB and VB and the lack of solubility between Cr₇C₃ and VC. Addition of vanadium did not provide the phases which could act as nucleation sites to refine the microstructure of the deposits because VB had a tendency to dissolve in CrB and VC was formed at low temperatures on the boride phases. The outcomes of this study can be used to evaluate the effects of adding early transition metals such as vanadium on the microstructure and phase formations of the Ni–Cr–B-Si–C alloys.     

Reactive wetting of alumina by Ti-rich Ni–Ti–Zr alloys

Active brazing is a commonly used method for joining ceramic materials. In the present study, the wetting behavior of four Ti-rich ternary Ni–Ti–Zr alloys was investigated through sessile drop experiments on alumina disks of 96 and 99.9 % purity. The microstructure at the metal/alumina interface was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Three of the analyzed alloys exhibited reactive wetting with final contact angles between 40° and 70°. The reaction phases at the metal/alumina interface had a thickness of about 1 µm and were of a similar composition for all alloys. Dilatometer measurements showed thermal expansion coefficients between 13.2 and 15.8 × 10^?6 °C^?1. The lowest wetting angle of 40° was achieved with the alloy 61Ti–20Zr–19Ni at temperatures above 980 °C.     

Texture and microstructure in very fine grain Al–Al3Ti alloys obtained by extrusion of mechanically alloyed powders

Abstract

Texture has been investigated in warm extruded Al–Al₃Ti bars obtained from mechanically alloyed powders. The effects of various high volume fractions of Al₃Ti phase (9, 18, and 27 vol.-%) and the very fine grain sizes that can be obtained via the mechanical alloying processing route are described. Increasing the volume fraction of Al₃Ti phase tends to decrease the anisotropy of the extruded product. The ‘conventional’ aluminium texture characterised by a predominant 〈111〉_Al fibre usually present in extruded bars is replaced at high volume fraction of Al₃Ti particles (27%) and small size of aluminium grains (300 nm) by a weak and broad 〈441〉_Al fibre. This is suggested to be associated with a modification of the predominant deformation mechanism, changing from dislocation slip towards grain boundary sliding at small grain size.     

Transient oxidation of alumina forming Ti–Al–Ag-based alloys and coatings studied by SEM,AFM, XPS and LRS

Abstract

γ-TiAl based intermetallics possess poor oxidation properties at temperatures above approximately 700°C. Previous studies showed that protective alumina scale formation on γ-TiAl can be obtained by small additions (around 2 at.%) of Ag. Recently, this type of materials has therefore been proposed as oxidation resistant coatings for high strength TiAl alloys. In the present study, a number of cast Ti–Al–Ag alloys and magnetron sputtered Ti–Al–Ag coatings were investigated in relation to transient oxide formation in air at 800°C. After various oxidation times the oxide composition, microstructure and morphology were studied by combining a number of analysis techniques, such as SEM, ESCA, AFM and LIOS-RS. The γ-TiAl–Ag alloys and coatings appear to form an α-Al₂O₃ oxide scale from the beginning of the oxidation process, in spite of the relatively low oxidation temperature of 800°C. The formation of metastable alumina oxides seems to be related to the presence of Ag-rich precipitates in the alloy matrix.     

Note on POD test parameters to study wear behaviour of alumina–titania coatings

Wear behaviour of atmospheric plasma sprayed (APS) alumina–titania coating is investigated using Pin-On-Disc (POD) test. Mean friction coefficient values are assessed using the cumulative probability plot. Results showed that the friction coefficient increased with both sliding velocity and applied load.     

Phase formation in the Ti–Al–Mo–N system during the growth of adaptive wear-resistant coatings by arc PVD

Ti–Al–Mo–N coatings have been grown by arc PVD at different bias voltages, V_b, applied to the substrate and partial pressures of nitrogen reaction gas, p(N₂), in the working chamber. The coatings have a nanocrystalline structure, with an average grain size on the order of 30–40 nm and a layered architecture made up of alternating layers based on a (Ti,Al)N nitride and Mo-containing phases of thickness comparable to the grain size. It has been shown that the phase composition of the coatings depends on V_b and p(N₂): raising the energy of deposited ions by increasing V_b from–120 to–140 V, as well as raising p(N₂) from 0.3 to 0.5 Pa, leads to a more complete molybdenum nitride formation during coating growth, which causes a transition from (Ti,Al)N–Mo–Mo₂N compositions to (Ti,Al)N–Mo₂N. Measurements of the binding energy of Mo 3d photoelectrons in metallic Mo and the Mo₂N nitride by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy have shown that the transition from the former phase to the latter is accompanied by a negligible energy shift.     

Adhesion of thermal barrier coatings – the development of metastable alumina

Abstract

The adhesion of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) is dependent upon the characteristics of the thermally grown oxide (TGO) that forms between the TBC and the corrosion resistant bond coat. Work has been carried out to investigate the properties of the TGO as a function of ageing treatments using piezospectroscopy. Residual stress maps were generated for an electron beam physical vapour deposited (EB-PVD) TBC which showed a large variation in residual stress over the surface of a coated sample. The two peaks generally associated with a alumina (R1 and R2) frequently appear as doublets with a high and low stress component. In addition, the presence of a metastable θ alumina was detected in aged samples. It is believed that these observations can be related to incipient spallation of the TBC. The development of residual stress and the metastable oxide have been studied and correlated with the spallation behaviour of the TBC.     

Wear characteristics of mechanically milled TiO2 nanoparticles incorporated in electroless Ni–P coatings

Nanosized TiO₂ particles have been prepared by top down approach using mechanical milling with high energy planetary ball mill at 250 rpm for different extents of time (5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 h). Electroless (EL) Ni–P–TiO₂ nanocomposite coatings were developed using alkaline bath containing milled TiO₂ nanoparticles (4 g/l). The results show that, the morphology of TiO₂ particles milled for 40 h exhibit irregular shape with a particle diameter in the range of 33–45 nm. Wear studies of the coatings with 30 μm thickness were investigated using 1, 1.5 and 2 N loads with 0.1 and 0.2 m/s rotation speeds. The Ni–P–TiO₂ nanocomposite coatings exhibit the enhanced hardness and wear resistance as compared to that of Ni–P alloy coatings. Also the composite after heat treatment at 400 °C for 1 h in argon atmosphere showed improved hardness (1010 VHN) and wear resistance (1.5e-06 mm³/N m).     

Synthesis of Sn–Ag binary alloy powders by mechanical alloying

Sn–Ag binary powders of 2–5 wt%Ag were synthesized by mechanical alloying. Structural evolutions, morphologies, particle size distributions and melting points of the milled Sn–Ag powders were studied. The results show that the milled Sn–Ag powders consist of a supersaturated solid solution of Ag in Sn, Sn(Ag), and Ag₃Sn. During ball milling, Sn, Ag particles in the Sn–3.5Ag powders are deformed, overlapped and cold-welded together to form the Sn/Ag composite particles with a lamellar structure, and then the composite particles are fractured into small spherical particles. When increasing the Ag content from 2 to 5 wt%, the average particle sizes of the 60 h milled Sn–Ag powders are changed from 2.2 to 5.7 μm, and the morphologies of them are changed from spherical shape to irregular shape, respectively. It indicates that the cold-welding and agglomeration of the Sn–Ag powders increases with the Ag content during MA. The melting point of the 60 h milled Sn–3.5Ag powders was detected to be 224.23 °C, near to the eutectic point of the Sn–Ag binary system (221 °C).     

Rapid consolidation of nanocrystalline 3Ni–Al2O3 composite from mechanically synthesized powders by high frequency induction heated sintering

Nanopowders of Ni and Al₂O₃ were synthesized from 3NiO and 2Al powders by high energy ball milling. Nanocrystalline Al₂O₃ reinforced composite was consolidated by high frequency induction heated sintering method within 2 min from mechanically synthesized powders of Al₂O₃ and 3Ni. The relative density of the composite was 96%. The average hardness and fracture toughness values obtained were 645 kg/mm² and 6.3 MPa m^1/2, respectively.     

Special features of the interface between glass–metal coatings of superhard materials powders and metal matrices

The main results of the investigation of special features of the formation of the interface between the glass coating on the diamond and cBN powders with metals, that are bonds of grinding tools are described and generalized. It has been shown that the mutual diffusion occurring in the contact zone results in the increase of the adhesion at the interphase boundary, which ensures a strong fastening of a metal coating on a glass aggregate and the glass aggregate itself in a metal bond.     

Synthesis of nanocomposite powders of γ-alumina-carbon nanotube by sol–gel method

The nanocomposite powders of γ-alumina-carbon nanotube were successfully synthesized by a sol–gel process. The homogeneous mixture of carbon nanotubes and alumina particles was obtained by mixing the carbon nanotubes within alumina solution and followed by heating into gel. The resultant gel was dried and calcined at 200 °C into boehmite-carbon nanotubes composite powders. The mean particle size of synthesized boehmite was of the order of 4 nm. The boehmite-carbon nanotubes composite powders were calcined at different temperatures and XRD investigations revealed that as the amount of carbon nanotube increases, γ- to α-alumina phase transformation is completed at higher temperatures. The specific surface area and mean particle size of resultant nanocomposite powders increased and decreased, respectively by increasing the content of carbon nanotubes.     

Preparation of continuous alumina gel fibres by aqueous sol–gel process

Continuous alumina gel fibres were prepared by sol–gel method. The spinning sol was prepared by mixing aluminum nitrate, lactic acid and polyvinylpyrrolidone with a mass ratio of 10:3:1· 5. Thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry (TG–DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the properties of the gel and ceramic fibres. The Al₂O₃ fibres with a uniform diameter can be obtained by sintering gel fibres at 1200 °C.     

Fabrication of porous alumina–zirconia ceramics by gel-casting and infiltration methods

Porous alumina–zirconia ceramics were obtained by infiltrating porous alumina ceramics, which were prepared by tert-butyl alcohol (TBA)-based gel-casting method. Back scattering images of the fracture surface and energy dispersive spectroscopy were performed to obtain composition profiles on the fracture surface and across sections of the sintered composites. The porosity, pore size distribution and compressive strength were also investigated. The results show that the content of zirconia can be adjusted effectively by infiltration times and it decreases with increasing distance from the surface of the samples. The porosity and compressive strength can also be controlled by the infiltration times. With increases of the infiltration times from 1 to 3 cycles, the open porosity decreases slightly from 62.43% to 56.62%, while the compressive strength of the porous alumina–zirconia ceramics increases from 13.57 ± 1.21 to 26.87 ± 2.01 MPa, indicating that the porous ceramics with high porosity and high strength can be prepared by TBA-based gel-casting method combined with the infiltration process.     

Influence of vacuum hot-pressing temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti–3Al–2.5V alloy obtained by blended elemental and master alloy addition powders

This study addresses the processing of near-net-shape, chemically homogeneous and fine-grained Ti–3Al–2.5V components using vacuum hot-pressing. Two Ti–3Al–2.5V starting powders were considered. On one side, hydride–dehydride (HDH) elemental titanium was blended with an HDH Ti–6Al–4V prealloyed powder. On the other side, an Al:V master alloy was added to the HDH elemental titanium powder. The powders were processed applying a uniaxial pressure of 30 MPa. The sintering temperatures studied varied between 900 °C and 1300 °C. The relative density of the samples increased with processing temperature and almost fully dense materials were obtained. The increase of the sintering temperature led also to a strong reaction between the titanium powders and the processing tools. This phenomenon occurred particularly with boron nitride (BN) coating, which was used to prevent the direct contact between titanium and graphite tools. The flexural properties of the Ti–3Al–2.5V samples increased with vacuum hot-pressing temperature and are comparable to those specified for wrought titanium medical devices. Therefore, the produced materials are promising candidates for load bearing applications as implant materials.     

X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectrometry studies of the mechanically alloyed Fe–6P–1.7C powders

Nanostructured Fe–6P–1.7C powders were obtained by mechanical alloying in a planetary ball mill. Morphological, microstructural and structural changes during the milling process were followed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectrometry. The crystallite size refinement to the nanometer scale (5–8) nm is accompanied by an increase in the internal strain. The nanocrystalline structure distortion is evidenced by the lattice parameter changes of the milling products. The hexagonal Fe₂P phosphide is formed within 6 h of milling, while the tetragonal Fe₃P and orthorhombic Fe₃C phases appear after 12 h of milling. A mixture of Fe₃P phosphide, Fe₃C carbide and α-Fe(C, P) solid solution is obtained on further milling time.