Gas detonation spray forming of Fe-Al coatings in the presence of interlayer

The present paper reports that gas detonation sprayed (GDS) NiAl and NiCr intermediate layers underneath of the intermetallic Fe-Al type coatings on plain carbon steel substrate form bilayer coating system interacting with external environment and/or metal elements. The interface layers are responsible for hardness, bond strength, thermal stability and adhesive strength of the whole GDS structure. The physical-chemical properties of the intermediate layers, combined with unique, very dense and pore free intermetallic Fe-Al coating obtained from self-decomposing powders resulted in new, beneficial features of the whole GDS structure which became more complex, enabled independent control of its functional properties and considerably reduced negative gradients of stress and temperature influencing the substrate and increasing adhesion strength.The achievement of homogenous and refined structure (comprising of small (< 1 µm) and equiaxed sized grains) creates a thermal barrier based on high-melting point intermetallic phases containing Al₂O₃ ceramics which is responsible for properties of the GDS bilayer coatings. The application properties were investigated and the specific multilayer structure of the GDS coating was analyzed such as the phase composition, the degree of order, grain morphology, the quality of substrate/interlayer/external coating bonds, and first of all the influence of hardness of the NiAl or NiCr intermediate layers on the hardness and thermal stability of the FeAl coating after gas detonation spraying and additional heating at 750 °C and 950 °C for 10 h.     

Synthesis and high-temperature stability of titanium aluminide matrixin situ composites

A premixture of elemental powders of titanium and aluminum was supplied as a spray material for the direct fabrication of titanium aluminide matrixin situ composites by means of reactive low-pressure plasma spraying with a nitrogen and hydrogen mixed plasma gas. The aluminum content varied from 10 to 63 wt.% in the premixtures. The matrix of sprayed layers consisted of three kinds of titanium aluminides—Ti₃A1, TiAl, and TiAl₃—which begin to form on a low-carbon steel substrate immediately after deposition. The formation of nitrides, which act as a reinforcement, occurs both during the flight of liquid droplets and on the substrate. The nitrogen content is approximately 4 to 5 wt.% in the sprayed intermetallic matrix composites, regardless of the aluminum content of the premixtures. The kinds of titanium aluminides andin situ nitrides developed depend on the aluminum content of the premixtures. The homogeneity of the distribution of aluminum and titanium in sprayed intermetallic matrix composites has been improved by vacuum annealing. The predominant TiAl phase that formed in the sprayed intermetallic matrix composites with a Ti-36 wt.% AI premixture increases in quantity through annealing. Although some minor nitrides disappear through annealing, the principal reinforcement, Ti₂AlN, does not decompose, but increases in quantity. The hardness of sprayed intermetallic matrix composites varies with aluminum content of the premixtures, but is always greater than that of sprayed titanium aluminides containing no nitrides. Annealing does not reduce the hardness of sprayed intermetallic matrix composites. Sprayed and annealed intermetallic matrix composites with a Ti-36 wt.% Al premixture maintain their hardness of approximately 500 HV up to 800 K. Hence, reactive low-pressure plasma spraying offers a promising fabrication method for titanium aluminide matrixin situ composites, which are expected to excel in wear resistance applications at elevated temperatures.     

Nanomechanical properties of novel intermetallic coatings developed on austenitic stainless steels by siliconisation in liquid phase

Advanced nanomechanical testing has been used to evaluate mechanical properties of Ni-free Al₁₂(Fe,Cr)₃Si₂ intermetallic coatings grown on the 316 LVM steel by hot dipping in a Al-12.6 at.% Si liquid alloy for various immersion times. Despite the ultrafine-grained structure of the coating (～200 nm), the indentation size effect is more pronounced for the intermetallic coating than for the steel, which is explained by the higher geometrical necessary dislocation (GND) density of the intermetallic coating. To determine the true hardness of the coatings, the model of Nix and Gao was used. It has been shown that the hardness of the coating decreases from 6.2 GPa for the shortest time of immersion (60 s), to 3.36 GPa for the highest immersion time (600 s), which is always much higher than that for the substrate (1.82 GPa). The decrease in both hardness and GND with increasing immersion time is related to the relaxation of residual stresses, which act as a hardening factor. The net effect is an increase of the plasticity index of the coating. Young’s modulus for the intermetallic phase (146 GPa) is lower than that for the austenitic steel 316 LVM (220 GPa), which will favour the load transfer at the bone/metal interface, weakening the so-called “stress shielding effect”. Hence, the nanomechanical properties of this novel Ni-free intermetallic coating, tightly adhered to the substrate, offer a window of opportunity for orthopaedic applications.     

In situ nanocrystalline Fe–Si coating by mechanical alloying

A new approach for deposition of in situ nanocrystalline Fe–Si alloy coating on mild steel substrate by mechanical milling has been proposed. The thickness of nanocrystalline coating was a function of milling time and speed. Milling speed of 200 rpm was the optimum condition for development of uniform, hard, adherent and dense 200–300 μm thick nanocrystalline coating. A possible mechanism, consisting of three steps like repeated impact, cold welding and delamination, has been proposed for the formation of coating. These coatings have resulted in the increase of the hardness to almost double the value before coating.     

Tribology of thermal sprayed WC–Co coatings

This paper looks at the tribology of thermal sprayed WC–Co based coatings and covers the high energy air–sand erosion resistance and slurry jet impingement erosion performance, dry and wet sliding tribology of thermal spray WC–Co based coatings as well as the abrasion and abrasion–corrosion of these coatings. The tribological and tribo-corrosion performance of the coatings will be related to their mechanical and corrosion properties as well as deposition parameters, microstructure and actual composition. For example, the anisotropic microstructure of thermally sprayed WC–Co–Cr coatings, in particular the low fracture toughness in a direction parallel to the substrate, has been observed to affect the nature of crack formation under 200 μJ air–solid particle erosion conditions. Voids and occasionally other microstructural features (i.e., cobalt lakes, splat boundaries, interfacial inclusions) in the coating act as crack initiation sites. The erosion rate was dominated by cracks within 5 μm of the surface and was relatively insensitive to total length of cracks, showing a near-surface damage front controls the erosion rate and this region is coincident with the region of maximum shear stress induced by erodent impacts. Optimisation of the deposition parameters of HVOF 86WC–10Co–4Cr coatings show an improvement in erosion resistance of more than 50% over the conventional D-gun applied coating of identical nominal composition. The variation in the slurry erosion performance of the thermally sprayed coatings is also linked to directional fracture toughness and crack propagation paths which are influenced by the presence of pores, inhomogeneous carbide distributions and substrate grit blast remnants. The influence of slurry jet angle is more pronounced under 0.4 μJ energy conditions where maximum erosion occurred at 90° and the minimum at 30° in contrast to 7 μJ slurry erosion rates which were independent of jet angle. This reflects the lower levels of fluctuating stresses imparted to the coating during low energy slurry impacts leading to the impact angle having a greater effect on sub critical crack growth rate than for higher energy conditions.The abrasion resistance of these coatings was found comparable to sintered cermets of the same composition. The synergistic effects between micro and macro abrasion and corrosion for detonation gun (D-gun) sprayed WC–10Co–4Cr coatings are shown to be significant and depend on the environment. The size effect of the abradant relative to the microstructure and splat size is important as well as the propensity for the various phases to passivate to control corrosion levels. Comparisons between exposed and freshly polished coating surfaces in strong NaOH solutions (pH 11) show that significantly lower wear rates were seen for the exposed surface due to a negative wear–corrosion synergy due to selective phase removal and the effects of localised passivation.Dry and wet sliding wear resistance of these coatings is shown to be high (wear rates of 10⁻¹⁶–10⁻¹⁸ m³/Nm) with modest coefficient of friction levels between 0.2 and 0.5. The presence of oxides on the binder phases appears to influence the friction and wear levels. Wear appears to be by carbide ejection and/or by tribo-chemical processes.     

Microstructure and dry sliding wear resistance of laser clad TiC reinforced Ti–Ni–Si intermetallic composite coating

Wear resistant TiC reinforced Ti–Ni–Si intermetallic composite coating with a microstructure consisting of TiC uniformly distributed in Ti₂Ni₃Si–NiTi–Ti₂Ni multi-phase intermetallic matrix was fabricated on a substrate of TA15 titanium alloy by the laser cladding process using TiC/Ti–Ni–Si alloy powders as the precursor materials. Microstructure of the coating was characterized by optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). Dry sliding wear resistance of the laser clad TiC reinforced Ti–Ni–Si intermetallic composite coating was evaluated at room temperature. Results indicated that the TiC/(Ti₂Ni₃Si–NiTi–Ti₂Ni) intermetallic composite coating exhibited excellent abrasive and adhesive wear resistance.     

A technique for fabrication of coated TiCN-based cermets with functionally graded structure

A technique for fabrication of coated TiCN–Ni–Mo cermets with functionally graded microstructure and composition has been developed. A multilayer coating and the substrate near-surface zone with graded microstructure form as a result of interaction between the cermets and chromium vapour in vacuum. The coating consists of an upper layer of chromium carbide of about 10 μm in thickness and a thin interlayer of less than 1 μm composed of a Ni–Cr alloy between the carbide layer and the substrate. The wide near-surface zone of over 100 μm in thickness with graded microstructure and composition forming under the coatings has an increased Cr content in the Ni-based binder. This zone is characterised by enhanced corrosion- and oxidation-resistance.     

激光熔敷Ti5Si3／NiTi金属间化合物复合材料涂层组织与耐磨性

以Ti14Si6Ni80合金粉末为原料，利用激光熔敷技术在BT9钛合金表面制得以金属硅化物Ti5Si3为增强相、以金属间化合物NiTi为基体的快速凝固金属间化合物复合材料涂层，分析了该涂层的显微组织，在室温干滑动磨损条件下测试了其耐磨性。研究结果表明，涂层硬度高、组织致密、与基材之间为完全冶金结合，在干滑动磨损试验条件下具有较好的耐磨性。涂层具有优异耐磨性的主要原因是作为耐磨增强相的金属硅化物Ti5Si3具有高硬高耐磨的特性，在涂层中起到了抗磨骨干作用，同时作为涂层基体的金属间化合物NiTi由于具有极强的原子结合键及应力诱发马氏体相变特性，本身具有优异的耐磨性，在摩擦过程中对耐磨增强相Ti5Si3起到了强力支撑作用。     

AISI1045钢表面激光熔覆FeCoCrNiAl0.5Ti0.5涂层的界面特性及摩擦性能

激光熔覆高熵合金涂层摩擦磨损行为的研究主要聚焦在涂层表面,鲜有对熔覆层/基体界面区域的摩擦学行为进行研究。为了提高AISI 1045钢的耐磨性,采用激光熔覆技术在AISI 1045钢基体表面制备宏观形貌良好、组织均匀的FeCoCrNiAl_0.5Ti_0.5高熵合金涂层。利用OM、XRD、SEM、EDS和摩擦磨损测试仪对激光熔覆FeCoCrNiAl_0.5Ti_0.5涂层的微观结构、物相组成、界面特性和摩擦磨损性能进行研究。通过对FeCoCrNiAl_0.5Ti_0.5涂层XRD图谱和元素分布分析发现,涂层主要由面心立方(Fe,Ni)相和体心立方相(BCC)形成的共晶组织及其中弥散分布着的Ni Al金属间化合物构成。硬度测试表明,从涂层顶部到基体,涂层、稀释区、热影响区和基体的平均显微硬度分别为518±20、561±63、473±81和217±12 HV0.2。涂层/基体界面区域生成了Cr₂₃C₆,在摩擦过程中会形成一层摩擦...     

Si-modified aluminide coatings deposited on Ti46Al7Nb alloy by slurry method

Ti46Al7Nb alloy has been used as the research substrate material for the deposition of water-based slurries containing Al and Si powders. The diffusion treatment has been carried out at 950 °C for 4 h in Ar atmosphere. The structure of the silicon-modified aluminide coatings 40 μm thick is as follows: (a) an outer zone consisting of TiAl₃ phase and titanium silicides formed on the matrix grain boundaries composed of TiAl₃–type Ti₅Si₃; (b) a middle zone containing the same phase components with the matrix TiAl₃ and the silicides Ti₅Si₃, which formed columnar grains; (c) an inner zone, 2 μm thick, consisting of TiAl₂ phase. Cyclic oxidation tests were conducted in 30 cycles (690 h at high temperature) and showed a remarkably higher oxidation resistance of the Ti46Al7Nb alloy with the protective coating in comparison with the uncoated sample.     

Depth profile analyses of nc-TiC/a-C:H coating prepared by balanced magnetron sputtering

Nanocrystalline titanium carbide embedded in an hydrogenated amorphous carbon matrix (nc-TiC/a-C:H) shows high hardness and Young's modulus together with low wear and low friction coefficient. In this paper, we report on the preparation of well adherent nc-TiC/a-C:H coatings ~ 5 μm thick on stainless steel substrates using a well balanced magnetic field configuration and only very low power RF bias on the substrate. Hardness and Young's modulus of these coatings are 43 GPa and 380 GPa, respectively. The mechanical properties – hardness and Young's modulus – measured from the coating's top reach the values obtained at optimized experiments where the unbalanced magnetic field configuration was used. A simple method of depth profiling suitable for evaluation of mechanical properties of several micrometers thick coatings is developed and employed. The paper reports on the depth profile analyses of the coating hardness, Young's modulus, composition and morphology.     

Effect of a trace of Cr on intermetallic compound layer for tin–zinc lead-free solder joint during aging

Influence of Cr on growth of interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC) at the interface of Sn–9Zn/Cu substrate during aging at 85 °C/20%RH and 85 °C/85%RH for 500 h has been investigated. After aging treatment, IMC layer at the Sn–9Zn/Cu joint is much thicker than that at the Sn–9Zn–Cr/Cu joint. Estimation according to experimental data presents that IMC growth rate of Sn–9Zn–Cr/Cu interface is about 70–75% lower than that of Sn–9Zn/Cu interface.     

Microstructure evolution and thermal stability of an Fe-based amorphous alloy powder and thermally sprayed coatings

High velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying has been used to produce coatings of an Fe–18.9%Cr–16.1%B–4.0%C–2.8%Si–2.4%Mo–1.9%Mn–1.7%W (in at.%) alloy from a commercially available powder (Nanosteel SHS7170). X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to investigate the powder, as-sprayed coatings and annealed coatings which had been heated to temperatures in the range of 550–925 °C for times ranging from 60 to 3900 min. Microhardness changes of the coatings were also measured as a function of annealing time and temperature. The powder was found to comprise amorphous and crystalline particles; the former had a maximum diameter of around 22 μm. The coating was composed of splat like regions, arising from rapid solidification of fully molten powder, and near-spherical regions from partially melted powder which had a largely retained its microstructure. The amorphous fraction of the coating was around 50% compared with 18% for the powder. The enthalpies and activation energies for crystallization of the amorphous phase were determined. Crystallization occurred in a two stage process leading to the formation of α-Fe (bcc), Fe_1.1Cr_0.9B_0.9 and M₂₃C₆ phases. DSC measurements showed that the first stage occurred at 650 °C. Annealing the coating gave a hardening response which depended on temperature and time. The as-sprayed coating had a hardness of 9.2 GPa and peak hardnesses of 12.5 and 11.8 GPa were obtained at 650 and 750 °C, respectively. With longer annealing times hardness decreased rapidly from the peak.     

Development of hard intermetallic coatings on austenitic stainless steel by hot dipping in an Al-Si alloy

The austenitic stainless steel was coated by dipping it into a molten Al-12.4%Si alloy at 765 °C. The effect of immersion times in the range of 60 to 900 s was investigated with respect to the crystalline structure, thickness, and microhardness of the coating. A uniform layer (~ 12 µm) of intermetallic Al₁₂(Fe,Cr)₃Si₂ with hexagonal crystalline structure is formed, irrespective of the immersion time. Incorporation of Si to the coating changes the growth mode of the coating from inwards to outwards, which favours the development of a flat substrate/coating interface. Microhardness of the coating decreases with increasing dipping time, ranging between 850 and 600 HV for the shortest and longest immersion time, respectively. These hardness values are higher than that for the substrate of about 200 HV, irrespective of the immersion time.     

Effect of a sputtered TiAlCr coating on the oxidation resistance of TiAl intermetallic compound

The effect of a sputtered TiAlCr coating on the oxidation resistance of TiAl intermetallic compound was investigated in static air. The bare TiAl alloy exhibited poor isothermal and cyclic-oxidation resistance at 800–1000°C due to the formation of TiO₂-base scales which tend to spall during cooling. A sputtered Ti-50Al-10Cr coating remarkably improved the oxidation resistance of TiAl, due to the formation of an adherent Al₂O₃ scale at 800–1000°C. After long-term oxidation (at 900°C for 1000 hr), TiAlCr coating still provided excellent protection for the TiAl alloy. Minor interdiffusion occurred due to the inward diffusion of Cr, while no Kirkendall voids were found at the coating/ substrate interface. In contrast, NiCrAlY and CoCrAlY coatings reacted extensively with the TiAl alloys. Moreover, the TiAlCr coating alloy is based on -TiAl and TiAlCr Laves phases, which may offer improved mechanical properties. The TiAlCr coating exhibited a better combination of oxidation resistance and substrate compatibility than conventional aluminide and MCrAlY coatings.     

Laser-assisted laser ablation method for high-quality hydroxyapatite coating onto titanium substrate

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) coating on titanium (Ti) or Ti alloy implant materials is one of the important technologies for improving the bioactivity of their surface. We recently developed a new HAp coating method using two laser beams, laser-assisted laser ablation method (LALA method). In this method, two excimer lasers were used. One laser beam from KrF laser, the ablation laser, is used for ablation of a HAp target. The other beam from ArF laser, the assist laser, is used to irradiate a Ti substrate surface during formation of the HAp coating. The assist laser plays an important role in the formation of a crystalline HAp coating and improves the strength of adhesion to the Ti substrate.The coating quality varied with the timing of the assist laser irradiation. A coating deposited with a long assist laser delay contained a large amorphous component. High-quality coatings were obtained with delay time between 2 and 10 μs.Using the present method, we succeeded in fabricating thin (≤1 μm) HAp coatings with high crystallinity and high adhesion strength.     

Interfacial reactions between Sn–8Zn–3Bi–xAg lead-free solders and Cu substrate

The formation and the growth of the intermetallic compounds (IMCs) at the interface between the Sn–8Zn–3Bi–xAg (x = 0, 0.5, and 1 wt.%) lead-free solder alloys and Cu substrate soldered at 250 °C for different durations from 5 to 60 min were investigated. It was found that Cu₅Zn₈ and CuZn₅ formed at Sn–8Zn–3Bi/Cu interface, and Cu₅Zn₈ and AgZn₃ formed at the solder/Cu interface when the solder was added with Ag. The thickness of IMC layers in different solder/Cu systems increased with increasing the soldering time. And the growth of the IMCs was found to be mainly controlled by a diffusion mechanism. Additionally, the growth of the IMC layers decreased with increasing content of Ag in the soldering process.     

Ti-B-C composite coating produced by electrothermally exploded powder-spray technique

Composite coatings of a Ti-B-C system were reactively produced by the electrothermally exploded powderspray (ELTEPS) technique. First, the electrical characteristics of the ELTEPS system were determined. The starting powder of the coatings was titanium powder mixed with boron carbide powder. This powder was prepared for production of Ti-B-C composite coatings on substrates using the ELTEPS technique. The coatings obtained were composed of titanium carbide and titanium diboride. The thickness of the coating obtained by onefold spray was not uniform. The coating obtained by the twofold spray covered the substrate. The coating obtained by threefold spray was still more precise. The thickness of the coating obtained by threefold spray was about 50 μm and its hardness value was about 30.7±4.5 GPa.     

Corrosion behaviour of Zn–Al–Mg coated steel sheet in sodium chloride-containing environment

Conventional hot-dip galvanised zinc coated (Z) and novel hot-dip galvanised Zn–Al–Mg alloy coated (ZM) steel sheet samples with a coating thickness of 7 μm each were exposed to standardised salt spray test and cross-sections of the corrosion samples were analysed by using SEM and EDS. On Z corrosion proceeds very fast and the steel substrate is attacked even after 100 h of exposure. ZM samples showed a different behaviour. The entire metallic ZM coating is converted into a stable, adherent aluminium-rich oxide layer, which protects the steel substrate against corrosive attacks. This layer is the main reason for the enhanced corrosion resistance of the ZM coating in sodium chloride-containing environment.     

热处理对高频感应FeCrBSi熔覆层组织及性能的影响

采用高频感应熔覆技术在圆柱试棒表面制备了FeCrBSi熔覆层,并研究了热处理对该熔覆层组织及性能的影响,结果表明:FeCrBSi熔覆层均匀致密,无缺陷,与基体达到冶金结合;热处理可使界面均匀化,组织稳定化,界面处化学成分连续分布;热处理后熔覆层组织由奥氏体转变为马氏体,析出二次碳化物,共晶碳化物数量减少,形状由鱼骨状改...