• Tribology and Lubricants
• /
• v.33 no.6
• /
• pp.275-281
• /
• 2017

In this work, we have fabricated anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) with ordered nanoscale porosity through an anodization process. We deposited gold and nano-organic thin films on the porous AAO surface to protect its structure and reduce friction. We investigated the tribological characteristics of the porous AAO with respect to the protective surface coatings using tribometers. While investigating the frictional characteristics of the samples by applying normal forces of the order of micro-Newton, we observed that AAO without a protective coating exhibits the highest friction coefficient. In the presence of protective surface coatings, the friction coefficient decreases significantly. We applied normal forces of the order of milli-Newton during the tribotests to investigate the wear characteristics of AAO, and observed that AAO without protective surface coatings experiences severe damage due to the brittle nature of the oxide layer. We observed the presence of several pieces of fractured particles in the wear track; these fractured particles lead to an increase in the friction. However, by using surface coatings such as gold thin films and nano-organic thin films, we confirmed that the thin films with nanoscale thickness protect the AAO surface without exhibiting significant wear tracks and maintain a stable friction coefficient for the duration of the tribotests.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.121-126
• /
• 2007

This study aims at investigating the effect of heat treatment conditions on the dry sliding wear behavior of thermally sprayed Ni-based self-flux alloy coatings. Ni-based self-flux alloy powders were sprayed onto a carbon steel substrate and then heat-treated at 700, 800, 900 and $1000^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes in a vacuum furnace. Dry sliding wear tests were performed using sliding speed of 0.4 m/s and applied load of 6 N. AISI 52100 ball(diameter 8 mm) was used as counterparts. Microstructure and wear behavior of both as-sprayed and heat-treated Ni-based self-flux alloy coatings were studied using a scanning electron microscope(SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDX), electron probe micro-analysis(EPMA) and X-ray diffraction(XRD). It was revealed that microstructure and wear behavior of thermally sprayed Ni-based self-flux alloy coatings were much influenced by heat treatment conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.10-14
• /
• 2014

Niobium nitride coatings have many potential thin film applications due to their chemical inertness, good mechanical properties, temperature stability and superconducting properties. In this study, $NbN_x$ coatings were prepared by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) assisted DC magnetron sputtering method on the surface of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steels. Effects of target power were studied on mechanical and chemical properties of the coatings. The coating structure was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The coating hardness was measured by micro-knoop hardness tester. The coating thickness was measured using a 3D profiler and wear characteristics were estimated using a ball-on-disk wear tester. The thickness of the $NbN_x$ coatings increased linearly from 300 nm to 2000 nm as the Nb target power increased, and it showed over $HK_{0.005}$ 4000 hardness above Nb target power of 300 W. Hexagonal ${\delta}^{\prime}$-NbN phase and cubic ${\delta}$-NbN phase were observed in the coating films and the hardness of the NbNx coatings was higher when these two peaks were mixed. The corrosion resistance increased with the increase of the Nb target power.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.179-189
• /
• 2006

High velocity oxygen fuel(HVOF) thermal spray coating of WC-Co powder is one of the most promising candidate for the replacement of the traditional hard chrome plating and ceramics coating because of the environmental problem of the very toxic $Cr^{6+}$ known as carcinogen and the brittleness of ceramics coating. WC-Co micron and nano powder were coated by HVOF thermal spraying method for the study of durability improvement of the high speed spindle. Coatings were planned by Taguchi program for the four spray parameters of spray distance, flow rates of hydrogen, oxygen and powder feed rate. Optimal coating process was obtained by the studies of coating properties such as porosity, surface roughness, micro hardness, and micro structure. WC-Co micron and nano powder were coated on the Inconel 718 substrate by the optimal coating process obtained in this study. The wear behaviors were studied by the sliding wear tester at room temperature and at an elevated temperature of $500^{\circ}C$ for the application to high speed spindle. Sliding wear test was carried out for four most promising hard coatings of chrome coating, ceramics coatings such as $A1_2O_3,\;Cr_2O_3$ and HVOF Co-alloy T800 for the comparison of their wear behaviors. HVOF WC-Co coating was better than other coatings showing highest micro hardness of 1400 Hv and comparable friction coefficients with others. HVOF WC-Co coating is a strong candidate for the replacement of the traditional hard chrome plating for the high speed spindle.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.229-234
• /
• 2016

In this study, the degree of particle melting in $Y_2O_3$ plasma spraying and its effects on coating characteristics have been investigated in terms of microstructural features, microhardness and scratch resistance. Plasma sprayed $Y_2O_3$ coatings were formed using two different powder feeding systems: a system in which the powder is fed inside the plasma gun and a system in which the powder is fed externally. The internal powder spraying method generated a well-defined lamellae structure that was characterized by a thin porous layer at the splat boundary and microcracks within individual splats. Such micro-defects were generated by the large thermal contraction of splats from fully-molten droplets. The external powder spraying method formed a relatively dense coating with a particulate deposition mode, and the deposition of a higher fraction of partially-melted droplets led to a much reduced number of inter-splat pores and intra-splat microcracks. The microhardness and scratch resistance of the $Y_2O_3$ coatings were improved by external powder spraying; this result was mainly attributed to the reduced number of micro-defects.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.13 no.10
• /
• pp.4365-4370
• /
• 2012

AZ31 Mg alloy were coated by Macro Arc Oxidation(MAO) with 3 types of electrolyte and various coating times at 4A/$cm^2$. The Surface morphology of coatings became lager pores and surface crack initiated as the coating time increased. The thickness and micro-hardness of coatings increased as the coating time increased. also. The phase of coatings on AZ31 alloy consisted of MgO, $Mg_2SiO_4$ and $MgAl_2O_4$ oxides. The salt spray corrosion resistance of coated AZ31 alloys revealed excellent corrosion resistance in 5% NaCl solution for 168hr.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
• /
• v.30 no.6
• /
• pp.264-270
• /
• 2017

In this study, while the abrasive plates for diamond have been prepared through mechanical alloying and sintering of elemental powders, a fabrication route of plasma thermal coatings has been adopted for the first time. When diamond knife is sharped or polished, a metal plate has been applied, which is made of mechanical alloying and sintering. In this study, in order to develop a cost - effective manufacturing process, plasma coatings of FeCrNi and Ti on cast iron plate were applied together with Al intermediate layer coatings. The plasma coatings were successfully performed, and the optimum coating layer conditions were discussed in terms of micro-structural observations at the interfaces.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
• /
• v.38 no.6
• /
• pp.207-211
• /
• 2005

In this work a multi-layered nanostructured TiAIN/CrN superlattice coatings was synthesized using closed-field unbalanced magnetron sputtering method and the relationships between their superlattice period (1), micro-structure, hardness and elastic modulus were investigated. In addition, wear test at $500^{\circ}C$ and oxidation resistance test at $900^{\circ}C$ were performed to investigate high temperature properties of these thin films. The coatings were characterized in terms of microstructure and mechanical properties by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nano-indentation test. Results from TEM analysis showed that superlattice periods was inversely proportional to the jig rotation speed. The maximum hardness and elastic modulus of 37 GPa and 375 GPa were observed at superalttice period of 6.1 nm and 4.4 nm, respectively. An higher value of microhardness from TiAIN/CrN thin films than either TiAIN (30 GPa) or CrN (26 GPa) was noted while the elastic modulus was approximately an average of TiAIN and CrN films. These enhancement effects in superlattice films could be attributed to the resistance to dislocation glide across interface between the CrN and TiAIN layers. Much improved plastic deformation resistance ($H^3/E^2$) of 0.36 from TiAIN/CrN coatings was observed, compared with 0.15 and 0.16 from TiAIN and CrN, respectively. Also the wear resistance at $500^{\circ}C$ was largely increased than those of single TiAIN and CrN coatings and TiAIN/CrN coatings showed much reduced weight gain after exposure at $900^{\circ}C$ for 20 hours.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.26 no.10
• /
• pp.2180-2186
• /
• 2002

In a micro-scale contact, capillary force and van der Waals interaction significantly influence the contact between asperities of rough surfaces. Little is, however, known about the variation of these surface forces as a function of chemical property of the surface (wet angle), relative humidity and deformation of asperities in the real area of contact. A better understanding of these surface forces is of great necessity in order to find a solution for reducing friction and adhesion of micro surfaces. The objective of this study is to investigate the surface forces in micro-scale rough surface contact. We proposed an effective method to analyze capillary and van der Waals forces in micro-scale contact. In this method, Winkler spring model was employed to analyze the contact of rough surfaces that were obtained from atomic force microscopy (AFM) height images. Self-mated contact of DLC(diamond like carbon) coatings was analyzed, as an example, by the proposed model. It was shown that the capillary force was significantly influenced by relative humidity and wet angle of the DLC surface. The deformation of asperities to a critical magnitude by external loading led to a considerable increase of both capillary and van der Waals forces.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
• /
• v.42 no.5
• /
• pp.220-226
• /
• 2009

Cr-O-N coatings having different oxygen contents were deposited on Si wafer and SUS 304 substrates by an arc ion plating technique using Cr target in $Ar/O_2/N_2$ gaseous atmosphere. As increasing oxygen content in the coating, the microstructure of Cr-O-N coating changed from polycrystalline having NaCl structure to amorphous structure. Further increase of oxygen content resulted in phase transformation from amorphous to rhombohedral structure. From the variations of d value and average grain size, it was revealed that the maximum solubility of oxygen in Cr-O-N coating was about 21 at.%. And the maximum micro-hardness of 2751HK was obtained in this composition. The lowest friction coefficient was measured in the coating having 34.8 at.% of oxygen. However, more narrow width of wear track was found in the coating having 30.1 at.% of oxygen.