SURFACE ENGINEERING

Definition "Changing the properties of the surface of a material to give performance which cannot be achieved by the surface layer or bulk alone" Surface Engineering Processes

Mechanical treatment (e.g. peening, shot blasting) Surface transformation (e.g. induction hardening, laser treatment) Surface composition changes (e.g. thermochemical treatment, ion implantation) Chemical treatment (e.g. conversion coatings) Coating (e.g. painting, spraying, plating, vapour deposition) Surface activation (etching, plasma treatment of polymers)

nly some of these processes will be useful to improve tribological performance, but all will affect surface properties in some way which can influence performance.

Factors Influencing Treatment Selection Performance factors

!ear resistance "ardness#strength Corrosion resistance $mpact resistance %hickness re&uired

Processing factors

'dhesion (orosity )esidual stress Structure#property relationships

Process factors

Component shape Component si*e +eposition rate Substrate temperature during deposition ,ffect of surface treatment on fatigue strength of substrate Cost

Hardness and Surface Engineering

Many wear resistant coatings show high hardness, but hardness alone is not a good guide to wear resistance e-cept in cases where abrasive wear dominates. %he work of .ruschov indicates an almost linear relationship between wear resistance and hardness for metallic elements but the behaviour breaks down for multiphase materials. "ardness is a convenient monitoring tool for assessment of coatings. "owever, as the coating thickness increases or its hardness increases the hardness is no longer directly related to plasticity but is a systems parameter depending on both coating and substrate. Impact Resistance %he impact resistance of most wear/resistant coatings is low by engineering standards. $n general relatively ductile materials show good impact resistance and high strength (high hardness) materials do not. %here is almost an inverse relationship with hardness. $n the vast ma0ority of wear situations some impact cannot be avoided so the choice of coating will be a compromise between hardness and toughness. a!imum Ser"ice Temperature %he high temperature service of a coating is limited by microstructural changes leading to softening or o-idation. 1or instance martensitic steels soften appreciably above 233C, whereas tungsten/carbide cobalt composite coatings o-idise above 443C. "igh chromium, nickel or cobalt alloys are re&uired for higher service temperatures and ceramics must be used at temperatures greater than 5333 C.Creep performance and o-idation#corrosion resistance dictate choice of material. Ad#esion f prime importance for coatings, but less so for thermochemical treatments where there is no interface between coating and substrate. 'dhesion depends on6/

$nterfacial chemical bonding (covalent or ionic bonds stronger than van der !aals bonding) Surface cleanliness (contamination, method of preparation) Sharpness of interface (best adhesion from graded interfaces) )esidual stress (high compressive residual stress promotes spallation) +eposition temperature (higher temperatures allow chemical bond formation and development of graded interfaces but also promote thermal e-pansion mismatch stress) (rocess factors (e.g. sputter cleaning in vapour deposition, particle velocity in spraying)

"ow to improve adhesion6

)emove weak, friable processed layers from components (e.g. grit blasting) )oughen surface (for sprayed coatings) Carefully clean and degrease Chemically etch or activate surface Sputter etch in vacuum processes Coat at as high a temperature as is practical for other considerations

Porosit$ %he si*e, shape and location of porosity is very important. ,ffect of porosity6

)educed strength 'llows penetration by gases and li&uids (corrosion) Can act as an oil reservoir

Control of porosity by6

(rocess parameters (e.g. increase spray velocity or deposition temperature in (7+) Coating thickness (penetration of gases to interface reduced as coating thickness increases 8se a post/coating sealant

Component s#ape and si%e Some coating methods are unsuitable for comple-/shaped components6/

electrodeposits cannot be applied to components with sharp edges or blind cavities Spraying processes are best carried out with the spray stream normal to the surface 'ccess to surface areas needed for weld deposits 7acuum coating is essentially line/of sight C7+ and electroless nickel do not suffer from these problems

Component si*e is also an issue6

in (7+ or C7+ component si*e is limited by chamber si*e in high temperature processes (e.g. carburising) component si*e is limited by the amount of distortion which can be tolerated

Coating rate and t#ic&ness $n most coating processes there is a ma-imum thickness of coating which may be deposited, dictates by factors such as residual stress and adhesion. "owever, a more important practical consideration is coating rate which dictates the economics of the coating process. 1or instance, though it is possible to deposit (7+ wear/resistant coatings to

543m thickness, layers of only 9m are usually used because these can be deposited in a single shift. Fatigue Performance of Su'strate %hermal and thermochemical processes such as carburising introduce surface compressive stresses which have a beneficial effect on substrate fatigue ,lectroplating of chromium induces tensile residual stresses which have a detrimental effect Sprayed coatings can improved or reduce fatigue performance depending on spray parameters as it is possible to create both tensile and compressive stresses. 7apour deposited coatings tend to reduce fatigue life due to the fact that columnar grain boundaries can act as a nucleation site for the fatigue crack.

(EAR)RESISTANT
Coating etals #ardened dispersed o!ides Mo 5:< Cr steel Intermetallics >i'l Co/Cr/Mo Hardened steels 52< Mn 243/:43 5533 '$ :;3 ::3

ETA* C+ATINGS
a! ser"ice temp , C. Corrosion resistance Application met#od

Hardness ,H-.

243 =33

moderate good

1lame spraying 1lame spraying

?43 5333

poor very good

1lame or plasma spraying (lasma spraying, welding

543/933 (work hardened) :33/?43

543/233 543/233 433

poor poor# moderate good# moderate

!elding !elding, thermal and thermo/ chemical treatment %hermo/chemical treatment

Martensitic >itrided ?33/5233 Cast Irons Martensitic 933/=33 "igh chromium NiCoCr allo$s Cobalt alloys >ickel alloys :43/@33 >i(, >iA Chromium ?43/;43 ?43/5333 ?43 :33 :43 :33/@33 ?43 933/=33 233/243 5333

poor# moderate good

!elding !elding

very good very good very good very good

!elding, plasma spraying 1lame spraying plus fusion, welding ,lectroless plating ,lectroplating

(EAR RESISTANT CERA IC C+ATINGS

Coating Hardness ,H-. a! ser"ice temp , C. Corrosion resistance Application met#od

Cermets !C#Co Cr:C2/>i/Cr Cr:C2/Co !C#steel +!ides alumina chromia Car'ides %iC 7C +iamond +iamond/like carbon (+CC) Nitrides %i> %i'l> Cr> Car'onitrides %iC> /orides 1eA CrA 5=43 :433/9333 233 ?33 moderate good 9433 943 very good 2933 2:33 2333 433 ?43 ?43 very good very good very good 5233 243 very good :233 2=33 53333 433 433 =43 very good very good very good 2533 2933 B5333 B5333 very good very good 5:33/5=33 5533 943/433 433 443 ?23 ?33 :33 good very good good poor# moderate

+/gun, "7 1 and plasma spraying +/gun and plasma spraying ,lectro/deposition !elding +/gun, plasma spraying, C7+, (7+ +/gun, plasma spraying

C7+, (7+ %hermo/chemical C7+, tiling

C7+, (7+

C7+, (7+ (7+ (7+

(7+, C7+, %hermo/chemical

%hermo/chemical 1usion of powder coating

I P+RTANT FACT+RS IN TREAT ENT SE*ECTI+N

(ear Process Primar$ Surface Re0uirements Principal Surface Treatments +perating conditions affecting treatment selection +egree of lubrication (solid lubricants), amplitude of vibration (Cu at low amplitudes, hard coatings at high), applied stress (thickness of treatment high for high stress) 'pplied stress (thickness of treatment must be high for high stress) General en"ironmental considerations

Fretting

Metals of dissimilar composition, non metals, hard materials

Sprayed copper alloys, anodising, nitrocarburising, plasma sprayed and electrodeposited cermets

Contact fatigue "igh yield strength, ade&uate toughness, good adhesion Ad#esi"e 1ear Metals of dissimilar composition to contacting surface, hard materials, ceramics

%hermal and thermochemical treatments, weld deposits, spray and spray#fused coatings Sprayed Cu, Mo, thermochemical treatment, phosphating, sprayed cermets, electroless nickel, %iC (C7+) or %i> ((7+)

+egree of lubrication (harder coatings needed as lubrication is reduced), surface roughness (smoother surfaces reduce wear)

,levated temperatures, corrosive environments will reduce range of treatments possible

Impact 1ear

"igh yield strength, ade&uate toughness, good adhesion

!eld deposits, thermal and thermochemical treatments, sprayed Co alloys, sprayed and electrodeposited cermets 'll hard coatings

$mpact stress (as stress increases the toughness of the treated layer becomes increasingly important 'brasive hardness, applied stress, impact loading 'brasive hardness, applied stress, impact loads, chemical reactions with chips Si*e and hardness of abrasive particles, applied stress, impact

*o1 stress a'rasion ac#ining 1ear

"igh hardness

"igh hardness

'll hard coatings

Hig# stress a'rasion

"igh hardness, toughness and adhesion, thick

!eld deposits, thermal and thermochemical treatments

coating Erosion ) #ig# angle impact "igh hardness, ade&uate toughness, good adhesion "igh hardness !eld deposits, plasma sprayed cermets and metals, vapour/deposited coatings 'll hard coatings 7elocity of impact, si*e of erodent, hardness and toughness of erodent (roperties of erodent (hardness, toughness)

Erosion ) lo1 angle impact

CASE STUDIES2 APP*ICATI+NS +F SURFACE TREAT ENTS AND C+ATINGS D D GEARS

Re0uirements

ability to sustain contact stresses on tooth flanks ability to sustain bending stresses at the base of the teeth resistance to surface fatigue (pitting/resistance) resistance to scuffing

Contact stresses

"ert*ian stresses give a ma-imum shear stress below the surface %he depth of this ma-imum increases with load and increasing tooth flank radius "ert*ian shear stresses may reach 5.4 to 2E(a ' thick, high hardness surface layer is re&uired

Possi'le surface treatments

thermal hardening thermochemical treatments o carburising o nitriding a!imum S#ear Stress (it# Dept#

-ariation +f

Consider variation of ma-imum shear along the * a-is 1or circular contacts

ma-F3.:5( ma-F3.:(

at -F3, *F3.9?a

1or line contacts

3

at -F3, *F3.@?a

%he ma-imum contact pressure ("ert* pressure), ( 3, and the semicontact width, a, can be calculated from "ert* e&uations (" 4)

Tooling Applications
%hree main types 5. Metal cutting tools (e.g. inserts, drills etc.) 2. Metal forming tools (e.g. press tools, shears, etc.) :. (lastic moulding tools (in0ection moulding, etc.) Coated tools are used to improve tool life, throughput and surface finish. Tool Coating3Treatment Processes

,lectrodeposition (press tools) ,lectroless deposition (precision forming tools) 7apour deposition (cutting and forming tools) o Chemical vapour deposition o (hysical vapour deposition (lasma nitriding (press and forming tools) $on implantation (moulding tools)

SURFACE ENGINEERING PR+CESSES

T#ermal Hardening
' hard layer is produced on plain carbon and low alloy steels of medium carbon content (3.:/3.=<) by rapid heating of the surface followed by water or oil &uenching to form martensite. Ad"antages

Cheap Selective treatment possible 7ariable depth of treatment (5/53mm)

Disad"antages

Cimited range of steels (ossibility of distortion

T$pes of T#ermal Hardening

$nduction hardening "igh fre&uency resistance hardening 1lame hardening %ungsten inert gas (%$E) hardening Caser transformation hardening ,lectron beam hardening

T$pes of T#ermal Hardening

Induction Hardening

'lternating current flowing in an in an inductor induces eddy currents in the workpiece result in Goule heating "igh fre&uency (433k"*) for shallow case (3.4mm) Cow fre&uency (5k"*) for deep case (4mm) Single shot or scanning )apid repeatable and clean

Induction Hardening conditions Dept# of #ardening ,mm. 3.4/5.5 5.5/2.: 5.4/2.: 2.:/:.3 :.3/9.3 2.:/:.3 :.3/9.3 9.3/4.3 Fre0uenc$ ,&H%. 943 943 53 53 53 : : : T$pical Po1er Input ,(3mm4. 54/5; ?/52 54/24 54/2: 54/22 2:/2= 22/24 54/22

(recise power input conditions will depend on component si*e and geometry Hig# fre0uenc$ resistance #ardening

!ater cooled pro-imity conductor is connected to the workpiece and a power source "eating occurs between the contacts when power is applied (933k"*) Selective hardening Cheap

Flame #ardening

Cocalised heating with gas flames (acetylene, propane or natural gas) +epth of hardening depends on heat transfer from the fuel/o-ygen mi-ture ften integrated with &uenching spray Can treat comple- shapes Can be costly and difficult to control

Tungsten inert gas ,TIG. #ardening

'kin to %$E welding %$E used to harden cast iron by surface melting Carge castings so that conduction in the bulk rapidly cools melted layer Cheap

*aser transformation #ardening

"igh power laser beam impinges on surface to give rapid heating Cocalised treatment perates in air Huenching by heat conduction to bulk Case depths around 5mm at high power density, deeper at increased laser defocus Can melt substrate surface or fuse applied powder layers "igh capital cost "igh throughput

Electron 'eam transformation #ardening

7acuum process, prevents e-cessive component o-idation "igh energy electron beam impinges on component causing heating +epth of treated layer from 3.2 to 2.4mm Huenching by heat conduction to bulk "igh capital cost

THER +CHE ICA* TREAT ENTS

Carburising Carbonitriding >itriding >itrocarburising Aoriding Metalliding

CAR/URISING
' process in which carbon (up to 3.?<) is diffused into the surface of a steel which is subse&uently hardened by &uenching and then tempered. $t is generally carried out at ?43/;43 C to achieve reasonable carbon diffusion rates. Ad"antages

'pplicable to a wider range of steel compositions !ider range of surface and core properties possible

Disad"antages

+istortion occurs in processing which may re&uire grinding Huench cracking can occur

Car'urising Processes
Pac& Car'urising

Components packed in a bo- with carburising agent (e.g. coke) and an energiser (e.g. barium carbonate) "eated to ?43/;43C for diffusion of carbon Cimited control of carbon profile by amounts of carburising agent and energiser Huenching from carburising temperature not possible ,nergy inefficient Eood for "one/off" components

Salt 'at# car'urising

Components immersed in a molten salt bath containing mi-tures of sodium cyanide and an alkaline earth salt (e.g. barium chloride) Cyanide is o-idised to cyanate which dissociates at the steel surface to form C 9>aC> 2C

2>aC>I>a C
2 2

IC I2>1e

IC1e

Aoth carbon and nitrogen diffuse into components

Gas Car'urising

'tmospheres with low carbon potential generated outside the furnace as carrier gas Eas is enriched with hydrocarbons on in0ection into the furnace to increase the carbon potential to the re&uired level Carbon potential is the surface carbon concentration of the steel in the atmosphere under e&uilibrium conditions / measured directly by modern probes

Traditional Gas Atmosp#ere Methane or propane are burnt in a controlled manner producing a gas of the following composition >2 :4/93< "2 93/94< C 54/24< C
2

C"9 3.4/5.4<

3.5/5.3<

Controlled additions of methane or propane are then added to the gas to increase the carbon potential C"9IC C"9I"2
2

2C I2"2 I:"2

't the carburising temperature several reactions take place of which the most important is C I"2 C1eI"2 %he balance of the atmosphereJs constituents is maintained by the water gas reaction C I"2

I"2

Nitrogen)'ased atmosp#ere

Mi-ture of nitrogen, hydrogen, o-ygen and carbon/containing gases produced by a gas blender Fluidised 'ed car'urising

Eas blown through a bed of particles at sufficient flow rate will cause the particles to separate and "fluidise" "igh heat transfer rates and fuel efficiency fast process Carbon potential of fluidising gas can be controlled but it is difficult to achieve accurate carbon potentials (articles are generally inert

-acuum car'urising

Components heated to carburising temperature under low pressure (3.5%orr) 1urnace then backfilled with a carburising gas to a fi-ed partial pressure %reatment rate depends on partial pressure (roblems with soot formation

Plasma car'urising

Components raised to the carburising temperature by resistance heating in a low pressure inert gas environment %he components are insulated from the chamber which acts as an anode in plasma generation ' hydrocarbon#hydrogen gas mi-ture is then in0ected and a plasma produced by putting several hundred volts onto the components (cathode) (lasma activates the carburising atmosphere leading to a rapid increase in carburising rate Eood process control is achieved by controlling the gas atmosphere and the electrical characteristics of the plasma Clean, efficient process Eas &uench needed

CAR/+NITRIDING
' variant on carburising in which a small amount of nitrogen (up to 3.4<) is diffused into the steel along with carbon. >itrogen lowers the ferrite/austenite transformation temperature and increases hardenability, so carbonitriding is a lower temperature process. ' lower &uenching rate is also used Ad"antages

)educed distortion Cess cracking

Disad"antages

Slower process Shallower case depths produced

Car'onitriding Processes Salt 'at# car'onitriding

(rocess is similar to salt bath carburising e-cept that more o-ygen is supplied to the bath %his increases the amount of sodium cyanate in the bath and hence a greater production of nitrogen (rocess control is not easy due to comple- salt bath chemistry Cheaper than salt bath carburising due to lower operating temperature

Gas car'onitriding

'mmonia gas is introduced into a gas carburising atmosphere (typically around 4<) Control of the ammonia concentration is crucial as high levels lead to retained austenite and void formation at boundaries

NITRIDING
>itrogen is diffused into the steel surface by heating to 433/424 C in a nitrogen/containing atmosphere. %o obtain high surface hardnesses (B@43"7) nitride forming elements such as 'l, Cr, Mo and 7 must be present in the steel. >o &uenching is re&uired to develop hardened surface layer. Ad"antages

Cow temperature treatment, no distortion "ardness developed is temper resistant up to 433 C

Disad"antages

Cong treatment times %hin case depth (K3.@mm)

Nitriding Processes
Gas nitriding

'nhydrous ammonia gas dissociates catalytically on component surfaces (9;3/4:3 C)

2>": 2>1eI:"2

>ickel alloy retorts necessary to prevent corrosion Case depth 3.4mm after 94h at 454 C !hite layer (L23m) consisting of fcc J phase (1e9>) and a hcp phase with a higher nitrogen content formed at surface, this is brittle and is often removed by grinding 'mount of white layer can be controlled by minimising the nitriding potential 'chieved by diluting the ammonia with hydrogen +iffusion layer with alloy nitrides formed below (;33/5333"7)

Plasma Nitriding

Eood control of compound layer properties and thickness Components are placed in the reactor vessel and made the cathode of a plasma by applying a voltage in the range 933/54337 to them. Chamber walls form the anode. (ressure reduced to 3.5/53torr of reaction gases hydrogen and nitrogen to strike discharge (5torr F5mm mercury) Eas is ionised by electrons streaming out from the components >early all the potential drop occurs in the few mm above the component surface, the "dark space" / ions are accelerated across this space and impinge on the components $on bombardment provides the heat for the process. 'd0usting the pressure changes the si*e of the dark space and allows comple- features (blind holes, tubes) to be treated. >itriding potential controlled by electric parameters / plasma nitriding can be carried out at lower temperatures that gas nitriding "igh degree of process control and reliability

Plasma Nitrided Gears (lasma nitrided gears with a controlled white layer are used to resist scuffing. Scuffing is wear generated under high load#velocity conditions where frictional heating of the material is e-cessive, leading to softening. $t often occurs in asperities during run/in.

NITR+CAR/URISING
' variation on nitriding in which carbon is diffused into the surface together with nitrogen at 4@3 C to give a carbonitride phase in the surface layer. Carried out in either a salt bath containing sodium cyanide and cyanate or in a gas mi-ture with ammonia and a carburising gas. Ad"antages

Carbonitride layer has good resistance to adhesive wear Can be o-idised during &uenching and sealed to give e-cellent corrosion resistance

Disad"antages

%ypical treated layers are very thin >itrocarburising atmospheres#salts are difficult to handle safely

/+R+NISING
Aoron is diffused into the surface of plain carbon or low alloy steels at appro-imately ;43 C to form a layer of iron borides about 533 m thick with a hardness in the range 5?33/2533"7. Can also be applied to cobalt, nickel and titanium alloys. Ad"antages

"igh surface hardness Eood adhesion due to interdigitation of borides

Disad"antages

"igh process temperature (distortion) Arittle surface layer (oor fatigue and corrosion resistance

/oronising Processes Pac& /oriding

Components packed into boron carbide powder with an activator (Aa1 2, >"9Cl or .A19) and an inert diluent (SiC or alumina) 's A9C content increases, the amount of 1eA at the surface of the components increases Most widely/used process due to its simplicity

Paste /oriding

Aoron/containing pastes can be painted on to components and dried Several coats may be needed Component then heated for boronising to take place

Salt 'at# processes

Molten salt baths used %hermochemical or electrolytic processes

Gas 'oriding

>itrogen#hydrogen carrier gas with ACl: additions

orp#olog$ of /oride *a$ers 1or iron substrates6/ (a) ,-terior layer of orthorhombic 1eA (b) $nternal layer of body/centred tetragonal 1e2A $n alloy substrates, alloying elements inhibit boride formation and the amount of 1eA increases with alloy content. Stainless steels are not suitable for boriding.

ETA**IDING
+iffusion of metals into the surface to form compounds with substrate elements. %he best known process is the %oyota +iffusion process in which vanadium and niobium are diffused into steel from a salt bath at 5333 C to form carbide layers. %he carbide layers are typically 4/52m thick and have a hardness of L:333"7. Ad"antages

"igh surface hardness Eood abrasive wear resistance

Disad"antages

"igh process temperature (distortion) %hin treated layer

C+ATING PR+CESSES

,lectrodeposition Chemical coating Conversion coating 7apour deposition o Chemical vapour deposition o (hysical vapour deposition Spraying !elding Cladding with solid tiles

E*ECR+CHE ICA* DEP+SITI+N

Coatings produced by electrolysis of an a&ueous solution of a salt containing the coating material, the component to be coated being the cathode. 1or wear resistance chromium is the coating most widely used6/

high hardness (5333"7) good corrosion resistance low coefficient of friction against steel thickness limit of 3.4mm due to residual stresses

%hicker coatings of nickel can be produced but the deposit is relatively soft (243"7). "ard particles (e.g. o-ides or carbides) can be incorporated into coating during deposition to increase its hardness (e.g. to L=33"7 with SiC). Ad"antages

Cow temperature treatment "igh hardness Cow friction 'pplicable to a wide range of metal substrates %hick layers possible

Disad"antages

(oor thickness uniformity on comple- components "ydrogen embrittlement >ot applicable to insulating substrates (ossible environmental concerns with plating baths

CHE ICA* C+ATINGS

Chemical coatings are produced by the immersion of the component in a solution of a salt of the coating metal with no impressed current. So/called "electroless" coatings of >ickel/boron or nickel/ phosphorus are commonly used produced by the reduction of a nickel salt by sodium hypophosphite or sodium borohydride respectively. ,lectroless coatings have a reasonable as/deposited hardness but can be heat/treated to give a high hardness (L5333"7). Ad"antages

Cow temperature treatment More corrosion resistant than electrodeposited chromium Can coat comple- shapes uniformly "ard particles can be incorporated to increase hardness (%1, can be incorporated to reduce friction Can coat most metals and some insulators

Disad"antages

More e-pensive than electroplated chromium

"eat treatment is needed to develop optimum properties

C+N-ERSI+N C+ATINGS
%hin compound layers can be produced by reacting a metal surface with an acidic solution. e.g. %hin (53m) coatings of metal phosphates are formed on steel substrates e-posed to phosphoric acid. %hese provide low friction surfaces with some resistance to adhesive wear. ften used to help components run/in. Ad"antages

Cheap and simple to perform Cow temperature treatment

Disad"antages

)estricted range of materials can be treated %hin treated layer (oor treatment durability +ifficult to control treatment &uality on heterogeneous materials

CHE ICA* -AP+UR DEP+SITI+N ,C-D.

Easeous compounds react to form a dense layer on a heated substrate. %he most widely deposited wear/resistant coatings are %iC, %i>, chromium carbide and alumina. +eposition temperatures are generally in the range ?33/5333C which restricts the range of materials which can be coated and can lead to component distortion. %hicknesses are limited to about 53m due to the thermal e-pansion mismatch stresses which develop on cooling which also restrict the coating of sharp edged components. Ad"antages

"igh coating hardness Eood adhesion (if the coating is not too thick) Eood throwing power (i.e. uniformity of coating)

Disad"antages

"igh temperature process (distortion) Sharp edge coating is difficult (thermal e-pansion mismatch stresses) Cimited range of materials can be coated ,nvironmental concerns about process gases

PH5SICA* -AP+UR DEP+SITI+N ,P-D.

' generic term for a range of low pressure coating processes in which the coating flu- is produced by a physical process. %here are two main types6/

,vaporation Sputtering

$n both cases the source material is a solid (metal or ceramic). ' reactive gas may be used in the deposition chamber to deposit compound coatings from an elemental source or maintain the stoichiometry of coatings from compound sources. %ypical coating thicknesses range from 5/53 m for wear/resistant coatings, though thinner layers are used in microelectronics and thicker layers are used for high temperature corrosion protection of gas turbine components. Ad"antages

,-cellent process control Cow deposition temperature +ense, adherent coatings ,lemental, alloy and compound coatings possible

Disad"antages

7acuum processes with high capital cost Cimited component si*e treatable )elatively low coating rates

(oor throwing power without manipulation of components

E-AP+RATI+N PR+CESSES
%he vapour pressure of most materials increases with temperature and if it e-ceeds the ambient pressure the material will rapidly evaporate into the environment. $n a coating chamber the pressure is reduced and the source material heated until a desired vapour flu- is maintained which is controlled by the source material, the source temperature and the system pressure. "eating can be performed in several ways6/

)esistive heating (e.g. aluminium evaporation from %iA2 boat) ,lectron beam evaporation (e.g. metals such as tungsten) Cathodic arc evaporation (e.g. titanium evaporation for %i> coatings)

%he vapour pressures of different metals vary over several orders of magnitude so it is difficult to evaporate alloys and control composition. 's/deposited evaporated coatings are porous due to the limited mobility of coating atoms on component surfaces. %his can be controlled by heating or ion plating (see later) Spatter from localised boiling can lead to droplet formation which affects coating performance.

SPUTTERING PR+CESSES
!hen energetic ions strike a surface, material is e0ected by the transfer of momentum from the ion to the target atoms (akin to billiard ball collisions at the atomic scale). %his can be conveniently achieved in a low pressure glow discharge of an inert gas such as argon. $n such a process the target material is made the cathode and is raised to a potential of several hundred volts. ,lectrons leaving the cathode stream out into the gas phase where they can impact with argon atoms, ionising them. %he positively charged argon is then accelerated to the cathode where it impacts and sputters away material. %he sputtering yields of different elements for given impact conditions do not vary very much so target alloy compositions can be maintained in the coating e-cept in cases where there are large differences in the atomic weights of alloy constituents. %he coating rate scales with the electrical power used to sustain the discharge. %he coating rate also depends on the plasma density, so techni&ues to increase this (e.g. by confining the electrons close to the target using magnets) will increase the coating rate. "owever, as much as ;4< of the power is dissipated as heat in the target so good cooling is essential. Main sputtering processes6/

+C diode sputtering (for conducting targets) )1 sputtering (for insulating targets)

I+N P*ATING
Coatings produced by vacuum evaporation or sputtering onto components at room temperature are rarely very dense. %his is due to low adatom mobility and shadowing processes affecting where incoming atoms can be incorporated into the structure. %here are two ways to increase coating density and performance6

raise the substrate temperature allow some ion bombardment of the coating to occur as it grows (ion plating)

%he substrate temperature needs to be very high (B3.4% m of the coating) to achieve a fully dense coating which is not generally practical to achieve (distortion, softening etc.). $on plating is thus preferred. $on plating is achieved by putting a small negative voltage onto the components during deposition and ensuring that a proportion of the coating flu- is ionised. %his can be achieved by6

(assing the flu- through a plasma (either as part of the sputtering process, or artificially generated for evaporation) 8sing a hot filament to generate a flu- of electron into the system 8sing an arc evaporation process (L;3< of the material e0ected from the arc is ionised) 8sing an ion beam

%he energy and flu- of ion bombardment needs to be controlled to produce a dense coating without introducing e-cessive compressive residual stresses.

I+N I P*ANTATI+N
' vacuum process in which a beam of ions is directed at the surface and in0ected into it. %he ions lose energy in collisions with the target atoms and come to rest in the surface layer of the material with an appro-imately Eaussian distribution. %he ion penetration depth depends on the ion species, ion energy and target material, bur is generally less than 5m. 1or steels the main ion used is nitrogen, which hardens the surface by forming nitride precipitates and solid solutions. %he damage introduced by the implantation process also introduced a compressive residual stress which improves fatigue performance. Ad"antages

Cow temperature process 7ery versatile / every stable element in the periodic table can be implanted into any vacuum compatible target "ighly controlled >o distortion / can be applied to finished components >ot a coating process

Disad"antages

Cine of sight process ,-pensive vacuum e&uipment needed 7ery thin treated layer

$on implantation is routinely used for semiconductor doping and treatment of e-pensive plastics in0ection moulding tools where any wear is detrimental.

THER A* SPRA5ING PR+CESSES

' number of processes have been developed in which particles of the coating material are heated to a molten state and pro0ected at the substrate which is relatively cold (K233C). Coating density and strength of bonding to the substrate increase with pro0ection velocity. Process T$pical -elocit$ ,m3s. 1lame spraying 533 'tmospheric plasma spraying :33 7acuum plasma spraying =33 "igh velocity o-y/fuel# detonation gun spraying ?33 Ad"antages

Most metals and ceramics and some polymers can be sprayed ' wide range of metallic substrates can be coated. Cocalised treatments possible

Disad"antages

Most sprayed coatings contain some porosity %he adhesion of sprayed coatings is generally poor compared to other processes %he &uality and reliability of the coatings depends on careful control of both powder source and spray parameters +ifficult to produce high &uality coatings on re/entrant surfaces

THER A* SPRA5 PR+CESSES (ire Spra$ing Consumable wire fed into gun where it is melted and atomised by a gas blast (generally compressed air) Melting by flame or arc Metal wires only Much o-ide incorporated in deposit 8sed for building up worn or badly machined products 'rc processes are faster but noisier and lead to metal fumes so not used so much Flame spra$ing

Consumable powder is in0ected into a torch Simple and cheap )ange of metal powders can be sprayed plus some o-ides Coatings sprayed by simple torches have poor properties due to low particle speeds 1usible alloys such as >i/Cr/A/Si have been developed to overcome this

Hig# "elocit$ flame spra$ing

1uel#air mi-tures undergo controlled combustion in the gun "igh velocity spray guns burn fuel#air mi-tures at high pressure to achieve high gas velocities Shock waves created which can accelerate gas and powder feed to very high velocity "igh velocity o-yfuel processes developed for wear/resistant cermet coatings (!C#Co)

Detonation Gun Process

+/gun detonation coatings have fuel#air mi-ture ignited by a spark plug +uring the flame burn period the flame front accelerates down the barrel, compressing the gas ahead of it 't a critical temperature, self ignition produces a shock wave +etonation wave heats and carries powder to substrate at high velocity 1lame temperature limited to :433. +etonation between four and eight times a second 7ery noisy process +etonation gun cermet coatings well established for wear (e.g. !C#Co)

Plasma Spra$ing ' carrier gas is fed into a torch in which a high current arc is struck Eases passing through the arc are dissociated and ionised resulting in a plasma 0et from the no**le (owders are in0ected into the plasma 0et where they are heated and e0ected at the target / the in0ection position can be ad0usted depending on their melting point 7ery high temperatures possible in the are (53333.) and heat transfer is very efficient, especially from diatomic gases Ceramic, metal and polymer coatings are possible %he process can be carried out in vacuum to reduce atmospheric braking and o-idation of metallic coatings

(E*DING PR+CESSES
%he same methods which can be used for 0oining materials can be used to deposit wear resistant coatings (hardfacings). Coating materials range from low alloy steels to tungsten carbide composites. "igh deposition rates are possible and very thick coatings can be produced. $t is impractical to produce layers less than 2/:mm thick. %here can be problems with cracks in weld deposits. Ad"antages

Cheap 'pplicable to large components Cocalised coating possible ,-cellent adhesion

Disad"antages

Cimited range of coating materials Minimum thickness limits

Can affect properties of substrate

S+*ID TI*ES
8sed in applications where a large amount of wear can be tolerated. %iles can be attached mechanically of by adhesives, cements or bra*ing. Materials used include fused basalt, alumina, 5:< Mn steel, high chromium cast iron and cemented carbides Ad"antages

7ery thick layers possible >o affect on substrate properties Can be replaced +ifferent tiles used in different locations to optimise performance

Disad"antages

Cimited substrate geometries Cimited coating materials Cabour intensive (roblems at tile boundaries ,-pensive