Surface and Coatings Technology 130 Ž2000.

257᎐265

A simulation test for the selection of coatings and surface

treatments for plastics injection moulding machines

S.J. Bull a,U , R.I. Davidsona , E.H. Fisher a , A.R. McCabe b, A.M. Jones b
a
Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, Uni¨ ersity of Newcastle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
b
AEA Technology plc, Harwell, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RA, UK

Received 22 November 1999; accepted in revised form 5 April 2000

Abstract

Glass-filled polymers are known to produce considerable wear on the screws and barrels of injection moulding machines and
several coatings and surface treatments have been used to combat this ranging from chromium plating to High Velocity Oxy Fuel
ŽHVOF. WCrCo. However, quantification of the benefits of such coatings and treatments has proceeded on an ad hoc basis and
there is little data available to aid selection. In this study we have developed a novel wear tester to simulate the conditions of
wear which occur in the barrel of an injection moulding machine and used it to rank the coatings and surface treatments which
are often used in this application. The tester concept is similar to that of the ASTM rubber wheel abrasion test except that the
rubber wheel is replaced by a steel wheel heated to a fixed temperature Žup to 200⬚C. by hot air and the sand is replaced by
pelletised plastic. The plastic sticks to the hot wheel and is softened and dragged past the sample which is also heated to the same
temperature. The sample is pressed against the plastic-coated wheel with a small load and a wear scar is produced at the contact
point by a combination of abrasive wear from the glass filler and sliding wear from the plastic. In the case of glass filled nylon the
best surface treatments were based on nitriding. Coatings tend to not perform very well in this test but are still better than
uncoated steel. This paper discusses these results and the mechanisms of failure observed in the test. 䊚 2000 Elsevier Science
S.A. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction chrome nitride by physical vapour deposition ŽPVD.

The use of glass-filled polymers in injection moulding
machines is well known to generate wear damage in
screws, barrels and tooling w1,2x and a number of coat-
ings and surface treatments have been used to prolong
component life w3᎐5x. Coatings have been used for
moulds for some time now but their use on screws and
barrels is not well-established due to the high shear
forces operating in these regions. For screws and bar-
rels hard chrome plating has been used but more
recently better performance has been achieved by
nitriding the barrel steel or applying tungsten carbider
cobalt coatings by thermal spraying techniques or
U
Corresponding author.
w6x. However, despite the undisputed success of these
approaches, there is little comparative wear data avail-
able on which to base selection of an appropriate
coating technique. The data which are available is
usually obtained in conditions which are not like those
which are expected to occur in an injection moulding
machine.
In this study we have set out to design a wear test
that simulates more closely the conditions in the barrel
of an injection moulding machine. The test is designed
to operate at 200⬚C, heating a cold pelletised polymer
feedstock and forcing it to slide past a hot sample in a
controlled fashion. A range of surface treatments have
been assessed by the test using glass-filled nylon feed-
stock in order that a ranking of the coatings and
treatments can be achieved. Since wear volumes are

0257-8972r00r$ - see front matter 䊚 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 2 5 7 - 8 9 7 2 Ž 0 0 . 0 0 6 9 7 - 6
258 S.J. Bull et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 130 (2000) 257᎐265
Fig. 1. Schematic of the injection moulding process; for more de-
tailed description, see w7x.
very low, a number of different wear assessment tech-
niques have been used to quantify the damage intro-
duced during the test ᎏ this will be discussed later in
the paper.
2. Tribology of injection moulding barrels and screws
In a typical injection moulding machine the polymer
feedstock, in the form of loose powder or granules is
fed into the barrel from a hopper ŽFig. 1.. Initially, it is
moved along the barrel in an Archimedean manner w7x,
but in the transport zone mass transfer becomes con-
trolled by friction. In this region the volume of the
screw channel is diminishing as the feedstock gets
closer to the mould so the screw will pressurise and
compact the material. The combination of external and
frictional heating causes the polymer to melt and form
a layer of molten material on the barrel surface. Abra-
sion of the barrel can occur as hard fillers are pressed
against and slide along the barrel or screw surfaces.
The screw may also vibrate in the barrel leading to
metal᎐metal contact and sliding wear. As the molten
film thickness increases it is scraped off the barrel by
the screw and collects in the channel between flights.
Eventually the melt pool will completely fill the chan-
nel and is homogenised in the metering zone. The
abrasive wear rate increases at this point and attack by
corrosion is possible from the polymer matrix or any
additives. In modern machines of the reciprocating
screw type the screw moves backwards Žas the pressure
in the barrel increases . to a predetermined distance
which sets the volume of material to be injected. Once
the correct metered volume is produced the screw is
pushed forward axially by a hydraulic ram to inject the
molten polymer into the mould. The pressure in the
system increases rapidly at this point and the severity
of any abrasive wear processes will increase. The maxi-
mum injection pressure is typically 200 MPa. The ram
and screw are then withdrawn and again there is a
chance of impact wear as the screw and barrel collide.
There are thus a number of requirements for a wear
test to simulate behaviour in this application:
䢇 simple sample geometry;
䢇 ability to handle pelletised plastic feedstock of vari-
able size;
䢇 test temperatures between room temperature and
200⬚C;
䢇 test pressures between 1 and 250 MPa;
䢇 a test which assesses abrasive, chemical and impact
wear; and
䢇 reasonable wear rates to allow accurate wear
metrology.
Model tests have previously been developed by the
DKI to simulate the wear by solid-filled plastic granules
in the conveying zone and plasticised moulding mate-
rial close to the point of injection w2,3x, which have
been used to assess the wear performance of coatings
and surface treatments for the protection of screws and
barrels w4,5x. However, these tests do not simulate
adequately the wear in the metering zone where semi-
plastic polymer slides against the barrel and there is
the possibility of fatigue wear due to the load᎐unload
behaviour as individual polymer granules slide past the
test surface. These tests also do not simulate the im-
pact or adhesive wear which can be caused by
metal᎐metal contact as the screw vibrates in the barrel
during operation of the hydraulic ram w8x. For this
reason we have set out to produce a test which can
more completely simulate all the wear processes in
injection moulding screws and barrels.
3. Wear test principle
The wear test is based on the ASTM rubber wheel
abrasion test w9x but with the rubber wheel replaced by
a steel wheel of the same grade used in the barrels of
injection moulding machines ŽP20; 0.4%C, 1.5%Mn,
1.95%Cr, 0.4%Mo. Žsee Fig. 2.. This is heated at the
rim to ; 200⬚C by hot air guns. The temperature of the
disc can be controlled by the appropriate heater power
settings on the guns and by the use of metal air
deflectors to concentrate heat on the disc surface. The
temperature is accurate to "10⬚C as measured by a
stainless steel sheathed thermocouple sliding on its
Fig. 2. Schematic of the test rig.
 S.J. Bull et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 130 (2000) 257᎐265 259

surface just below the sample. During set-up, the tem- Table 1
perature of the wheel is measured just above the sam- Coatings and surface treatments investigated
ple to ensure that adequate heating occurs. The tem- Sample 100 g Vickers Treatment thickness
perature variation between these two positions was 2⬚C hardness Ž␮m.
which is much smaller than the accuracy of control of Žkgfrmm2 .
the disc surface temperature. The sample is held in a
Untreated 391 ᎐
holder connected to a pivot loading system which can Nitrided 1284 20 ␮m white layer
press it against the surface of the hot disc in an almost 250 ␮m diffusion layer
vertical orientation. The sample and its holder can be Nitridedq nitrogen 1759 20 ␮m white layer
heated independently of the disc up to 200⬚C by car- ion implantationa 250 ␮m diffusion layer
tridge heaters and its temperature is controlled using a Laser hardened 477 Not measured
WCrCo coated ŽAPS. 510 120 ␮m
thermocouple on the rear side of the sample to "2⬚C. Chrome plated 1125 25 ␮m
A hopper system was designed to contain the pel- a
letised plastic feedstock. The heated wheel passes Ion implantation took place in the Blue Tank at Harwell. The
typical ion beam conditions were 76 keV N2q for a dose of 4 = 10 17
through the hopper where it can heat the plastic charge ionsrcm2 .
but the walls of the hopper remain cold. The hot
polymer sticks to the wheel and is dragged through the
tact provides only a very small contribution to the total
contact causing wear to take place. A scraper is
wear; for nearly all the samples tested in this study
mounted at the opposite side of the rig to the sample
metal᎐metal contact early in the test leads to the
to remove excess polymer that remains adhered to the
transfer of small patches of disc steel to the coated
rotating disc. The flow rate of the polymer feedstock is
surfaces which are subsequently removed by abrasion
controlled by the size of the hole at the bottom of the Ži.e. by the glass filler..
hopper, the surface roughness of the disc, the disc
temperature and the length of the hot disc passing
through the hopper which is in contact with the feed-
stock. A number of tests were undertaken to determine 4. Experimental
the feedstock flow rate in the test by capturing all the
material which has passed through the contact in a 4.1. Test samples
fixed time and it was found that the flow rate was
relatively uniform at ; 3 kgrh. If the pellet size is P20 steel ŽCarrs Tool Steel. was machined into 50-
increased above 5-mm diameter there is a high chance mm diameter, 10-mm thick discs and ground flat to give
of blockage and the test becomes unreliable. It is a surface roughness of less than 0.5 ␮m Ra prior to
therefore likely that a different polymer feed system coating. A range of coatings and surface treatments
will be necessary. To avoid this problem the polymer were obtained from commercial suppliers or produced
feedstock was reduced to less than this size using a in-house at AEA Technology ŽTable 1.. Three discs
mechanical grinder of the type used for recycling plas- were supplied for each treatment to give an indication
tic materials. of the variability in performance of a given treatment.
Loading of the coatings and surface treatments dur- Laser treatment was used to harden the surface of
ing the test is intermittent in that individual polymer the barrel steel disc but since this had a relatively low
pellets travel through the contact at randomly, closely hardenability the increase in hardness is low ŽTable 1..
spaced, times Žapprox. every 0.5᎐1 s.; there is a small The barrel steel is suitable for nitriding and a typical
delay between them and in extremes there will be nitriding treatment was used to produce a case depth
metal᎐metal contact. This occurs for less than 5% of of 0.25 mm with a 20-␮m white layer which consists of
the total test time in the early stages of the test but a mixture of ␥⬘ and ␧ iron nitrides. The ion implanta-
after a short time a layer of polymer adheres to the tion treatment injects nitrogen into the top ; 0.2 ␮m
complete surface of the disc and metal᎐metal contact of the nitrided sample surface. The implanted layer is
ceases until this is removed. This can also occur between confined within the white layer and the treatment leads
the screw and the barrel in an injection moulding to some densification of this layer increasing its hard-
machine as mentioned previously. The contact stress ness ŽTable 1.. The sprayed WCrCo coatings were
varies between 40 MPa when an unmelted polymer deposited by Air Plasma Spraying ŽAPS. from
pellet passes through the contact and 28 MPa when the WCr6%Co powders.
polymer-coated metal disc is in contact with the sam-
ple. The wear process will thus include some sliding 4.2. Test conditions
wear and cyclic loading Žwhich could lead to contact
fatigue failure. as well as the abrasive and chemical Test parameters used for comparing all of the sam-
wear assessed by previous tests. The metal᎐metal con- ples are summarised in Table 2. It is essential to run
260 S.J. Bull et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 130 (2000) 257᎐265

Table 2 for all coatings and surface treatments ŽFig. 3.. The
Test parameters used in the comparison testing
samples which show the lowest weight loss are nitrided
Parameter Setting steel with the nitrogen implanted nitrided samples close
behind. The worst performance was observed for the
Disc material Steel laser hardened, APS WCrCo-coated and chrome-
Disc diameter 203 mm
plated samples which all performed worse than the
Disc width 10 mm
Disc rotation speed 84 rev.rmin uncoated material. However, there was considerable
Disc surface temperature 200 " 10⬚C scatter in the mass loss values between samples with
Sample diameter 50 mm the same coating which obscures the variations between
Sample thickness 10 mm samples with different coatings and surface treatments.
Sample temperature 200 " 2⬚C
The large scatter in the mass loss data is caused by a
Load at sample 21.4 N
Polymer feedstock Black plastic Žglass-filled nylon. number of factors. Firstly, the samples typically weigh
Pellet size - 3 mm ; 200 g and the mass loss is ; 1 mg which requires a
Feed rate 3 kgrh very accurate balance with a high load capability for its
Test duration 30 min assessment. A five decimal place balance was used
here. Secondly, contact of polymer occurs over a wide
stripe across the sample and not just in the wear scar.
the rotating disc until its temperature reaches 200⬚C
At the end of the test the polymer that is in contact
before any polymer is placed in the hopper. A flow of
with the test sample becomes adhered to it. Measure-
material through the hopper and onto the disc was
ments taken immediately after the test without clean-
established before the sample was loaded against it. A
ing thus show large weight gains for all samples. Ultra-
load of 10 N was used on the end of the load hanger
sonic agitation in a solvent such as acetone can remove
which corresponds to a load of 21.4 N at the discrsam-
the majority of this superficial polymer and the weight
ple contact. Lower loads led to excessive vibration as
gains now become weight losses but the extent of
almost solid polymer pellets were dragged through the
weight loss depends on the effectiveness of the clean-
contact. Higher loads showed an increasing fraction of
ing process. Cracked coatings such as hard chrome
steel-on-steel contact as the softened polymer was
plate and porous sprayed coatings trap polymer in the
squeezed out of the contact. To minimise vibration of
coating which is almost impossible to remove by this
the loading arm and high amplitude oscillations caused
method. Thus, the scatter in the test data is sufficiently
by severe impacts between disc and sample in the early
large to change the ranking order so a different way of
stages of the test, a simple backstop behind the sample
assessing wear is necessary.
holder was used to limit the loading arm motion. The
Surface profiles were measured across the wear scar
backstop was set at a distance just less than the diame-
in the sliding direction and along the centre line of the
ter of the feedstock pellets behind the sample holder
wear scar perpendicular to the direction of sliding, as
ᎏ the precise position was not found to affect the
this is the place where wear is expected to be greatest.
measured results.
Traces were long enough to ensure that unworn mate-
To measure the worn volume it was necessary to use
rial was traced at each edge of the scar. Measurements
profilometry. Mass loss measurements were made for
taken across the scar were very variable, reflecting the
all the samples but these are very inaccurate since
some plastic sticks to the surface of the materials and
the wear scars Žand hence the mass changes they
create. are very small Žsee later.. In many cases there
was insufficient reflectivity to allow optical profilometry
and thus no direct measurements of wear volume were
made by this technique. However, stylus profilometry
was used to measure the change in roughness of the
samples before and after testing and an estimate of the
worn volume has been made based on these values Žsee
later..

5. Results

5.1. Wear rates

After the 30-min test period, a mass loss was recorded Fig. 3. Mass loss date for all coatings and treatments.
 S.J. Bull et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 130 (2000) 257᎐265 261

Table 3
Roughness parameters for all the coatings and surface treatments investigated in this study

Treatment Roughness parameters Ž0.8 mm cut-off.

Ra Ra ⌬ Ra Rp Rp ⌬ Rp
Žinitial. Žfinal. Žinitial . Žfinal.

Untreated 0.7 5.0 y4.3 2 13 11

Nitrided 1.10 0.72 0.38 1.2 1.4 0.2
Nitridedq nitrogen ion implantation 0.85 0.70 0.15 2.6 1.9 y0.7
Laser hardened 1.02 1.62 y0.6 2.4 3.1 0.7
WC-Co coated ŽAPS. 5.7 3.4 2.3 15.4 5.8 y9.6
Cr-plated 0.02 3.8 y3.6 0.0 6.4 6.4

fact that some samples wore in a uniform fashion but
others become grooved after wear testing. The precise
shape of the profiles in the direction of sliding thus
depends on whether the stylus of the profilometer
interacts with such a groove. Also, in many cases it was
almost impossible to identify the wear scar in the traces
parallel to the sliding direction as the amount of wear
was too small.
Some very long wear tests Žgreater than 10 h. were
undertaken on untreated material where very well de-
fined wear scars of ) 10 ␮m maximum depth were
observed. In this case stylus profilometry across the
scar in the direction of sliding confirms that the shape
of the scar is a cylindrical cap with the same radius as
the disc used to make it. However, it was not practical
to achieve so much wear on the coated samples in a
reasonable test time. Furthermore, the extent of wear
in this case is much greater than is usually observed for
injection moulding machine components.
Close examination of the wear scar as a function of

Fig. 4. Schematic comparison of roughness traces before and after testing; Ža. low wear samples Ž R a Žinitial . ) R a Žfinal. and Žb. high wear
samples Ž R p Žinitial ) R p Žfinal...
262 S.J. Bull et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 130 (2000) 257᎐265

test time for several different surface treatments shows levelling depth, is a measure of the displacement of the
that the following series of events is often observed mean profile position from a line drawn through the
which is very similar to what is seen on the screws and highest peaks in the profile ŽFig. 4b.. If we assume that
barrels of injection moulding machines. The samples the highest points on the profile are effectively unworn
were generally quite rough and machining marks or Že.g. outside the scar at each end. then as wear pro-
coating features were clearly visible on the surface of gresses the mean line will move further away from
the test sample prior to testing. In the early stages of these points and the value of R p will increase. Thus,
the test, wear is confined to the peaks of this rough- we have
ness, these are polished flat and the surface roughness
is reduced. Scratch marks from the filler are clearly ds R p Ž final . y R p Ž initial . Ž2.
visible with reflected light microscopy in the smoothed
regions. The change in surface roughness thus gives a Fig. 5 shows plots of the measured d value for all the
good indication of the amount of material which is samples calculated using Eqs. Ž1. and Ž2.. It is clear
removed. However, as the test progresses wear be- that when d is negative as determined from Eq. Ž1. it is
comes much more severe in localised regions of the positive from Eq. Ž2. and we thus have a method for
scar. This is due to the detachment of larger wear calculating the wear depth for all samples. The wear
particles, perhaps by fracture or fatigue failure of the depths presented in Fig. 6 can be used as a ranking
surface layer. These large debris particles can be method for all the samples. The ranking order is not
dragged through the contact making deep scratches or the same as that given by weight loss. In general, the
just leave deep holes where they are removed. In this nitrided samples give the best performance, followed by
case the roughness of the surface will increase. Again the laser hardened material. Of the coatings there is
the change in surface roughness can be used as a guide little difference between the chromium-plated samples
to the progress of wear.
Accordingly, wear measurements were made from
the profiles perpendicular to the sliding direction which
were taken along the centreline of the scar for a total
scan length of 4 mm. Scans were previously taken in
the same place prior to testing.
Roughness data for the tests is presented in Table 3.
In cases where there was not very much wear the
asperities in the wear scar are smoothed when com-
pared to their untested shape and the R a value tends
to decrease ŽFig. 4a.. In this case a measure of the wear
depth, d, is given by

ds R a Ž initial . y R a Ž final . Ž1.

If any polymer remains in the wear scar as a uniform

layer it will not affect this calculation. However, if
polymer collects in the roughness valleys and is not
removed this would be interpreted as wear by this
approach. For all the samples investigated here careful
ultrasonic cleaning was used to remove as much of the
polymer as possible and microscopy was used to de-
termine if any trapped polymer remained in the wear
scar. The polymer was not observed in roughness val-
leys to any great extent but it did occur in cracks and
pores in some surfaces; these cracks are not visible in
profilometry traces taken prior to testing since they are
narrower than the profilometer stylus tip and thus the
effect of any polymer trapped within them on wear
measurements by this method is negligible.
In cases where there is some scoring or excessive
wear the R a value increases after wear and this ap-
proach is no longer valid. However, another roughness Fig. 5. Calculation of wear depth from different roughness parame-
parameter can give useful information. R p , the so-called ters, Ža. ⌬ R a for low wear coatings and Žb. ⌬ R p for high wear ones.
 S.J. Bull et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 130 (2000) 257᎐265 263

Fig. 6. Measured wear depths for all the samples investigated. Fig. 7. Calculated wear factors for all samples.

and the tungsten carbidercobalt coated samples. The

untreated steel performs very badly in the test when
assessed in this manner.
If it is assumed that the wear scar adopts a cylindri-
cal cap geometry with a maximum depth, d, which is
very much less than the rotating disc radius, the worn
volume is given by
0.5
V s Ld Ž d Ž 2 R y d ..
where L is the scar length Ž10 mm in all cases tested
here. and R is the radius of the disc Ž101 mm here..
The calculated wear rates are presented in Table 4 and
Fig. 7. The wear coefficient values have been de-
termined by dividing the calculated wear volume by the
normal load and the total sliding distance. The values
for the uncoated material are similar to what is ex-
Ž3. pected for mild abrasive wear of a steel substrate.

Table 4
Measured wear depths and calculated wear volumes and wear factors for all the coatings and surface treatments investigated

Treatment Wear Wear volume Number Wear rate

depth Ž␮m. Žm3 . of cycles Žm3 rNm.

Untreated 11 1.64= 10y1 0 2520 3.04= 10y15

Nitrided 0.38 1.05= 10y1 2 2520 1.95= 10y17
Nitridedq nitrogen ion implantation 0.15 2.61= 10y1 3 2520 4.84= 10y18
Laser hardened 0.7 2.63= 10y1 2 2520 4.88= 10y17
WC-Co ŽAPS. 2.3 1.57= 10y1 1 2520 2.91= 10y16
Cr plated 6.4 7.28= 10y1 1 2520 1.35= 10y15

Fig. 8. Scanning electron micrographs of the hard chrome plated sample after wear testing Ža. wear scar showing scratches from abrasion by
ehglass filler Žb. higher magnification image of the edge of the wear scar showing that polymer has been forced into the microcracks in the plating
and that the microcracks have become opened during wear.
264 S.J. Bull et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 130 (2000) 257᎐265
5.2. Wear mechanisms
Wear of the softer coatings, such as chromium plat-
ing, is dominated by abrasion ŽFig. 8.. In such cases the
wear rates are very high and large grooves are visible in
the surface profiles after the test ŽFig. 4b.. The wear
scar is clearly visible in the SEM micrographs ŽFig. 8a.,
this is due to the difficulty in removing the polymer
from the test sample surface. In fact the wear scar was
clearly visible on all the tested samples and proved
impossible to remove by ultrasonic cleaning in a range
of solvents. This is partly due to the fact that the
molten plastic is drawn into surface pits and micro-
cracks; the microcracks in the hard chrome are clearly
visible in the wear scar for this reason ŽFig. 8b.. In fact
the extent of microcracking in the wear scar is much
greater than elsewhere on this sample. This shows that
the wear process has included a significant microfrac-
ture content. Towards the centre of the wear scar small
pits have formed in the coating, probably by the inter-
section of these microcracks. These are very similar to
the micropits which occur in gears and bearings due to
contact fatigue which is occurring at the asperity scale
w10x. The importance of fatigue in the wear process is
thus demonstrated.
Visual inspection of chrome-plated injection mould-
ing screws reveals a very similar pattern of damage.
Small scratches are observed in the plating and there is
considerable chipping of the hard coating in the vicinity
of microcracks. It thus appears that the test is mimick-
ing what is observed in service.
The ion-implanted nitrided surface also shows con-
siderable polymer deposition in the wear scar region
ŽFig. 9a.. In this case this is due to the polymer collect-
ing in the valleys of the surface roughness which was
not removed when the sample was ultrasonically
cleaned. This sample was recleaned prior to performing
Fig. 9. Scanning electron micrographs of the nitrogen implanted nitrided steel sample Ža. general view of the wear scar showing polymer
deposition on the surface and some wear by microfracture in the centre of the scar and Žb. higher magnification image showing pits formed by
fracture together with some grooves formed by abrasion.
profilometry for wear assessment. High magnification
images of the centre of the scar show some evidence
for abrasive wear and formation of small pits by mi-
crofracture ŽFig. 9b.. The extent of this damage is
much less than for the chromium platings. Again this is
very similar to the damage pattern observed on nitrided
polymer injection moulding machine components.
6. Discussion
The new test is capable of producing abrasive wear,
chemical wear and adhesive wear on the samples which
closely mimics the main wear modes previously identi-
fied in injection moulding screws and barrels. However,
it is also able to add a fatigue component to the wear
which is expected in service because of the intermittent
loading of polymer granules in the transport zone and
the possibility that vibration can lead to screw᎐barrel
contact, and in extremes, seizure. There is evidence for
both abrasive wear and fatigue wear in the wear scars
produced in the test and an increasing proportion of
sliding wear can be achieved by restricting the flow of
the polymer feed stock from the hopper. To address
the effects of chemical wear the experiments would
need to be repeated with other polymerrfiller combi-
nations ᎏ further work is underway to investigate this.
In this study we have seen that the microcracking in
hard chrome plate acts as a trap for the polymer
feedstock and a nucleation site for fracture introduced
during the test. This is not observed for the nitrided
steels. However, in both cases small pits form at the
centre of the wear scar which are probably produced by
asperity-scale fatigue processes. By analogy with mi-
cropitting in gears, where nitrided surfaces are known
to have very good performance w11x, cracks are probably
nucleated as a response to plastic deformation near the
 S.J. Bull et al. r Surface and Coatings Technology 130 (2000) 257᎐265
surface of asperities and propagate into the material at
a shallow angle. After propagating a small distance the
cracks turn back towards the surface and a pit is
formed. Such micropitting is known to be influenced by
the relative hardness of the asperities, so increasing
their hardness to prevent plastic deformation is an
advantage. Increasing the coating hardness will also
help to improve the abrasion resistance of the softer
coatings. However, the process is not controlled by
hardness alone and surface roughness, surface trac-
tions Žfriction. and surface chemistry are all likely to be
important. Further work is underway to see if these
factors are also important in dictating the wear be-
haviour of all the coatings tested in this study.
The fact that the nitrided and laser-hardened sam-
ples perform so well in the test confirms that failure
occurs by a microfracture mechanism Žperhaps with a
fatigue component.. The more brittle hard coatings are
easier to fracture and create hard wear debris which
can do abrasive damage to the sample surface as well
as the glass filler in the polymer. These coatings will
thus offer some wear protection but are not as good as
the nitrided surfaces which combine relatively high
hardness with good ductility. If the implantation treat-
ment can increase the hardness of a nitrided layer
without embrittling it then it will further improve per-
formance as is observed. Ion implantation treatments
also introduce a compressive stress which is known to
close surface cracks and improve fatigue performance.
There remains the question of whether the test re-
sults reflect what is likely to be seen in service. The
wear damage certainly looks very similar but whether
the balance of the observed mechanisms is correct is
difficult to say. Relative wear performance of the com-
plete range of coatings and surface treatments for
injection moulder screws and barrels in service is not
known. However, tests at AEA Technology have shown
that nitrogen ion implantation can increase the wear
life of injection moulder screws by a factor of 4. Inter-
estingly, the wear rate of nitrogen implanted nitrided
steel is only a quarter of that observed for the nitrided
steel alone. This strongly implies that the test results
are valid and can give useful information about the
265
likely performance of other coatings and surface treat-
ments in the application.
7. Conclusions
A wear test has been developed to simulate the
conditions inside the barrel of an injection moulding
machine. The test has been successfully applied to a
range of coatings and surface treatments which are
widely used for barrels and screws of such machines.
The best performance was achieved by a combination
of nitriding and ion implantation. This is probably due
to the fact that the surfaces undergo a combination of
abrasive wear and contact fatigue during the test. This
is expected to be similar to what occurs in the injection
moulder barrel and so the results of the test provide
reasonable data on which to base coating or surface
treatment selection.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Chris Aylott and
Jon Tuck for producing some of the experimental data.
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