Abstract
The presented studies are focused on the wear resistance and friction coefficient changes of the thermal diffusion (TD) zinc coating deposited on steel. The aim of research was to evaluate the variation in coating properties during dry friction as a result of the method of preparation of the basis metal. The measured properties were compared to those obtained after classic hot-dip (HD) zinc galvanizing—heat treated and untreated. Thermal diffusion zinc coatings were deposited in industrial conditions (according to EN ISO 17668:2016-04) on disc-shaped samples. The results obtained during the tribological tests (T11 pin-on-disc tester) were analysed on the basis of microscopic observations (with the use of optical and scanning microscopy), EDS (point and linear) analysis and microhardness measurements. The obtained results were similar to effects observed after heat treatment of HD zinc coating. The conducted analysis proved that the method of initial steel surface preparation results in changes in the coating’s hardness, friction coefficient and wear resistance.
Highlights
Thermal diffusion is a diffusion zinc coating method which is increasingly used as an alternative to hot dip zinc galvanizing, as the corrosion protection of the different small elements
Structural elements are made of a wide range of materials that require various types of corrosion protection
Zinc coatings applied to different elements are obtained via four methods: hot-dip galvanizing, electro-galvanizing, zinc lamella and sherardizing [14,15,16]
Summary
Thermal diffusion (sherardizing) is a diffusion zinc coating method which is increasingly used as an alternative to hot dip zinc galvanizing, as the corrosion protection of the different small elements (fasteners, wires, bolts, screws, nails, springs, etc.). Pressure to reduce the production cost means that more and more often structural elements are made of less advanced materials that guarantee only the appropriate mechanical properties. Additional functional properties, such as corrosion resistance and wear resistance, are obtained by applying appropriate coatings, whose thicknesses vary over a wide range—from nanometers [7] to several hundred micrometers [8].
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