New approach of friction AlN ceramics metallization with the initial FEM verification

Abstract

Although, the friction method is well known for metals surface modification, the novelty of the article is based on the new idea of ceramics surface treatment with metal. The paper describes AlN ceramic metallization process by titanium coating deposition, obtained in friction surfacing method, which has been developed by the authors. The friction energy is directly transformed into heat and delivered in a specified amount precisely to the joint being formed between the metallic layer and the ceramics substrate material. The stress and temperature fields (as factors promoting the formation of diffusion joints) induced in the joint during the metallization process were qualitatively determined with the finite element method analysis and these results were verified experimentally. Finally, obtained structures of the metallic coatings were investigated and the results are discussed in the paper. As a novelty it was found, that the conditions of frictional metallization can favour the formation of a coating-substrate bond based on diffusion phenomena and atomic bonds of the coating components with the components of the substrate, despite the fact that it happens for metal–ceramics pairs. This type of connection is usually associated with long-term heating/annealing in chamber furnaces, because for diffusion in a solid state the most effective factor is time and temperature. It was shown that other components of the chemical potential gradient, such as temperature gradient, gradient and stress level, load periodicity and configuration of pairs of elements with high chemical affinity may play an important role in friction metallization. As a result, the relatively short time of operation (friction) is compensated.