Abstract
The deposition of a thin (several tens of microns) protective coating in atmospheric conditions is a challenging task for surface engineering. The structural features and tribological properties of a particle-reinforced metal matrix composite coating synthesized on middle-carbon steel by air pulse-plasma treatments were studied in the present work. The 24–31 µm thick coating of “24 vol.% (TiC + WC)/Hardened steel matrix” was produced by 10 plasma pulses generated by an electro-thermal axial plasma accelerator equipped with a consumable cathode of novel design (low-carbon steel tube filled with “TiC/WC + Epoxy resin” mixture). The study included optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD, microhardness measurements, and dry “Ball-on-Plate” testing. The carbides were directly plasma-transferred to the substrate (steel of AISI 4145H grade) from the cathode without substantial melting. The hard (500–1044 HV) coating matrix consisted of 57 vol.% austenite (1.43 wt.% C) and 43 vol.% plate martensite was formed via carbon enrichment of steel from plasma flow. Additionally, a minor amount of oxide phases (TiO2, WO2, WO3) were dispersed in the matrix. As compared to substrate, the coating had a lower coefficient of friction; its volumetric wear was decreased by 4.4 times when sliding against hardened steel ball and by 16 times when sliding against SiC ball.
Highlights
The composites are specific materials for different engineering applications which are consisted of dissimilar materials with different physical and mechanical properties
The coating had a typical Particle reinforced metal matrix composites (PMMCs) structure consisting of compact equiaxial carbide particulates with a volume fraction of 24.1 ± 3.0 vol.% distributed within the metallic matrix (Figure 5b)
This study revealed that the pulsed-plasma deposition (PPD)/electro-thermal axial plasma accelerator (EAPA) technique, using a consumable cathode of complex design, enables the direct fabrication of a PMMC coating with a hard matrix without performing an additional post-deposition heat treatment
Summary
The composites are specific materials for different engineering applications which are consisted of dissimilar materials with different physical and mechanical properties. Due to their increased strength, the metal matrix composites are frequently used in automotive and aviation industries, cutting tools manufacturing, electronics, etc. Electrodeposition [9], cold spraying with plasma gas atomization [10,11,12], resistance seam welding [13], spark plasma sintering [14], direct constrained sintering on a surface [15,16], self-propagating high-temperature synthesis [17], high-velocity oxygen fuel deposition [18], and severe plastic deformation with simultaneous addition of the reinforcing alumina powder and the air-oxidation treatment [19] were successfully used for the deposition of PMMC coatings with improved tribological properties
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