Surface Quality and Free Energy Evaluation of s275 Steel by Shot Blasting, Abrasive Water Jet Texturing and Laser Surface Texturing

Fermin Bañon,Alejandro Sambruno,Jorge Salguero,Moises Batista,Bartolome Simonet

doi:10.3390/met10020290

Abstract

Surface modification by different technologies prior to joining operations or improving tribological properties is a point of great interest. Improving surface activation by increasing the roughness of the metal is a relationship that is becoming more defined. In turn, an increase in surface wettability by evaluating contact angles indicates surface activation by obtaining a high surface free energy. Technologies such as shot blasting and laser surface texturing (LST) have generated several scientific studies where they have identified the influence of parameters on the formation of rough surfaces with defined patterns. However, the application of abrasive water jet texturing (AWJT) has been little studied as an alternative. This article compares these technologies in the texturing of a carbon steel s275 in order to identify the relationship between surface quality and surface activation. It has been determined that AWJT produces the highest Rt values close to 64 µm with a cross feed of 0.45 mm and a traverse speed of 5000 mm/min. Furthermore, LST obtains the best values of free surface energy by combining a power of 20 W with a frequency of 20 kHz and a sweeping speed of 10 mm/s. Finally, contour diagrams have been obtained which relate these variables to the texturing parameters.

Highlights

The modification of metal alloy surfaces to improve their functional performance is a hot research topic nowadays
This has been of great interest for the aeronautical sector, where the combination of titanium or aluminum alloys with carbon fiber reinforced composites generates a structure with an excellent weight-to-mechanical property ratio [6,7,8,9]
The surfaces obtained by shot blasting and water jet texturing have a similar surface appearance

Summary

Introduction

The modification of metal alloy surfaces to improve their functional performance is a hot research topic nowadays. The surface characteristics of these alloys make it possible to differentiate between hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces [1] The latter are of great interest in the field of material bonding. Metal alloys have been used in the form of hybrid structures [2,3] These structures are composed of dissimilar materials that complement their advantages by offering unique characteristics [4,5]. This has been of great interest for the aeronautical sector, where the combination of titanium or aluminum alloys with carbon fiber reinforced composites generates a structure with an excellent weight-to-mechanical property ratio [6,7,8,9]. The main method of joining these materials is mechanical, giving rise to a series of defects such as the concentration of stresses and the need for high-precision drilling prior to joining [10]

Methods

Results

Conclusion