Multi-arc Ion Plating Technology Research Articles

Current carrying tribological properties of multi arc ion plated titanium nitride doped silver coating

Sliding electrical contact materials play a crucial role in the transmission and conversion of electrical energy, but due to various factors such as force, electricity, and heat, the interface exhibits complex wear behavior. A single solid or liquid lubrication system can no longer meet the growing performance requirements of current carrying tribology. In this study, a TiN-Ag coating was prepared using multi arc ion plating technology, and a solid–liquid composite lubrication system was formed with ionic liquid and polyurea grease, respectively. Through current carrying friction and wear tests, their tribological properties, electrical contact resistance(ECR) values, and stability were tested, and compared with the results obtained during dry friction. The coating and worn surfaces were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results indicated that compared with dry friction, TiN-Ag coatings lubricated with ionic liquids and polyurea grease showed higher friction reduction, wear resistance, and conductivity, especially the synergistic effect between ionic liquids and coatings is prominent. The behavior of ionic liquids under voltage was analyzed, and it was found that ionic liquids formed a physical adsorption film composed of a mixture of anions and cations on the worn surface. The ordered layered structure improved the tribological performance of the system.

The effect of AlCrN, TiN and Ni-Cr-Nb coatings on the wear and corrosion performance of 45 # steel in 3.5 % sodium chloride solution

The press bar of the oil press is prone to corrosion and abrasion in the high-temperature and high-pressure environment, which reduces the quality of oil and the efficiency of agricultural production. In this paper, Ni-Cr-Nb, TiN and AlCrN coatings were prepared on the surface of press bar substrate by thermal spraying and multi-arc ion plating technology. The tests were analyzed by modern analytical methods such as HV-1000Z micro Vickers hardness tester, SEM, XRD and electrochemical corrosion. The results show that: Vickers hardness tester analysis shows that the surface hardness of AlCrN coating is 3.6 times higher than that of the base material, which is higher than that of several other coatings; SEM shows that the surfaces of the Ni-Cr-Nb, TiN and AlCrN coatings are smooth and even, the film structure is compact and uniform, and the thickness of the coating film is 5.67μm, 6.31 μm and 6.55 μm, respectively; XRD shows the elemental content of each coating, and the Al atoms in the AlCrN coating have good corrosion resistance; Electrochemical corrosion experiment shows that AlCrN coating has the biggest and most important advantages. It shows that AlCrN coating has the maximum potential and minimum corrosion current density, which indicates that its corrosion resistance is the best, followed by TiN coating, Ni-Cr-Nb layer of the corrosion resistance of the first two coatings, but better than the press bar substrate.

Effects of multilayer structure on the high-speed dry-cutting performance of AlCrBN/AlCrN multilayer coatings

To investigate the effects of different structures on the cutting performance of AlCrBN/AlCrN multilayer coatings, AlCrBN/AlCrN coatings with different multilayer structures (single layer, 10 bilayers, and 20 bilayers corresponding to T1 coating, T10 coating, and T20 coating) were synthesized using multi-arc ion plating technology. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that the coatings were mainly composed of fcc-(Cr, Al) N phases located on the (111) and (200) crystal planes. All coatings exhibited a good indentation adhesion to the substrates. The hardness of the T10 coating (32.6 GPa) and T20 coating (31.2 GPa) was significantly higher than that of the T1 coating (28.0 GPa). Annealing experiments show that no phase composition evolution was revealed at 800 °C. High-speed milling tests imply that the milling life of the T10 coating (13 m) and the T20 coating (10 m) was increased by 62.5% and 25.0% compared to the T1 coating (8 m), respectively. In high-speed dry turning tests, the T10 coated tool also showed the longest lifetime (16 mins), an improvement of 23.1% over T1 or T20 coated tools (13 mins). SEM analyses of wear coated tools indicated that a multilayer structure enhanced their resistance to abrasion and adhesion wear, and led to better cutting performance, probably because of their excellent mechanical properties and thermal stability.

Corrosion mechanism and performance of Cr-coated Zr-4 alloy in 360 °C water and 1300 °C steam

A dense and uniform Cr coating is prepared on the Zr-4 alloy using multi-arc ion plating technology, with the aim of serving as an accident-tolerant fuel cladding for light water reactors. The corrosion performance of Cr-coated Zr-4 alloy is investigated after exposure to 360 °C and 18.6 MPa corrosion conditions for up to 5040 h, and its corrosion mechanism is discussed. Furthermore, the oxidation behavior of the Cr-coated Zr-4 alloy in steam at 1300 °C is mainly examined. It is observed that the ZrO2 channel within the Cr coating acts as an oxygen diffusion path during steam oxidation and facilitates the reduction of Cr2O3 by providing Zr. When the ZrO2 channel diffuses to the Cr2O3/Cr interface, Cr2O3 is reduced to form ZrO2 and Cr. When the thickness of the Cr2O3 layer is minimized, the Cr coating fails. The in-situ oxidation of the Cr2Zr layer results in the formation of ZrO2 and Cr2O3, while the substrate beneath the Cr coating is oxidized to form a ZrO2 layer. The whole oxidation process of the Cr-coated Zr-4 alloy up to 1300 °C is presented in detail.

Aluminum Chromium Nitride Coating on a Laser Shock Micro-Molded Surface of E690 High-Strength Steel and Its Antifriction Mechanism

Aiming its analysis at the poor hardness and wear-resistance of E690 high-strength steel, and the high hardness and good wear-resistance of AlCrN-coated, combined with the laser impact micro-modeling which can store oil lubrication, this paper carries out research on the synergistic wear reduction mechanism of laser impact micro-modeling AlCrN coated on the surface of E690 high-strength steel. Multi-arc ion plating technology is used to prepare the AlCrN coating on the laser-impact micro-modeling specimen; the micro-modeling AlCrN-coated specimen is subjected to a reciprocating friction test, and the hardness and residual stress of the coated surface are measured by equipment such as a residual stress meter and a microhardness tester. The microstructure and physical elements of the surface wear before and after the preparation of the coating are analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), confocal three-dimensional morphometer and XRD diffractometer, respectively. The results show that the prepared AlCrN-coated materials were well-bonded to the substrate. Compared with the micro-molding-only specimens, the average friction coefficient and wear amount of the micro-molded AlCrN-coated specimens with different micro-molding densities and depths decreased compared with the micro-molded specimens; among them, the average friction coefficient of the specimens with a micro-molding density of 19.6% and a depth of 7.82 µm was 0.0936, which was the lowest. Additionally, the AlCrN coating enhances the stability of the friction process of the specimen and reduces the amount of wear of the specimen. Under the premise of ensuring the anti-wear and stability properties of the material, the best integrated friction performance was achieved at a micro-molding density of 19.6% and a depth of 24.72 µm. A synergistic wear reduction and lubrication model of micro-molding and AlCrN-coating was established.

Investigation on Microstructures and High-Temperature Oxidation Resistance of Cr Coatings on Zircaloy-4 by Multi-Arc Ion Plating Technology.

Introducing the oxidation-resistant coating on Zr alloy is considered to be one of the potential solutions for accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) materials. In this study, pure Cr coatings were prepared on a Zircaloy-4 (Zry-4) alloy surface by multi-arc ion plating under different process parameters. The ability of Cr coating on Zry-4 alloy cladding to improve the oxidation resistance to prevent a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) was studied. The microstructure of Cr coating was analyzed using the EBSD technique, and the high-temperature steam oxidation was tested at 800, 1000 and 1200 °C. Compared with the original Zry-4 alloy, the samples with Cr coatings exhibited much better oxidation resistance under different high-temperature steam oxidation conditions. However, the Cr coating exhibited columnar grain, strong preferred orientation and (001) fiber texture. The columnar grain boundaries provided paths for the diffusion of oxygen atoms to the Zry-4 alloy matrix at high temperatures. The results showed that the oxidation film of Cr coating with relatively random grain orientation was compact and uniform and exhibited the best oxidation resistance at high temperatures.

The high-temperature oxidation and mechanical properties of the Cr/Zr and CrN/Zr coating

Coating technology to modify the property of zirconium (Zr) alloy is a potential method for accident-tolerant fuel claddings. In this work, Cr-coated and CrN-coated are prepared on the surface of Zr alloy by using multi-arc ion plating technology. The effect of coatings on the high-temperature oxidation performance at 800, 1000, and 1200 °C has been investigated. The oxidation behavior, microstructure, and phase composition of the samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscope and x-ray diffraction analysis. The mechanical properties of the coatings before and after oxidation were examined by ring compressive and hardness tests. It is shown that all the Cr and CrN coating can effectively protect the substrate from oxidation corrosion in air due to the formation of Cr2O3, which can effectively reduce the penetration of oxygen. The thickness of the oxide layer from the side of the coating doesn’t exceed to 5 μm at 1000 °C, and from the uncoated side reaches to 70 μm with pores and rough structure. Bubbles appeared on the surface of the coated samples after oxidizing at 1200°C. These bubbles are located at the Cr and Cr2O3 layers. The high-temperature oxidation resistance of Cr coating at 1200 °C is better than that of CrN, the latter appears to crack and spall on the oxide layer. Due to the higher fracture toughness, ductility of the Cr coating and more suitable deformation compatibility, the Cr coating possesses better crack resistance than the CrN coating under mechanical loading.

Design of cycle structure on microstructure, mechanical properties and tribology behavior of AlCrN/AlCrSiN coatings

AlCrN/AlCrSiN coatings with cycle structure, composed of fcc-CrN, hcp-AlN and amorphous Si3N4 phases, were fabricated to protect high speed steel (HSS) tools by high energy ion source enhanced multi-arc ion plating technology with Al70Cr30 and Al60Cr30Si10 alloying targets. With the increasing cycle structure, the crystal grains of AlCrN layers was refined from 60–110 nm to 8–15 nm, and the growth behavior transformed from (200)fcc to the coexistence of both (200)fcc and (111)fcc preferred orientation as demonstrated by GIXRD spectrum, calculated texture coefficient and HRTEM results. The HRTEM results investigated that the inter-planar spacing of CrN(111) was basically equal to that of AlN(0002) with parallel orientation relationship and the interface-1 between the substrate and adhesion layer with a semi-coherent appearance presented a specific orientation relationship. The coating with two cycle structure (Cycle 2) possessed better adhesion strength (HF1 grade, 62.7±1.3 N of Lc2), higher hardness (30.2±1.7 GPa), better fracture toughness (0.099 of H/E, 0.29 GPa of H3/E2 and 9.8±0.3 MPa m1/2 of KIC under 20 kgf loading), lower friction coefficient (0.54), less wear rate (4.2 × 10−16 m3/N·m) and longer service life (7.4 m).

Microstructure and tribological properties of CrAlTiN coating deposited via multi-arc ion plating

Developments in engine technologies have led to reduction in engine volume and increase in engine power. Thus, valve seat ring components in engines should have high wear resistance. In this study, a high-performance coating on the surface of valve seat material was investigated. The CrAlTiN coating was prepared on the surface of vermicular graphite cast iron, a common material of valve seat ring, with a multi-arc ion plating technology. Experimental results showed that the distribution of crystal clusters was relatively uniform as bias voltage increased from − 100 V to − 400 V and large droplets appeared at low bias voltage. As bias voltage increased, the sizes and number of droplets decreased, and pits appeared. The increase of bias voltage was beneficial to the formation of new phase of CrAlTiN coating. At bias voltages of − 300 and − 400 V, the phase composition was mainly TiN, AlN, CrN, and small amounts of Al2O3, Cr2O3, Ti2O3, and Cr. The adhesion, nano-hardness, and elastic modulus of the coating increased and then decreased with increasing bias voltage. When the bias voltage was − 300 V, the maximum adhesion was 61 N, the nano-hardness was 26 GPa, and the elastic modulus was 268 GPa. Moreover, the lowest friction coefficient was observed (0.4). The wear mechanism of CrAlTiN at different bias voltages was abrasive wear.

Effect of Arc Currents on the Mechanical, High Temperature Oxidation and Corrosion Properties of CrSiN Nanocomposite Coatings

In methods for multi-arc ion plating technology, the behavior and characteristics of the arc spot determine the physical characteristics of arc plasma and the properties of the subsequent deposited coatings. In this paper, the effect of arc currents on the hardness, friction coefficient, high temperature oxidation, and corrosion properties of the CrSiN coatings was studied. According to the XRD and SEM results, with the increase of arc currents, the coatings grew preferentially to the CrN (111) crystal direction, and the CrN (220) crystal phase appeared at high currents of 90 A. In addition, the number of large particles increased when the current exceeded 70 A. The HR-TEM results confirmed the formation of nanocomposite structure of nanocrystalline of CrN embedded into the amorphous phase of Si3N4 as explored by XRD. The maximum hardness was achieved at 3120 Hv when the coatings were deposited under currents around 70 A. However, the hardness values decreased with further increase of arc currents. From the contact of ceramic balls with the wear of coatings, the surface of coatings gradually produced friction marks, and the friction force increased from a steady friction force to a dynamic friction force. The high temperature oxidation results showed that fewer oxides were formed on the surface of the coatings when oxidized at 800 °C. It was also found that CrSiN nanocomposite coatings prepared at an arc current of 70 A had a larger corrosion potential and polarization impedance, which could effectively protect the tool matrix.

Preparation and tribological performance of CrAlTiCN coatings on 316L and TC4 substrates in sea water

ABSTRACT The CrAlTiCN coatings have been prepared by multi-arc ion plating technology on 316L and TC4 substrates, respectively. The microstructure of the prepared CrAlTiCN coatings has been characterised by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy disperse spectroscopy, respectively. The mechanical properties, electrochemical corrosion behaviour and tribological performance of the prepared coatings were tested by microhardness tester, scratch tester, electrochemical workstation, and friction and wear tester, respectively. Results show that all the coatings includes many nanocrystalline and presents compact structure, weak columnar crystal structure and refine grain. The prepared coating on TC4 titanium alloy substrate presents a better tribological performance than that on 316L stainless steel substrate.

Effect of Al Content on the High-Temperature Oxidation Resistance and Structure of CrAl Coatings

The oxidation behaviors of Cr, Cr93.4Al6.6, Cr58.1Al41.9, and Cr34.5Al65.5 coatings, deposited by using multi-arc ion plating technology, at high temperature were studied. The weight gain, oxide thickness, morphology, and phase composition of the coatings before and after oxidation were analyzed in detail. The results show that there is an Al content window available for tuning the oxidation behaviors of the CrAl-based coatings. The Cr93.4Al6.6 coating is considered to be most protective and can effectively improve the high-temperature oxidation resistance of the substrate; whereas, too high an Al content has a harmful effect on the antioxidant properties of the coatings. The oxidation mechanism of Cr and CrAl coatings were also discussed.

Study on Preparation and Properties of TiCrAlN Film on the Surface of H13 Die Steel by Multi-arc Ion Plating

This paper studies the influence of substrate bias on the structure and performance of multi-arc ion plating TiCrAlN film on the surface of H13 die steel. Using multi-arc ion plating technology, by controlling and adjusting the size of the substrate bias, different structures and properties are prepared on the H13 die steel substrate. The research results show that when the substrate bias voltage gradually increases, the number of large particles gradually decreases, the particle distribution becomes more and more uniform, and the density of the film increases. When the substrate bias voltage rises to 100V, the number of large particles on the film surface is the least, the surface structure is evenly distributed, and the surface quality of the film is the best. The micro-hardness and film-base bonding force of the film increase with the continuous increase of the substrate bias voltage. At 100V, the film’s micro-hardness and film-base bonding force reach the maximum value, but when the substrate bias voltage exceeds a certain range, The microhardness of the film and the bonding force of the film base are greatly reduced; with the increase of the bias voltage, the corrosion resistance of the film increase, and the 100V performance reaches the best. The influence mechanism of substrate bias on the corrosion resistance of the film was analyzed.

Understanding wear mechanisms of TiSiCN/Zr(C)N coatings at elevated temperatures

TiSiCN/ZrN coating and TiSiCN/ZrCN coating were prepared using multi-arc ion plating technology. In this work, the composition, mechanical properties and wear properties at elevated temperatures of both coatings were investigated. XRD results show that both coatings are composed of Ti, Zr (C, N) phases. At elevated temperatures, TiSiCN/ZrCN coating exhibits a lower friction coefficient and slightly higher wear rate compared to TiSiCN/ZrN coating. The result is that the introduction of C plays the role of lubrication and friction reduction effect, but the more content carbon leads to increased brittleness of the coating, and cracks are prone to occur and propagate under the effect of thermal and mechanical coupling, thereby causing the wear rate of the coating increased. The increased brittleness of TiSiCN/ZrCN coating is confirmed via mechanical properties. Under high temperature wear, a thin oxide layer formed on both coatings surface acts as a glaze to impede wear and it would break down to form a transfer layer under period force. At 500 °C, TiSiCN/ZrN coating and TiSiCN/ZrCN coating display the mechanisms of adhesive wear and abrasive wear, respectively.

Microstructure and properties of CrN coating via multi-arc ion plating on the valve seat material surface

The multi-arc ion plating technology is used to prepare CrN coating on the valve seat material surface. Results show that the surface grains gradually increase in size and becomes less uniform with the increase of the Cr target current. At different Cr target currents, the main phases of the CrN coating are Cr, CrN, and Cr2N. The critical load of the coating and matrix is 49.2 N. When the Cr target current is 65 A, the nano-hardness is maximum (18.84 GPa), and Young ’s modulus is 255.41 GPa. The CrN coating can reduce the friction coefficient of the valve seat material from 0.62 to 0.48, thereby improving the wear-resistance behavior. The main wear mechanism is abrasive wear.

High-throughput preparation and characterization of early hot-corrosion behaviors of compositional gradient Al–Cr complex coatings on a novel Co–Al–W-based alloy

High-throughput characterization of early hot-corrosion behaviors of compositional gradient Al–Cr complex coatings on a novel Co–Al–W alloy prepared by multi-arc ion plating technology at 1000–1100 °C for 10–30 min was conducted for the first time. As deposited, the coatings showed a laminate microstructure composed of various Al–Cr compounds. After corrosion, a three-layer structure formed between the coating and the substrate, with an outermost layer composed of α-Al2O3 + α-Cr2O3, an inter-diffusion layer, and an innermost reaction layer containing B2-CoAl + μ-Co7(W0.8Cr0.2)6. Finally, the early hot-corrosion mechanism of the gradient Al–Cr complex coatings was discussed.

Effect of cryogenic treatment time on microstructure and tribology performance of TiAlN coating

In this work, TiAlN coating was prepared on YG10 carbide tool by multi-arc ion plating technology, and the effects of different cryogenic treatment time (0, 12, 24, 36, 48 h) on the structure, hardness, adhesion force and tribological behaviors of TiAlN coating were thoroughly investigated. With the cryogenic treatment time increased from 0 to 36 h, the diffraction peak intensity of AlN (200) crystal plane gradually increased. The hardness and adhesion force of TiAlN coating increased firstly and then decreased. When the cryogenic treatment time was 36 h, the hardness and adhesion force of TiAlN coating reached the maximum values of 3611.1 HV and 69.70 N, respectively. In this case, the friction coefficient and the wear rate of TiAlN coating reached the minimum in deionized water and atmosphere environment.

Mechanical and high-temperature tribological properties of CrAlN/TiSiN multilayer coating deposited by PVD

Hard nitride coatings have the prospect of acting as protective layers for cutting tools because of their excellent mechanical properties and wear resistance. To enhance the mechanical, tribological, and high-temperature oxidation properties, the structural design of the coating is important. In this study, TiSiN, CrAlN/TiSiN bilayer and CrAlN/TiSiN multilayer coatings were deposited on the surface of high-speed steel by multi-arc ion plating technology. The microstructure, phase composition, mechanical properties and high-temperature tribological properties of prepared coatings were analyzed. Results indicated that the TiSiN and CrAlN/TiSiN bilayer coatings contain TiN phases and the CrAlN/TiSiN multilayer coating contains three main phases of TiN, AlN and CrN. The CrAlN/TiSiN multilayer coating possesses a denser microstructure than the other two coatings. The multilayer structure improves the cohesive and bonding strength of the coating by reducing the shear stress. The CrAlN/TiSiN multilayer coating exhibits a stable coefficient of friction and excellent wear resistance during high-temperature friction. The formation of TiO2 and Al2O3 oxide layers on the surface of the coating in a high-temperature environment contributes to the desired tribological properties of the coatings.

Preparation and Tribocorrosion Performance of Different Si-Doped TiSiN-Ag Coatings on Different Substrates in Seawater

TiSiN-Ag composite coatings with different Si doping contents were prepared by multi-arc ion plating technology on 316L, TC4, and H65 copper substrates, respectively. The microstructure of the prepared coatings was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy, respectively. The mechanical properties, electrochemical properties, and tribological properties were characterized by a micro-hardness tester, electrochemical workstation, scratch tester, and friction and wear tester, respectively. Results showed that the coatings with 8 wt.% Si doping content had a smaller average grain size, denser structure, excellent mechanical properties, and better anti-tribocorrosion performance than those with 5 wt.% Si doping content. The coating on the TC4 substrate with 8 wt.% Si doping content presented the best combination of properties and is a candidate for an anti-tribocorrosion material in seawater.

Preparation of NiCr/YSZ two-layered burn-resistant coating on γ-TiAl alloys based on plasma surface metallurgy and ion plating methods

The NiCr/YSZ coating was fabricated on ?-TiAl alloy by double glow plasma surface metallurgy technology and multi-arc ion plating technology. The microstructure, microhardness, bonding strength, and burn resistance of NiCr/YSZ coating were studied in detail. The results showed that the NiCr/YSZ coating was dense and homogeneous, including a duplex structure of top YSZ ceramic coating and underlying Ni-Cr bond coating. The average microhardness of NiCr/YSZ coating was raised by a factor of about 2 compared to the ?-TiAl substrate. The thermal shock test indicated that the composite structure had superior bonding strength and the defects such as metal droplets on the ceramic coating were the source of cracks. The high-energy laser beam destroyed the surface of ?-TiAl alloy, forming protruding combustion products in ablation zone and splashing residues around ablation zone. When coated by NiCr/YSZ coating, the combustion process was delayed through isolating and dissipating heat. The ablation range was controlled and the ablation damage was reduced at the same irradiation power. The NiCr/YSZ coating preliminarily realized to improve the burn resistance of ?- TiAl alloy.