Jung-Hyung Lee

Effects of silicate ion concentration on the formation of ceramic oxide layers produced by plasma electrolytic oxidation on Al alloy

Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) coatings were fabricated on 5083 Al alloy in KOH electrolyte solution with adding various concentrations of Na2SiO3. Changes in voltage?time response and micro-discharge evolution were analyzed, and the surface and cross-section of the resulting coating layer were further characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that discharge characteristics were evidently changed with different Na2SiO3 concentrations, particularly higher Na2SiO3 concentrations leading to lower dielectric breakdown voltages. It was found that porous surface structure became prevalent with increasing Na2SiO3 concentration. The EDS analysis confirmed the incorporation of Si element in the PEO coatings. The result of XRD analysis revealed that metastable phases such as ?- and ?-alumina were produced as a result of PEO, while amorphous phases appeared with excessive Na2SiO3 concentrations (10 and 14 g/L). The coating thickness was significantly increased about 2?8 times with increasing Na2SiO3, almost depending on Na2SiO3 concentration.

Characterization of Ceramic Oxide Layer Produced on Commercial Al Alloy by Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation in Various KOH Concentrations

Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) is a promising coating process to produce ceramic oxide on valve metals such as Al, Mg and Ti. The PEO coating is carried out with a dilute alkaline electrolyte solution using a similar technique to conventional anodizing. The coating process involves multiple process parameters which can influence the surface properties of the resultant coating, including power mode, electrolyte solution, substrate, and process time. In this study, ceramic oxide coatings were prepared on commercial Al alloy in electrolytes with different KOH concentrations (0.5 ~ 4 g/L) by plasma electrolytic oxidation. Microstructural and electrochemical characterization were conducted to investigate the effects of electrolyte concentration on the microstructure and electrochemical characteristics of PEO coating. It was revealed that KOH concentration exert a great influence not only on voltage-time responses during PEO process but also on surface morphology of the coating. In the voltage-time response, the dielectric breakdown voltage tended to decrease with increasing KOH concentration, possibly due to difference in solution conductivity. The surface morphology was pancake-like with lower KOH concentration, while a mixed form of reticulate and pancake structures was observed for higher KOH concentration. The KOH concentration was found to have little effect on the electrochemical characteristics of coating, although PEO treatment improved the corrosion resistance of the substrate material significantly.

Influence of Na2SiO3 addition on surface microstructure and cavitation damage characteristics for plasma electrolytic oxidation of Al–Mg alloy

Recently, plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) has emerged as a promising surface modification technique to improve surface properties of Al alloys. In this study, PEO coating process for Al–Mg alloy was conducted with two different electrolyte solutions under the same electrical parameters: one was potassium hydroxide (KOH) aqueous solution, and the other involved potassium hydroxide aqueous solution with sodium silicate (Na2SiO3). The surface morphology was observed with scanning electron microscope (SEM) and elemental compositions were identified with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. The chemical structures of PEO coatings were identified by X-ray diffraction analysis. Cavitation experiment was performed using ultrasonic vibratory cavitation erosion testing apparatus. Cavitation damage of PEO coatings was characterized using SEM and three-dimensional (3D) microscope. The result indicated that the surface of Al–Mg alloy were successfully modified having complete different surface morphologies by changing electrolyte composition. It was found that the surface morphology had a great influence on the cavitation damage behavior of PEO coating.

Determination of optimum protection potential for cathodic protection of offshore wind-turbine-tower steel substructure by using potentiostatic method

In this study, electrochemical methods were used to determine the optimum protection potential of S355ML steel for the cathodic protection of offshore wind-turbine-tower substructures. The results of potentiodynamic polarization experiments indicated that the anodic polarization curve did not represent a passivation behavior, while under the cathodic polarization concentration, polarization was observed due to the reduction of dissolved oxygen, followed by activation polarization by hydrogen evolution as the potential shifted towards the active direction. The concentration polarization region was found to be located between approximately –0.72 V and –1.0 V, and this potential range is considered to be the potential range for cathodic protection using the impressed current cathodic protection method. The results of the potentiostatic experiments at various potentials revealed that varying current density tended to become stable with time. Surface characterization after the potentiostatic experiment for 1200 s, by using a scanning electron microscope and a 3D analysis microscope confirmed that corrosion damage occurred as a result of anodic dissolution under an anodic polarization potential range of 0 to –0.50 V, which corresponds to anodic polarization. Under potentials corresponding to cathodic polarization, however, a relatively intact surface was observed with the formation of calcareous deposits. As a result, the potential range between –0.8 V and –1.0 V, which corresponds to the concentration polarization region, was determined to be the optimum potential region for impressed current cathodic protection of S355ML steel.