Shrikant V. Joshi

Role of Pt content in the microstructural development and oxidation performance of Pt-aluminide coatings produced using a high-activity aluminizing process

The present study highlights the effect of Pt content on the microstructure of Pt–aluminide coatings produced using a single-step high-activity aluminizing process. The amount of Pt in the coating was varied by changing the thickness of the initial electroplated Pt layer between 1 and 15 μm. The aluminium uptake from the pack was found to be almost the same for all the coatings produced using a Pt layer of thickness 2.5 μm and above, with a somewhat lower uptake for the coating corresponding to a 1 μm thick Pt layer. The coating microstructure, which consisted of an outer two-phase (PtAl2 in a matrix of NiAl) layer, an intermediate NiAl layer and an interdiffusion layer, was also found to be independent of the Pt layer thickness when it was in the range 2.5–10 μm. In the case of the 1 μm Pt layer, however, the whole of the Pt remained in solid solution in the NiAl phase. For a Pt layer thickness exceeding 10 μm, on the other hand, a continuous surface layer of PtAl2 phase was observed. The above mentioned influence of the thickness of the Pt plated layer on the microstructure of the Pt–aluminide coatings observed in the present investigation could be explained in terms of the Pt concentration in the diffusion layer resulting from the interdiffusion between the Pt layer and the superalloy substrate during the pre-aluminizing diffusion treatment. Cyclic oxidation tests on these Pt–aluminide coatings reveal that the presence of Pt in aluminide coatings, in general, enhances oxidation resistance. However, in order to fully realize the beneficial effects of Pt on oxidation behaviour, a certain minimum Pt content in the coating was found to be necessary.

Enhancement of photoluminescence in manganese-doped ZnS nanoparticles due to a silica shell

Zinc sulphide nanoparticles doped with manganese (ZnS:Mn) have been stabilized using thioglycerol [HSCH2CH(OH)CH2OH] molecules. The nanoparticles (∼1.7 nm) are highly stable and exhibit photoluminescence at ∼600 nm when excited with ultraviolet light. For increasing luminescence and stability the particles are further treated with tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS)[Si(C2H5O)4] in an aqueous medium, yielding either a disordered silica matrix or spherical core-shell particles of up to ∼900 nm size with strongly enhanced luminescence under certain conditions. Photoluminescence, excitation spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive analysis of x-rays, x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements have been performed for the characterization of the ZnS:Mn nanoparticles alone, in the silica matrix as well as in spherical silica shells. Among other things, the analysis indicates that the thioglycerol capping has been affected by the coating neither in...

Influence of process variables on the quality of detonation gun sprayed alumina coatings

Detonation gun (D-gun) spraying is one of the most promising thermal spray variants for depositing high quality wear resistant coatings. Of all the ceramic materials that can be D-gun sprayed, alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) is the most widely established and these coatings have already gained industrial acceptance for diverse applications. The present study deals with a statistical design of experimental study of the D-gun spraying of Al 2 O 3 powder. Coating experiments were conducted, using a Taguchi-full factorial (L 16 ) design parametric study, to optimize the D-gun spray process parameters. Four selected important spraying parameters were considered in their upper and lower levels of the predefined range according to the test matrix, in order to display the range of processing conditions and their effect on the coating quality. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, image analysis and hardness testing was used for characterization. Coating qualities are discussed with respect to surface roughness, hardness, porosity and microstructure. The attributes of the coatings are correlated with the changes in operating parameters and their relative importance and contribution ratios to overall variance are calculated.

Laser surface alloying of medium carbon steel with SiC(P)

Laser surface alloying (LSA) is increasingly recognised as a powerful surface modification tool to enhance the wear and corrosion resistance of engineering components. The present work deals with laser alloying of medium carbon steel with silicon carbide using a high-power CO 2 laser. A processing regime, identifying an appropriate laser power-scan speed combination for achieving defect-free alloyed layers, has been established during the study. The influence of repetitive scans on the alloyed layer properties was also subsequently investigated in a comprehensive manner. Repetitive scanning was found to affect substantially the laser-alloyed zone (LAZ) and heat-affected zone dimensions, as well as the phase constitution of the laser-alloyed layers. The microstructure in the LSA layers was also observed to vary significantly with the number of scans, besides changing quite distinctly with depth in the LAZ. Tribological tests revealed considerable improvement in abrasive wear performance by laser surface alloying, and the results also emphasise the need to control the number of repetitive scans to achieve optimum performance.

Microstructural degradation of plain and platinum aluminide coatings on superalloy CM247 during isothermal oxidation

AbstractIsothermal oxidation at 1100°C of a high activity plain aluminide coating and a platinum aluminide coating, developed by the pack cementation technique, on cast nickel base superalloy CM247 has been carried out with the primary objective of systematically understanding the coating degradation process during oxidation. While the weight gains during oxidation for both plain aluminide and platinum aluminide coatings follow parabolic kinetics from the very beginning of oxidation exposure, the bare alloy was seen to exhibit a considerably long initial transient oxidation period (∼20 h), beyond which the parabolic law was followed. The parabolic rate constant for the platinum aluminide coating was found to be nearly two orders of magnitude lower than that for the plain aluminide coating. Alumina was identified as the only oxide phase that formed on both plain aluminide and platinum aluminide coatings during most of the oxidation exposure, although NiAl2 O4 was also found in the case of the plain alumini...

Thermal barrier coatings from sol gel-derived spray-grade Y2O3-ZrO2 microspheres

For the development of ceramic thermal barrier coatings, spray-grade yttria-stabilized zirconia microspheres were prepared by the sol-gel technique. Oxide microspheres were obtained by calcination of the corresponding gel spheres at 1000 °C. Scanning electron microscopic and optical microscopic observations revealed the material thus obtained to have a predominantly spherical morphology and the requisite size distribution (5–50 μm). The dense, calcined microspheres showed good flowability. X-ray diffraction studies indicated the presence of the tetragonal polymorph of ZrO2 as the major phase, in addition to about 14% monoclinic ZrO2. The plasma-sprayed YSZ coatings made from the sol-gel-derived microspheres showed a further decrease in the monoclinic ZrO2 content (6%). The coatings survived 40–50 thermal cycles (30 min at 1200 °C followed by a water quench), indicating good thermal shock resistance.

A comparative study of tribological behavior of plasma and D-gun sprayed coatings under different wear modes

In recent years, thermal sprayed protective coatings have gained widespread acceptance for a variety of industrial applications. A vast majority of these applications involve the use of thermal sprayed coatings to combat wear. While plasma spraying is the most versatile variant of all the thermal spray processes, the detonation gun (D-gun) coatings have been a novelty until recently because of their proprietary nature. The present study is aimed at comparing the tribological behavior of coatings deposited using the two above techniques by focusing on some popular coating materials that are widely adopted for wear resistant applications, namely, WC-12% Co, A12O3, and Cr3C2-MCr.To enable a comprehensive comparison of the above indicated thermal spray techniques as well as coating materials, the deposited coatings were extensively characterized employing microstructural evaluation, microhardness measurements, and XRD analysis for phase constitution. The behavior of these coatings under different wear modes was also evaluated by determining their tribological performance when subjected to solid particle erosion tests, rubber wheel sand abrasion tests, and pin-on-disk sliding wear tests. The results from the above tests are discussed here. It is evident that the D-gun sprayed coatings consistently exhibit denser microstructures and higher hardness values than their plasma sprayed counterparts. The D-gun coatings are also found to unfailingly exhibit superior tribological performance superior to the corresponding plasma sprayed coatings in all wear tests. Among all the coating materials studied, D-gun sprayed WC-12%Co, in general, yields the best performance under different modes of wear, whereas plasma sprayed Al2O3 shows least wear resistance to every wear mode.

Experimental design and performance analysis of alumina coatings deposited by a detonation spray process

The increasing demands for high-quality coatings has made it inevitable that the surface coating industry would put more effort into precisely controlling the coating process. Statistical design of experiments is an effective method for finding the optimum spray parameters to enhance thermal spray coating properties. In the present investigation, an attempt is made to produce high-quality alumina (Al2O3) coatings by optimizing the detonation spray process parameters following a (L16-24) factorial design approach. The process parameters that were varied include the fuel ratio, carrier gas flow rate, frequency of detonations and spray distance. The coating characteristics were quantified with respect to roughness, hardness and porosity. The performance of the coatings was quantitively evaluated using erosion, abrasion and sliding wear testing. Through statistical analysis of the experimental results, performed by the ANOVA method, the significance of each process parameter together with an optimal variable combination was obtained for the desired coating attributes. Confirmation experiments were conducted to verify the optimal spray parameter combination, which clearly showed the possibility of producing high-quality Al2O3 coatings.

Sliding wear behaviour of laser surface modified pearlitic rail steel

Abstract Improving wear resistance of rails has a direct impact on the performance of rail–wheel system in railroad technology. Enhancement of sliding wear resistance at curved track, where factors such as adhesion, high slip ratios and contact fatigue act at contact patch of rail–wheel system, is particularly desirable. In the present investigation, influence of laser surface modification on sliding wear performance of a pearlitic rail steel (used in Indian railways) under two different conditions, namely, laser hardening (without any melting involved) and laser melting (with thin surface layer melting), has been studied under laboratory conditions. Before sliding wear testing, the effect of laser scanning speed on the treated layer depth has been optimised, utilising a 9 kW CO2 laser system. Sliding wear tests were carried out using a pin-on-disc device, with laser treated and untreated pearlitic rail steel discs and sliding pins made of wheel steel material, tungsten carbide (WC) and high speed steel (HSS). The tests were performed under normal prototypic loads and unlubricated conditions. Microhardness in the laser melted layer was in the range of 830–900 HV as against 890–1070 HV in the hardened layer, and was found to depend on the laser scanning speed. Sliding wear resistance of both hardened and melted layers was found to be significantly improved compared to untreated rail steel. The coefficient of friction was also marginally reduced in the laser surface melted layers.

Biofouling studies on nanoparticle-based metal oxide coatings on glass coupons exposed to marine environment

Titania, niobia and silica coatings, derived from their respective nanoparticle dispersions or sols and fabricated on soda lime glass substrates were subjected to field testing in marine environment for antimacrofouling applications for marine optical instruments. Settlement and enumeration of macrofouling organisms like barnacles, hydroides and oysters on these nanoparticle-based metal oxide coatings subjected to different heat treatments up to 400 degrees C were periodically monitored for a period of 15 days. The differences observed in the antifouling behaviour between the coated and uncoated substrates are discussed based on the solar ultraviolet light induced photocatalytic activities as well as hydrophilicities of the coatings in case of titania and niobia coatings and the inherent hydrophilicity in the case of silica coating. The effect of heat treatment on the photocatalytic activity of the coatings is also discussed.