Yao Qu

EFFECT OF DISCHARGE TIME ON PLASMA ELECTROLYTIC BOROCARBONITRIDING OF PURE IRON

The plasma electrolytic borocarbonitriding (PEB/C/N) process on pure iron was carried out in 25% borax solution with glycerine and carbamide additives under different discharge time at 360V. The morphology and structure of PEB/C/N hardened layers were analyzed by SEM and XRD. The hardness profiles of hardened layers were measured by microhardness test. Corrosion behavior of PEB/C/N layers was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Their wear performance was carried out using a pin-disc friction and wear tester under dry sliding test. The PEB/C/N samples mainly consisted of α-Fe, Fe2B, Fe3C, FeN, FeB, Fe2O3 and Fe4N phases, and the Fe2B phase was the dominant phase in the boride layer. It was found that the thickness of boride layer increased with the discharge time and reached 14μm after 60min treatment. The microhardness of the boride layer was up to 2100HV, which was much higher than that of the bare pure iron (about 150HV). After PEB/C/N treatment, the corrosion resistance of pure iron was slightly improved. The friction coefficient of PEB/C/N treated pure iron decreased to 0.129 from 0.556 of pure iron substrate. The wear rate of the PEB/C/N layer after 60min under dry sliding against ZrO2 ball was only 1/10 of that of the bare pure iron. The PEB/C/N treatment is an effective way to improve the wear behavior of pure iron.

INFLUENCE OF MICROSTRUCTURE OF FRICTION STIR WELDED JOINTS ON GROWTH AND PROPERTIES OF MICROARC OXIDATION COATINGS ON AZ31B MAGNESIUM ALLOY

Ceramic coatings on friction stir welded (FSW) joints of AZ31B magnesium alloy were fabricated by microarc oxidation (MAO) method in silicate electrolyte. Microstructure, phase constituents, microhardness and electrochemical corrosion behaviors of bare and coated magnesium alloys at different zones of FSW joints for different oxidation time were investigated. The influence of microstructure at different zones on the growth of MAO coatings was analyzed. The results show that the MAO coatings on FSW joints are uniform, and they have almost the same morphology, phase constituents, hardness and corrosion resistance at base metal, stir zone and heat-affected zone. The properties of MAO coatings are independent on the microstructures of AZ31B alloy. In addition, the microstructures of magnesium alloy near the coating/alloy interface at different zones of FSW joint was not changed by microarc discharge process.