Chromium nitride coatings grown by unbalanced magnetron (UBM) and combined arc/unbalanced magnetron (ABS ™) deposition techniques

Chromium nitride (Cr-N) coatings fabricated by physical vapor deposition (PVD) have gained significant interest in the field of surface protection with the exceptional hardness, robust adhesion to substrates, and superior wear resistance. The mechanical properties of Cr-N coatings are predominantly determined by their chemical composition, phase structure, and microstructure. The selection of deposition technique and regulation of process parameters, such as N2 flow rate, play a crucial role in optimizing coating performance. This review systematically summarizes recent research advancements in PVD-fabricated Cr-N coatings with a specific focus on both monolayer and multilayer architectures. It explores the impact of process parameters on the hardness, adhesion strength, and tribological properties. Furthermore, it outlines the design strategies and fabrication methodologies for high-performance Cr-N coatings. Results indicate that the mechanical properties of monolayer Cr-N coating are primarily governed by the process parameters. As for multilayer coatings, the incorporation of ductile Cr layers can enhance the coating-substrate adhesion strength and wear resistance while preserving a relatively high hardness. This study aims to provide a theoretical foundation and technical reference for future research and applications of the Cr-N coating material system.

Studies of annealing impact on the morphological, opto-dielectric and mechanical behaviors of molybdenum-doped CrN coatings

Effect of balanced and unbalanced magnetron sputtering processes on the properties of SnO2 thin films

Comparative investigation and characterization of the nano-mechanical and tribological behavior of RF magnetron sputtered TiN, CrN, and TiB2 coating on Ti6Al4V alloy

Influence of the energy parameter on the microstructure of chromium nitride coatings

This article presents the application of the response surface methodology for yielding the optimal conditions and for developing robust surface morphologies of zirconium nitride (ZrN) films. In this research, the ZrN films with (Ti, Cr) interfaces ((Ti, Cr)ZrN) were prepared by an unbalanced magnetron (UBM) sputtering. Two kinds of zirconium nitride films, with and without Ti additives, were reported. An orthogonal array for reducing the large number of experiments was introduced. The significant parameters from an analysis of variance for the (Ti, Cr)ZrN films were clearly observed. Furthermore, a quadric model was constructed efficiently. The predicted values and experimental results were close, which confirmed that the quadric model can be effectively used to predict the surface morphologies of the (Ti, Cr)ZrN films in the UBM sputtering. The experimental results were consistent with the response surface predictions. Therefore, it was concluded that the surface morphologies on multilayered films can be accurately predicted by response surface analysis, thereby justifying the reliability and feasibility of the approach.

SummaryNiobium is well known for its chemical stability and excellent corrosion resistance which is based on the formation of a stable oxide layer of Nb205 in aqueous media It therefore finds wide application in areas where chemical stability is important, such as in chemical engineering equipment. Disadvantages of Nb are its high material costs and the fact that it is not possible to deposit Nb by the rather economic technique of aqueous electrodeposition. However, other deposition techniques such as physical vapour deposition may be used to produce niobium coatings. Due to its high melting point, sputtering is the preferred PV D deposition technology.Improved corrosion resistance approaching that of bulk Nb was found for lμm thick Nb coatings on 304 stainless steel substrates The corrosion performance very much depends on the method of ion etching prior to deposition. Microstructure, texture and microhardness as well are strongly influenced by the type of ion etching pre-treatment and by the temperature during deposition. Nb-ion etching of the 304 stainless steel substrate and-consequent Nb deposition with unbalanced magnetron sputtering at a temperature as low as 250°C, utilising an ion to neutral ratio of 4, leads to dense films. These films exhibit passivation over the whole range of the applied polarisation measurements in a 3% NaCl solution.

A comprehensive review on the effect of process parameters and post-process treatments on microstructure and mechanical properties of selective laser melting of AlSi10Mg

Erosion–corrosion wear of Cr/CrN multi-layer coating deposited on AISI-304 stainless steel using the unbalanced magnetron (UBM) sputtering system

Structure and electrochemical characterization of carbon films formed by unbalanced magnetron (UBM) sputtering method

The effect of process parameters on forming forces in single point incremental forming

Its unexcelled mechanical and physical properties, in addition to its biocompatibility, have made stainless steel 304 a prime candidate for a wide range of applications. Among different manufacturing techniques, electrical discharge machining (EDM) has shown high potential in processing stainless steel 304 in a controllable manner. This paper reports the results of an experimental investigation into the effect of the process parameters on the obtainable surface roughness and material removal rate of stainless steel 304, when slotted using wire EDM. A full factorial design of the experiment was followed when conducting experimental trials in which the effects of the different levels of the five process parameters; applied voltage, traverse feed, pulse-on time, pulse-off time, and current intensity were investigated. The geometry of the cut slots was characterized using the MATLAB image processing toolbox to detect the edge and precise width of the cut slot along its entire length to determine the material removal rate. In addition, the surface roughness of the side walls of the slots were characterized, and the roughness average was evaluated for the range of the process parameters being examined. The effect of the five process parameters on both responses were studied, and the results revealed that the material removal rate is significantly influenced by feed (p-value = 9.72 × 10−29), followed by current tension (p-value = 6.02 × 10−7), and voltage (p-value = 3.77 × 10−5), while the most significant parameters affecting the surface roughness are current tension (p-value = 1.89 × 10−7), followed by pulse-on time (1.602 × 10−5), and pulse-off time (0.0204). The developed regression models and associated prediction plots offer a reliable tool to predict the effect of the process parameters, and thus enable the optimizing of their effects on both responses; surface roughness and material removal rate. The results also reveal the trade-off between the effect of significant process parameters on the material removal rate and surface roughness. This points out the need for a robust multi-objective optimization technique to identify the process window for obtaining high quality surfaces while keeping the material removal rate as high as possible.

The processing advantages of welding with high brightness and 1 μm wavelength laser sources have been well reported. However, it is also reported that such high brightness laser sources, whilst providing the necessary penetration depth and welding speed, may result in unacceptable levels of weld spatter. So far, the effects of process parameters on spatter formation have not been well studied on aluminium alloys. In this paper, systematic experimental trials were carried out on the AA5083 aluminium alloy plates to study the effects of different process parameters on the spatter generated. High speed imaging and numerical modelling (using the computational fluid dynamic, CFD) were used to understand the formation mechanisms of the spatter. Results show that the process parameters having the most influence on spatter formation are laser power, welding speed × focal length of the focusing unit, laser power squared × welding speed, laser power squared × focal length of the focusing unit. The welding process in aluminium alloy AA5083 aluminium alloy is quite unstable, the occurrence of spatter ejections is closely related to the turbulence in the melt pool, and full penetration welds tend to produce less spatter than partial penetration welds. To minimise spatter ejection, it is recommended that a high welding speed is used with the laser power just sufficient to achieve full penetration the joint geometry, and the focus position of the laser beam should be appropriately away from the top surface of the workpiece.

Effects of process parameters on properties of porous foams formed by laser-assisted melting of steel powder (AISI P21)/foaming agent (ZrH2) mixture

Effect of arc length trim and adaptive pulsed-MIG process parameters on bead profile of stainless steel with synergic power source