The Effects of Content of Zr(NO3)4 on Formation and Characteristics of Micro-arc Oxidation Coatings Formed on ZAlSi12Cu2Mg1 Surface
The aims of this work are to prepare micro-arc oxidation coatings on the surface of ZAlSi12Cu2Mg1 aluminum alloy in Na2SiO3+NaOH+Na2EDTA electrolytes with and without Zr(NO3)4 and study their formation and characteristics. The phase constituent, surface microscopic morphology and cross-sectional morphology of the ceramic coatings were analyzed by XRD(X-ray diffraction), SEM(scanning electron microscope) and optical microscope. The thickness of the ceramic layer were measured by eddy current thickness gauge. The results show that the micro-arc oxidation films are mainly composed of mullite, α-Al2O3 and γ-Al2O3, it provides excellent adhesion with the substrate. With the content of Zr(NO3)4 in electrolyte varies from 0g/L to 1.0g/L, the thickness of the ceramic coating increases sharply at first, but afterwards reduces slowly, and the maximum of thickness up to 202μm when content of Zr(NO3)4 is 0.5g/L. The addition of Zr(NO3)4 into the base electrolyte solution is helpful in coatings formation and the coating formed in the solution containing 0.5g/L Zr(NO3)4 exhibits the best comprehensive features.
Characterization of wear protective AlSiO coatings formed on Al-based alloys by micro-arc discharge treatment
Abstract The wear life of components manufactured from Al-based alloys can be drastically increased by the application of ceramic coatings. However, coatings deposited by conventional methods such as vacuum deposition or plasma spray have either insufficient adhesion to Al-based materials or the deposition process causes the component to overheat. A recently developed micro-arc discharge oxidizing (MDO) technique allows for the formation 100–200 μm thick AlSiO coating on the surface of Al alloys. A composite Al2O3SiO2 coating is formed at room temperature as a result of a reactive process between Al in the alloy itself and O and Si supplied by an electrolyte. AlSiO coatings were investigated with XPS, Vickers and nanoindentation hardness tests, ball-on-disk, and block-on-ring friction and wear tests. Coatings were found to consist of at least two phases: a hard Al2O3 phase and a softer aluminasilicate phase. A maximum hardness of 17 GPa was found for coatings with highest content of Al2O3 phase. The tribological properties of AlSiO coatings with different composition are discussed. The lowest friction coefficient was found for the Al0.26Si0.08O0.66 coating and was measured around 0.15–0.25 depending on the test environment. The application of this coating decreased the wear rate of components fabricated from an Al-based alloy by several orders of magnitude and permitted operation of coated friction pairs at 1 GPa contact load.
Traceability strategy for gear-pitch-measuring instruments: development and calibration of a multiball artifact
There is a strong demand to ensure the traceability of gear-measuring instruments (GMIs). We propose a multiball artifact (MBA) for the evaluation of pitch-measuring accuracy. The aim of the MBA is to transfer the minimum uncertainty from a calibrated value at the National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMIJ) to a measured value of GMIs at a shop floor. The MBA is composed of equally spaced high-accuracy balls around an axis. The pitch-measuring accuracy of GMIs is evaluated by measuring the angular pitch deviation of the balls instead of the angular pitch deviation of a gear. We calibrated the angular pitch deviation using a coordinate measuring instrument (CMM) at the NMIJ and adapting a multiple-orientation technique. We proposed a calibration strategy of the angular pitch deviation. The calibration value of the pitch deviation for the MBA at the NMIJ was obtained with a measurement uncertainty (U95) of 0.2 µm. We evaluated the pitch-measuring accuracy of a GMI using the calibrated MBA. Each value of U95 for the cumulative and single pitch deviations for the left and right flanks was less than or equal to 0.5 µm. The small uncertainty was transferred from the NMIJ to the GMI.