Tribological Performance of High-Entropy Coatings (HECs): A Review.

Surface coatings that operate effectively at elevated temperatures provide compatibility with critical service conditions as well as improved tribological performance of the components. High-entropy coatings (HECs), including metallic, ceramics, and composites, have gained attention all over the world and developed rapidly over the past 18 years, due to their excellent mechanical and tribological properties. High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are defined as alloys containing five or more principal elements in equal or close to equal atomic percentage. Owing to the high configurational entropy compared to conventional alloys, HEAs are usually composed of a simple solid solution phase, such as the BCC and FCC phases, instead of complex, brittle intermetallic phases. Several researchers have investigated the mechanical, oxidation, corrosion and wear properties of high-entropy oxides, carbides, borides, and silicates using various coating and testing techniques. More recently, the friction and wear characteristics of high-entropy coatings (HECs) have gained interest within various industrial sectors, mainly due to their favourable mechanical and tribological properties at high temperatures. In this review article, the authors identified the research studies and developments in high-entropy coatings (HECs) fabricated on various substrate materials using different synthesis methods. In addition, the current understanding of the HECs characteristics is critically reviewed, including the fabrication routes of targets/feedstock, synthesis methods utilized in various research studies, microstructural and tribological behaviour from room temperature to high temperatures.

Nanostructure, osteopontin, and mechanical properties of calcitic avian eggshell.

Avian (and formerly dinosaur) eggshells form a hard, protective biomineralized chamber for embryonic growth-an evolutionary strategy that has existed for hundreds of millions of years. We show in the calcitic chicken eggshell how the mineral and organic phases organize hierarchically across different length scales and how variation in nanostructure across the shell thickness modifies its hardness, elastic modulus, and dissolution properties. We also show that the nanostructure changes during egg incubation, weakening the shell for chick hatching. Nanostructure and increased hardness were reproduced in synthetic calcite crystals grown in the presence of the prominent eggshell protein osteopontin. These results demonstrate the contribution of nanostructure to avian eggshell formation, mechanical properties, and dissolution.

Scaling Effects on Materials Tribology: From Macro to Micro Scale.

The tribological study of materials inherently involves the interaction of surface asperities at the micro to nanoscopic length scales. This is the case for large scale engineering applications with sliding contacts, where the real area of contact is made up of small contacting asperities that make up only a fraction of the apparent area of contact. This is why researchers have sought to create idealized experiments of single asperity contacts in the field of nanotribology. At the same time, small scale engineering structures known as micro- and nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS) have been developed, where the apparent area of contact approaches the length scale of the asperities, meaning the real area of contact for these devices may be only a few asperities. This is essentially the field of microtribology, where the contact size and/or forces involved have pushed the nature of the interaction between two surfaces towards the regime where the scale of the interaction approaches that of the natural length scale of the features on the surface. This paper provides a review of microtribology with the purpose to understand how tribological processes are different at the smaller length scales compared to macrotribology. Studies of the interfacial phenomena at the macroscopic length scales (e.g., using in situ tribometry) will be discussed and correlated with new findings and methodologies at the micro-length scale.

Shear-Induced Structural Changes and Origin of Ultralow Friction of Hydrogenated Diamond-like Carbon (DLC) in Dry Environment.

The origins of run-in and ultralow friction states of a sliding contact of hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (H-DLC) and sapphire were studied with an in situ Raman tribometer as well as ex situ analyses of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, and nanoindentation. Prior to ultralow friction behavior, H-DLC exhibits a run-in period. During the run-in period in dry nitrogen atmosphere, the transfer film was formed and its uniformity and thickness as well as structure were varied. The duration and friction behaviors during the run-in depended on the initial surface state of the H-DLC coatings. A comparative study of pristine and thermally oxidized H-DLC revealed the role of surface oxide layer on run-in friction and transfer film formation. Attainment of the ultralow friction state appeared to correlate with the uniformity and structure of the transfer film evolved during the run-in, rather than its final thickness. TEM cross-section imaging of the wear track and the counter surfaces showed a trace of nanocrystalline graphite and a thin modified surface layer on both rubbing bodies. The comparison of hardness and reduced modulus of the wear tracks and the unworn surfaces as well as the ex situ Raman spectra suggested the densification of the wear track surfaces. Combining the in situ and ex situ analysis results, a comprehensive model was proposed for the formation and structure of the ultralow friction sliding contact of H-DLC.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ti Cold-Spray Splats Determined by Electron Channeling Contrast Imaging and Nanoindentation Mapping.

Cold spray is a thermo-mechanical process where the velocity of the sprayed particles affects the deformation, bonding, and mechanical properties of the deposited material, in the form of splats or coatings. At high strain rates, the impact stresses are converted into heat, a phenomenon known as adiabatic shear, which leads to grain re-crystallization. Grain re-crystallization and growth are shown to have a direct impact on the mechanical properties of the cold-sprayed material. The present study ties the microstructural features within the cold-sprayed Ti splats and the substrate to the bonding mechanism and mechanical properties. High-resolution electron channeling contrast imaging, electron backscatter diffraction mapping, and nanoindentation were used to correlate the microstructure to the mechanical properties distribution within the titanium cold-spray splats. The formation of nanograins was observed at the titanium splat/substrate interface and contributed to metallurgical bonding. An increase in grain re-crystallization within the splat and substrate materials was observed with pre-heating of the substrate. In the substrate material, the predominant mechanism of deformation was twinning. A good relationship was found between the hardness and distribution of the twins within the substrate and the size distribution of the re-crystallized grains within the splats.

Microstructure refinement of cold-sprayed copper investigated by electron channeling contrast imaging.

The electron channeling contrast imaging technique was used to investigate the microstructure of copper coatings fabricated by cold gas dynamic spray. The high velocity impact characteristics for cold spray led to the formation of many substructures, such as high density dislocation walls, dislocation cells, deformation twins, and ultrafine equiaxed subgrains/grains. A schematic model is proposed to explain structure refinement of Cu during cold spray, where an emphasis is placed on the role of dislocation configurations and twinning.

Magnetic domain structure and crystallographic orientation of electrical steels revealed by a forescatter detector and electron backscatter diffraction.

The magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steels (NOES) are an important factor in determining the efficiency of electric vehicle drivetrains. Due to the highly variable texture of NOES, the relationships between crystal orientation, the magnetic domain structure, and the final magnetic properties are complicated and not fully understood. In this study, a NOES sample was characterized with a method capable of imaging surface magnetic domains using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with an electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) system equipped with a forescatter detector. This method used type II magnetic contrast without a specialized SEM setup, and imaged with a resolution limit of approximately 250-300nm. The domain structure of the NOES sample was successfully related to ß, which was defined as the angle between the closest magnetic easy axis and the surface of the sample (the RD-TD plane). However, it was shown that if the easy axes were aligned between neighbouring grains with respect to the grain boundary normal, the domain structure could align with an easy axis that was not the closest to the surface, and complex domain structures could be become wider. This structure and width change of complex domain structures has not been previously observed from single crystal or large-grained material studies. The successful application of this method to reveal the influence of surrounding grains can be used to better understand the magnetic properties of NOES.

Electron channeling contrast imaging of plastic deformation induced by indentation in polycrystalline nickel.

Vickers microindentation and Berkovich nanoindentation tests were carried out on a polycrystalline nickel (Ni) bulk specimen. Electron channeling contrast imaging (ECCI) in conjunction with electron backscattered diffraction was used to image and characterize plastic deformation inside and around the indents using a field emission scanning electron microscope. The ECCI was performed with a 5 keV beam energy and 0° tilt specimen position. The strain field distribution, slip lines, and Taylor lattices were imaged on an indented surface. Orientation mapping was used to investigate the local crystallographic misorientation and identify specific ⟨110⟩ slip systems. An ion milling surface preparation technique was used to remove materials from the surface which permitted the study of deformed microstructure below the indent. A dislocation density of 1011 cm-2 was calculated based on the curvature of bend contours observed in the ECCI micrographs obtained from the Vickers indents. A yield strength of 500 MPa was calculated based on the size of the strain field measured from the ECCI micrographs of the nanoindents. The combination of ion milling, ECCI, and electron backscattered diffraction was shown to be beneficial to investigate the indentation-induced plastic deformation in a polycrystalline Ni bulk specimen.