Search Results (26)

It is recommended to use high-speed milling to maintain an effective material removal rate and the required cutting-edge geometry. However, on the other hand, high speed increases wear, so the surface of the cutters is modified by deposition functional coatings. The wear of end mills made of CTS12D and H10F tungsten carbides during the high-speed processing of aluminum A97075 (B95T1) was compared. To increase the durability of the tools, well-proven technologies for deposition diamond-like and polycrystalline diamond coatings in microwave plasma with different film structures, which were determined by the coating growth conditions, were used. The milling cutter corner was mostly worn out, but the nature of the wear had its characteristics. It was revealed that at a forced cutting mode of about 1000 m/min, cutters made of CTS12D alloy with a nanocrystalline diamond coating with a “cauliflower” structure and with a diamond-like film showed 10% higher resistance. The primary wear mechanism was adhesive. Images of worn cutting edges were obtained using a 3D optical digital image processing system. Full article

In order to improve the erosion resistance of steel PDC (Polycrystalline Diamond Compact) bit under high-speed fluid flow conditions underground, it is necessary to develop a high-performance erosion-resistant coating. In this paper, laser cladding was used to prepare the new coating by modifying tungsten carbide with graphene. And the effects of tungsten carbide content and graphene content on the coating performance have been thoroughly studied and analyzed to obtain the optimal covering layer. The research results indicate that, for new coatings, 60% tungsten carbide and 0.3% graphene are the optimal ratios. After adding tungsten carbide, the hardness has significantly improved. However, when the tungsten carbide content further increases more than 30%, the increase in hardness is limited. In addition, when the content of graphene is more than 0.3%, the branched structure becomes thicker. In detail, this is a phenomenon where the segregation of Cr, Si, and W becomes very obvious again, and the segregation of Fe occurs at the Ni enrichment site. The research results contribute to the development and optimization of high-quality erosion-resistant coatings under the high-speed flow conditions in wellbore. These are of great significance for improving the efficiency of oil and gas exploration and development. Full article

Production of diamond coatings on titanium substrates has demonstrated as a promising strategy for applications ranging from biosensing to hard tissue engineering. The present study focuses on monitoring the nucleation and growth of bone-like carbonated-hydroxyapatite (C-HA) on polycrystalline diamond (PCD) synthetized on titanium substrate by means of a hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HF-CVD) method. The surface terminations of diamond coatings were selectively modified by oxidative treatments. The process of the C-HA deposition, accomplished by precipitation from simulated body fluid (SBF), was monitored from 3 to 20 days by Raman spectroscopy analysis. The coupling of morphological and structural investigations suggests that the modulation of the PCD surface chemistry enhances the bioactivity of the produced materials, allowing for the formation of continuous C-HA coatings with needle-like texture and chemical composition typical of those of the bone mineral. Specifically, after 20 days of immersion in SBF the calculated carbonate weight percent and the Ca/P ratio are 5.5% and 2.1, respectively. Based on these results, this study brings a novelty in tailoring the CVD-diamond properties for advanced biomedical and technological applications. Full article

Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) prepared by the high temperature and pressure method often uses Co as a binder, which had a detrimental effect on the cutting performance of PCD, thus Co needed to be removed. However, the removal of Co would cause residual holes and also make the cutting performance of PCD poorer. To address this issue, hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) was used. During deposition, the residual holes cannot be filled fully, and Co would diffuse to the interface between CVD diamond coatings and the PCD substrate, which influenced the adhesive strength of the diamond coating with the PCD substrate. In order to investigate the influencing mechanism, both experiments and the density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been employed. The experimental results demonstrate that Co and the holes in the interface would reduce the interfacial binding strength. Further, we built interfacial structures consisting of diamond (100), (110), (111) surfaces and PCD to calculate the corresponding interfacial binding energy, charge density and charge density difference. After contrast, for Co and the holes located on the (110) surface, the corresponding interfacial binding energy was bigger than the others. This means that the corresponding C-C covalent bond was stronger, and the interfacial binding strength was higher. Based on this, conducting cobalt removal pretreatment, optimizing the PCD synthetic process and designing the site of Co can improve the performance of the PCD substrate CVD diamond coating tools. Full article

The complexity of milling metal matrix composite alloys based on aluminum like Al/SiC is due to their low melting point and high abrasive ability, which causes increased wear of carbide tools. One of the effective ways to improve its reliability and service life is to modify the surface by plasma chemical deposition of carbon-based multilayer functional layers from vapor (CVD) with high hardness and thermal conductivity: diamond-like (DLC) or polycrystalline diamond (PCD) coatings. Experiments on an indexable mill with CoroMill 200 inserts have shown that initial tool life increases up to 100% for cases with DLC and up to 300% for multilayered MCD/NCD films at a cutting speed of 800 m/min. The primary mechanism of wear of a carbide tool in this cutting mode was soft abrasion, when wear on both the rake and flank surfaces occurred due to the extrusion of cobalt binder between tungsten carbide grains, followed by their loss. Analysis of the wear pattern of plates with DLC and MCD/NCD coatings showed that abrasive wear begins to prevail against the background of soft abrasion. Adhesive wear is also present to a lesser extent, but there is no chipping of the base material from the cutting edge. Full article

This work aims to study the relation between the hardness and behavioral wear of tungsten carbide inserts (TCI) and polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) cutters, used as drill bits for drilling oil and gas wells, through wear testing conducted using the pin-on-disc test and the measure of microhardness Knoop test. The morphology of the worn surface was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the chemical composition was taken before and after the wear test inside the tracks using energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). Additionally, the behavior of the corrosion resistance was evaluated with the electrodynamic polarization technique and was compared with a coating of diamond-like carbon (DLC) in order to determine whether this coating applied to tool steel could serve as a substitute for insert-based coatings in future applications, as its cost is lower than that of the inserts. A paragraph discusses what characteristics must be taken when selecting or manufacturing materials for drill bit applications. In conclusion, it was found that the TCI insert presented cracks in the test tracks, while the PDC insert showed soft wear; this was due to the uncertain hardness, which was greater than the indenter used. Concerning the Tafel test, the curves showed that the PDC insert presents better behavior under corrosion; however, the DLC can be a good substitute. Full article

The milling of polymer composites is a process that ensures dimensional and shape accuracy and appropriate surface quality. The shaping of thin-walled elements is a challenge owing to their deformation. This article presents the results of milling polymer composites made of glass and carbon fibers saturated with epoxy resin. The milling of each material was conducted using different tools (tools with polycrystalline diamond inserts, physically coated carbide inserts with titanium nitride and uncoated carbide inserts) to show differences in feed force and deformation after the machining of individual thin-walled samples. In addition, the study used recurrence analysis to determine the most appropriate quantifications sensitive to changes occurring in milling different materials with the use of different tools. The study showed that the highest forces occurred in milling thin-walled carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics using uncoated tools and the highest feeds per revolution and cutting speeds. The use of a high feed per revolution (0.8 mm/rev) in carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics machining by uncoated tools resulted in a maximum feed force of 1185 N. A cutting speed of 400 m/min resulted in a force of 754 N. The largest permanent deformation occurred in the milling of glass-fiber-reinforced composite samples with uncoated tools. The permanent deformation value of this material was 0.88 mm. Low feed per revolution (0.1 mm/rev) resulted in permanent deformations of less than 0.30 mm for both types of materials. A change in feed per revolution had the most significant effect on the deformations of thin-walled polymer composites. The analysis of forces and deformation made it possible to conclude that high feed per revolution were not recommended in composite milling. In addition to the analysis of machining thin-walled composites, the novelty of this study was also the use of recurrence methods. Recurrence methods were used to determine the most appropriate quantifications. Determinism, averaged diagonal length and entropy have been shown to be suitable quantifications for determining the type of machined material and the tools used. Full article

Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) films are usually grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in hydrogen–methane mixtures. The synthesis conditions determine the structure and quality of the grown material. Here, we report the complex effect of the microwave plasma CVD conditions on the morphology, growth rate and phase composition of the resulting PCD films. Specifically, we focus on the factors of (i) increased methane concentrations (${\nu }_c$) that are varied over a wide range of 4%–100% (i.e., pure methane gas) and (ii) substrate temperatures (${\mathrm{T}}_{\mathrm{s}}$) varied between 700–1050 °C. Using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, we show that diamond growth is possible even at ultrahigh methane concentrations, including ${\nu }_c$ = 100%, which requires relatively low synthesis temperatures of ${\mathrm{T}}_{\mathrm{s}}$ < 800 °C. In general, lower substrate temperatures tend to facilitate the formation of higher-quality PCD films; however, this comes at the cost of lower growth rates. The growth rate of PCD coatings has a non-linear trend: for samples grown at ${\mathrm{T}}_{\mathrm{s}}$ = 800 °C, the growth rate increases from 0.6 µm/h at ${\nu }_c$ = 4% to 3.4 µm/h at ${\nu }_c$ = 20% and then falls to 0.6 µm/h at ${\nu }_c$ = 100%. This research is a step toward control over the nature of the CVD-grown PCD material, which is essential for the precise and flexible production of diamond for various applications. Full article

Nano-crystalline diamond has been extensively researched and applied in the fields of tribology, optics, quantum information and biomedicine. In virtue of its hardness, the highest in natural materials, diamond outperforms the other materials in terms of wear resistance. Compared to traditional single-crystalline and poly-crystalline diamonds, nano-crystalline diamond consists of disordered grains and thus possesses good toughness and self-sharpening. These merits render nano-crystalline diamonds to have great potential in tribology. Moreover, the re-nucleation of nano-crystalline diamond during preparation is beneficial to decreasing surface roughness due to its ultrafine grain size. Nano-crystalline diamond coatings can have a friction coefficient as low as single-crystal diamonds. This article briefly introduces the approaches to preparing nano-crystalline diamond materials and summarizes their applications in the field of tribology. Firstly, nano-crystalline diamond powders can be used as additives in both oil- and water-based lubricants to significantly enhance their anti-wear property. Nano-crystalline diamond coatings can also act as self-lubricating films when they are deposited on different substrates, exhibiting excellent performance in friction reduction and wear resistance. In addition, the research works related to the tribological applications of nano-crystalline diamond composites have also been reviewed in this paper. Full article

The production of carbide tools with polycrystalline diamond coatings, which are used for processing modern carbon composite materials, includes a number of technological techniques that ensure reliable adhesion of the coating to the substrate. This review examines these features of substrate-surface pretreatment to improve adhesion, which includes chemical etching, mechanical hardening, modification by ion beams, plasma treatment and application of buffer layers between the substrate and the coating. This review also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the most common methods for obtaining polycrystalline diamond coatings using hot filament and deposition of coatings from microwave plasma. Full article

To control the increasing virus pandemics, virus detection methods are essential. Today’s standard virus detections methods are fast (immune assays) or precise (PCR). A method that is both fast and precise would enable more efficient mitigation measures and better life comfort. According to recent papers, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) has proven to detect viruses fast and precise. Boron-doped diamond (BDD) was used as a high-performance electrode material in these works. The aim of this work was to perform an initial test of BDD-based EIS for biosensing. As an easily available standard biomaterial, human immunoglobulin G (IgG) was used as analyte. Niobium plates were coated via hot-filament activated chemical vapor deposition with polycrystalline diamond, and doped with boron for electrical conductivity. An anti-human IgG antibody was immobilised on the BDD electrodes as a biosensing component. Four different analyte concentrations up to 1.1 µg per litre were tested. During EIS measurements, both impedance over frequency curves and Nyquist plot demonstrated no clear sign of a change of the charge transfer resistance. Thus, no positive statement about a successful biosensing could be made so far. It is assumed that these issues need to be investigated and improved, including the relation of BDD electrode size to electrolyte volume, termination of the BDD electrodes (H, O) for a successful functionalisation and EIS frequency range. The work will be continued concerning these improvement issues in order to finally use virus materials as analyte. Full article

The use of lightweight materials, such as ultra-high-strength aluminium alloys, is in high demand in the automotive and aerospace industries where weight savings are critical. The tool materials used for high-speed cutting of these aluminium alloys are subjected to severe conditions that promote premature failure of cutting tools. The application of polycrystalline diamond (PCD) coatings provides cutting tools with increased mechanical and thermal fatigue resistance and improved tribological performance. Despite these good properties, their high cost remains a major limitation in this sector. Super-hard Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coatings offer a technologically and economically feasible alternative to PCD-coated tools for cutting and machining non-ferrous materials. In this paper, the machining performance of coated and un-coated hard metal inserts in the turning of 7075 aluminium alloy has been explored. The surface quality of machined parts, the cutting tool wear resistance and the vibrations generated during turning of un-coated, PCD and super-hard thin DLC coatings on tungsten carbide inserts were compared. The results obtained demonstrate that DLC coatings are a potentially interesting alternative to PCD coatings for machining ultra-high-strength aluminium alloys, where surface component finish is a key factor. Full article

This article presents research on the structural and mechanical properties of an innovative metal matrix composite (MMC) coating designed for use in conditions of intense metal-mineral abrasive wear. The layer, which is intended to protect the working surface of drilling tools used in the oil and natural gas extraction sector, was padded using the multi-run technique on a sheet made of AISI 4715 low-alloy structural steel by Laser Direct Metal Deposition (LDMD) using a high-power fiber laser (FL). An innovative cobalt alloy matrix powder with a ceramic reinforcement of crushed titanium carbide (TiC) and tungsten-coated synthetic polycrystalline diamond (PCD) was used as the surfacing material. The influence of the preheating temperature of the base material on the susceptibility to cracking and abrasive wear of the composite coating was assessed. The structural properties of the coating were characterized by using methods such as optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The mechanical properties of the hardfaced coating were assessed on the basis of the results of a metal-mineral abrasive wear resistance test, hardness measurement, and the observation of the abrasion area with a scanning laser microscope. The results of laboratory tests showed a slight dissolution of the tungsten coating protecting the synthetic PCD particles and the transfer of its components into the metallic matrix of the composite. Moreover, it was proved that an increase in the preheating temperature of the base material prior to welding has a positive effect on reducing the susceptibility of the coating to cracking, reducing the porosity of the metal deposit and increasing the resistance to abrasive wear. Full article

This article is the last of a series of publications included in the MDPI special edition entitled “Innovative Technologies and Materials for the Production of Mechanical, Thermal and Corrosion Wear-Resistant Surface Layers and Coatings”. Powder plasma-transferred arc welding (PPTAW) was used to surface metal matrix composite (MMC) layers using a mixture of cobalt (Co3) and nickel (Ni3) alloy powders. These powders contained different proportions and types of hard reinforcing phases in the form of ceramic carbides (TiC and WC-W₂C), titanium diboride (TiB₂), and of tungsten-coated synthetic polycrystalline diamond (PD-W). The resistance of the composite layers to cracking under the influence of dynamic loading was determined using Charpy hammer impact tests. The results showed that the various interactions between the ceramic particles and the metal matrix significantly affected the formation process and porosity of the composite surfacing welds on the AISI 4715 low-alloy structural steel substrate. They also affected the distribution and proportion of reinforcing-phase particles in the matrix. The size, shape, and type of the ceramic reinforcement particles and the surfacing weld density significantly impacted the brittleness of the padded MMC layer. The fracture toughness increased upon decreasing the particle size of the hard reinforcing phase in the nickel alloy matrix and upon increasing the composite density. The calculated mean critical stress intensity factor K_Ic of the steel samples with deposited layers of cobalt alloy reinforced with TiC and PD-W particles was 4.3 MPa⋅${\mathrm{m}}^{\frac{1}{2}}$ higher than that of the nickel alloy reinforced with TiC and WC-W₂C particles. Full article

Fabricating micro-structures on optical materials has received great interest in recent years. In this work, micro-grooving experiments were performed on polycrystalline zinc selenide (ZnSe) to investigate the feasibility of surface micro-structuring on polycrystalline soft-brittle material by diamond turning. A photosensitive resin was coated on the workpiece before cutting, and it was found that the coating was effective in suppressing brittle fractures at the edges of the grooves. The effect of tool feed rate in groove depth direction was examined. Results showed that the defect morphology on the groove surface was affected by the tool feed rate. The crystallographic orientation of grains around the groove was characterized by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and it was found that the formation of defects was strongly dependent on the angle of groove surface with respect to the cleavage plane of grain. The stress distribution of the micro-grooving process was investigated by the finite element method. Results showed that the location of tensile stresses in the coated workpiece was farther from the edge of the groove compared with that in the uncoated workpiece, verifying the experimental result that brittle fractures were suppressed by the resin coating. Full article