This licentiate thesis has the main focus on evaluation of the wear of coated and uncoated polycrystalline cubic boron nitride cutting tool used in cutting operations against hardened steel. And to exam the surface finish and integrity of the work material used. Harder work material, higher cutting speed and cost reductions result in the development of harder and more wear resistance cutting tools. Although PCBN cutting tools have been used in over 30 years, little work have been done on PVD coated PCBN cutting tools. Therefore hard turning and hard milling experiments with PVD coated and uncoated cutting tools have been performed and evaluated. The coatings used in the present study are TiSiN and TiAlN. The wear scar and surface integrity have been examined with help of several different characterization techniques, for example scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy.   The results showed that the PCBN cutting tools used displayed crater wear, flank wear and edge micro chipping. While the influence of the coating on the crater and flank wear was very small and the coating showed a high tendency to spalling. Scratch testing of coated PCBN showed that, the TiAlN coating resulted in major adhesive fractures. This displays the importance of understanding the effect of different types of lapping/grinding processes in the pre-treatment of hard and super hard substrate materials and the amount and type of damage that they can create. For the cutting tools used in turning, patches of a adhered layer, mainly consisting of FexOy were shown at both the crater and flank. And for the cutting tools used in milling a tribofilm consisting of SixOy covered the crater. A combination of tribochemical reactions, adhesive wear and mild abrasive wear is believed to control the flank and crater wear of the PCBN cutting tools. On a microscopic scale the difference phases of the PCBN cutting tool used in turning showed different wear characteristics. The machined surface of the work material showed a smooth surface with a Ra-value in the range of 100-200 nm for the turned surface and 100-150 nm for the milled surface. With increasing crater and flank wear in combination with edge chipping the machined surface becomes rougher and showed a higher Ra-value. For the cutting tools used in milling the tendency to micro edge chipping was significant higher when milling the tools steels showing a higher hard phase content and a lower heat conductivity resulting in higher mechanical and thermal stresses at the cutting edge.

In metal cutting applications, development of coatings to reduce friction between tool and chip and also enhance wear resistance of the tool is an important objective. The effectiveness of such coatings is ultimately evaluated through metal cutting trials; however, bench-scale tests can play a role in predicting some aspects of a candidate coating’s performance. This dissertation further develops the concept of an on-axis rotation pin-on-disc tribometer for the evaluation of friction coefficient between tool and work material pairs under temperature and stress conditions similar to those experienced between tool and chip in metal cutting. Firstly, the characteristics of the imprint formed by the spherical-tipped pin in the disc during tribometer tests are studied. Specific focus is given to the growth of the imprint during the rotating stage of the test; the severity of pile-up of work material around the periphery of the imprint; different zones of contact at the imprint surface; and evidence of (or lack thereof) of bulk shear in the surrounding work material below the surface of the disc. The importance of estimating the actual temperature at the pin-disc interface (inaccessible for direct measurement) is also raised. Evidence is presented that suggests the pin-disc interface is higher for tests involving coatings with higher electrical resistivity, despite exhibiting similar temperatures 2 mm above the interface (accessible for direct measurement). A numerical model is developed in an effort to estimate the pin-disc interface during stationary specimen tests for specific pin and disc materials under controlled conditions. An empirical relationship is also established to express the variation of electrical resistivity with temperature for cemented tungsten carbide (6% cobalt content). Finally, coefficient of friction results for coated and uncoated cemented carbide pins in contact with AISI 1045 steel discs are related to short duration turning trials involving the same material pairs. Coatings exhibiting low friction coefficient result in appreciably lower cutting forces, reduced built-up edge intensity and more tightly curled chips. The possibility that the low thermal conductivity of such coatings could be producing similar effects by forcing more heat into the chips is also explored. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This dissertation further develops the concept of a pin-on-disc apparatus for evaluating the friction coefficient between materials under temperature and stress conditions similar to those experienced in metal cutting. Firstly, characteristics of the imprint formed by the pin in the disc during tests with the apparatus are studied. Specific focus is given to the growth of the imprint during the rotating stage of the test and different zones of contact at the imprint surface. Secondly, the importance of estimating the actual temperature at the pin-disc interface, inaccessible for direct measurement, is raised and a numerical model developed to aid in its estimation. Finally, coefficient of friction results generated on the apparatus are correlated to the magnitude of forces measured and other observations made during metal cutting trials involving the same material pairs.

Friction in machining is a complex phenomenon that can directly affect cutting productivity and product quality. Currently, different coatings are developed for machining applications which can increase tool life in the machining processes. Since performing a real machining test to quantify the friction is expensive and time-consuming, developing a bench scale testing method to simulate the friction in machining can reduce the cost and help researchers and industries select a suitable coating for their specific applications. The goal of this work was to study the adhesion between the tool and workpiece material under machining conditions by simulating them using a heavy-load high-temperature tribometer. A high normal load was applied to plastically deform the workpiece material. The contact zone was then heated up using a resistance heating method. The normal load should be in the range that can generate a plastic flow on the surface of the workpiece material prior to seizure. Three groups of in-house coatings were tested to study the effects of coating deposition parameters on the coefficient of friction. The results of these tests showed that the coating with the lowest bias voltage and highest Nitrogen pressure had the best tribological performance. As a next step, three different commercial coatings were selected. Super duplex stainless steel was chosen as the workpiece material and the tribometer tests were performed. To validate the tribometer results real machining tests and tool wear analysis were performed. AlTiNOS+ WC/C was observed to be a lubricious coating which reduced the cutting force and coefficient of friction during the running-in stage. However, the low hardness of the coating provided little abrasion resistance and was removed after the first pass. AlTiNOS+ TiB2 demonstrated a good combination of hardness and lubricity associated with improved coating tribological performance as well as wear resistance. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

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Agradecemos a compreensão. on 2016-11-10T15:50:45Z (GMT) / Submitted by ANDERSON FIGUEIREDO DA COSTA null (and.kairos@hotmail.com) on 2016-11-22T17:09:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação 20161104 - Versão Final Corrigida.pdf: 5558976 bytes, checksum: 402eb9e3734833ebc7ccebf113844b8e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Felipe Augusto Arakaki (arakaki@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-11-23T17:41:31Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 costa_af_me_guara.pdf: 5558976 bytes, checksum: 402eb9e3734833ebc7ccebf113844b8e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-23T17:41:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 costa_af_me_guara.pdf: 5558976 bytes, checksum: 402eb9e3734833ebc7ccebf113844b8e (MD5) Previous issue date: 16-09-08 / Com o atual avanço de propriedades dos materiais, novas alternativas estão sendo buscadas para manufaturas desses materiais. Entre os processos, a usinagem se caracteriza por ser um processo que emprega milhões de pessoas. Entretanto para alcançar tais objetivos melhorias nas propriedades das ferramentas se faz necessária. Neste seguimento, os revestimentos vêm apresentando avanços significativos, como pode-se destacar o revestimento por CVD (deposição química a vapor) que permite que a ferramenta seja empregada nas temperaturas em torno de 1200ºC. Nesta mesma linha vale destacar o revestimento por PVD (deposição física a vapor) normalmente em uma única camada, o qual permite que a aresta de corte seja positiva, possa trabalhar com menor esforço de corte, e em temperatura aproximadamente em 700ºC. Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar comparativamente o desempenho de ferramentas de metal duro revestidas pelo processo CVD e PVD no torneamento do aço ABNT 8620 sem uso de fluido de corte. Foram utilizadas duas pastilhas de metal duro revestidas pelo processo de PVD e CVD, com mesma geometria para efeito comparativo. A pastilha revestida por PVD tem espessura do revestimento de 3µm, enquanto que a pastilha revestida por CVD tem espessura do revestimento de 16µm. As pastilhas revestidas foram caracterizadas quanto a composição química dos elementos de revestimentos utilizando um microscópio eletrônico de varredura pela técnica de linescan e mapping. Posteriormente as ferramentas foram aplicadas ao torneamento nas velocidades de corte (Vc) entre 350 a 500m/min, avanço (f) de 0,20mm/rot e profundidade de corte (ap) de 1,00mm, utilizando um torno da marca ROMI, modelo GL240M. As caracterizações foram realizadas com uso de um microscópio óptico, microscópio eletrônico de varredura e um rugosímetro. Os resultados demonstraram que a ferramenta revestida pelo processo CVD apresenta um melhor rendimento, quando comparado ao processo PVD, este fato ocorreu porque a ferramenta revestida pelo processo CVD apresenta um revestimento multicamadas, possuindo um aporte térmico mais elevado, suportando assim, temperaturas de corte mais elevadas durante a usinagem e promovendo um menor desgaste de flanco e de superfície de saída. Portanto, este trabalho demonstra que para uso em uma indústria que torneia o aço ABNT 8620, as ferramentas revestidas com CVD apresentam melhor desempenho, levando a um menor consumo de pastilhas e uma expressiva redução de custos. / With the current advancement of material properties, new alternatives are being sought for manufacturing these materials. Among the processes, machining is characterized as a process that employs millions of people. However to achieve such goals improvements in the tools properties is necessary. In this follow-up, the coatings have shown significant advances, as can highlight the coating by CVD (chemical vapor deposition) that allows the tool to be used at temperatures around 1200°C. In the same line it is worth highlighting the coating by PVD (physical vapor deposition) usually in a single layer, which allows the cutting edge is positive, can work with less shear stress, and temperature approximately 700°C. This study aims at comparing the performance of carbide tools coated by the CVD process and PVD in the steel turning ABNT 8620 without the use of cutting fluid. We used two carbide inserts coated by the PVD and CVD process, with the same geometry for comparison purposes. The tablet is coated by PVD coating thickness of 3μm, while the tablet is coated by CVD coating thickness of 16μm. The coated tablets were characterized as the chemical composition of coatings elements using a scanning electron microscope for linescan technique and mapping. Subsequently the tools were applied to turning the cutting speed (Vc) between 350 to 500 m/min, feed (f) 0.20 mm/rev and depth of cut (ap) of 1.00mm using a lathe ROMI mark, GL240M model. The characterizations were carried out using an optical microscope, scanning electron microscope and roughness. The results demonstrated that the tool coated by the CVD process has a better performance when compared to PVD this occurred because the tool coated by the CVD process has a multilayer coating having a higher heat input, supporting thus cutting temperatures over high during machining and promote a smaller flank wear and output surface. Therefore, this work shows that for use in an industry that sidesteps steel ABNT 8620, tools coated with CVD have better performance, leading to lower consumption of pellets and a significant cost reduction.

This licentiate thesis has the main focus on evaluation of the wear of coated and uncoated polycrystalline cubic boron nitride cutting tool used in cutting operations against hardened steel. And to exam the surface finish and integrity of the work material used. Harder work material, higher cutting speed and cost reductions result in the development of harder and more wear resistance cutting tools. Although PCBN cutting tools have been used in over 30 years, little work have been done on PVD coated PCBN cutting tools. Therefore hard turning and hard milling experiments with PVD coated and uncoated cutting tools have been performed and evaluated. The coatings used in the present study are TiSiN and TiAlN. The wear scar and surface integrity have been examined with help of several different characterization techniques, for example scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy.   The results showed that the PCBN cutting tools used displayed crater wear, flank wear and edge micro chipping. While the influence of the coating on the crater and flank wear was very small and the coating showed a high tendency to spalling. Scratch testing of coated PCBN showed that, the TiAlN coating resulted in major adhesive fractures. This displays the importance of understanding the effect of different types of lapping/grinding processes in the pre-treatment of hard and super hard substrate materials and the amount and type of damage that they can create. For the cutting tools used in turning, patches of a adhered layer, mainly consisting of FexOy were shown at both the crater and flank. And for the cutting tools used in milling a tribofilm consisting of SixOy covered the crater. A combination of tribochemical reactions, adhesive wear and mild abrasive wear is believed to control the flank and crater wear of the PCBN cutting tools. On a microscopic scale the difference phases of the PCBN cutting tool used in turning showed different wear characteristics. The machined surface of the work material showed a smooth surface with a Ra-value in the range of 100-200 nm for the turned surface and 100-150 nm for the milled surface. With increasing crater and flank wear in combination with edge chipping the machined surface becomes rougher and showed a higher Ra-value. For the cutting tools used in milling the tendency to micro edge chipping was significant higher when milling the tools steels showing a higher hard phase content and a lower heat conductivity resulting in higher mechanical and thermal stresses at the cutting edge.

The Master’s thesis is focused on reaming technology using PVD coated reamers with cermet cutting edge. This work point out a historical evolution of reaming technology as well as recent requirements to the quality of produced surfaces. Reamers characteristic, splitting, mechanical designs, cutting tool geometry as well as the assumption of a reamer potential evolution are presented. Application of cermet tool material and PVD coatings to reaming tools is considered. The work contains a review of present statement at reamer market including cermet reamers and provided single cells (elements) of the Tool Management. The experimental part of the work is focused on product manufacture qualities verification of the changeable PVD coated reamer head made by HAM-FINAL ltd. Economic analysis in case of investment to the reamer purchase is demonstrated on the example of the practical application of the reamer.

H13 tool steel is widely used in the mold and die industry. Due to tighter geometric tolerances and higher quality expectations, the use of hard machining has increased over the years. Hard machining refers to the machining of materials in their hardened state. The challenges with hard machining are rapid tool wear and maintaining a high surface integrity of the machined surface. Surface integrity is measured in terms of surface roughness, residual stresses, presence of surface and subsurface cracks, and the quality of the developed microstructure. In order to minimize wear and improve product quality, researchers are working on the development of different tool coatings. Some of the recent tool coatings function by adapting to their environment using heat to form thin layers of oxides, referred to as ―tribo-films‖, on the surface of the tool. If engineered properly, these tribofilms can prolong tool life and improve the surface integrity of a hard machined surface. A titanium based nano multi-layered coating (TiAlCrSiYN/TiAlCrN) has been developed by researchers at the MMRI. The tribological performance of two different coatings TiAlCrSiYN/TiAlCrN and TiAlCrN were tested in a hard machining metal cutting process. The impact of these coatings on tool wear, Cutting process (Chips) and Surface Integrity (Quality of machined surface) was assessed. This research involves characterizing the coating to understand how the formation of different oxide films (tribofilms) effect tool wear and surface integrity. The generation of these tribofilms is sensitive to coating composition and cutting condition (temperature/pressure). Next, an in-depth characterization of the chips produced during machining was carried out as part of studying the effect of different tribological conditions between the tool and workpiece. The chip's hardness, oxidation, chip formation mechanism and topography as the chip slid against the cutting tool surface was studied. Also, the Surface integrity of the machined part was investigated, considering its microstructure, residual stresses and surface roughness. Lastly, tests were performed in an attempt to accelerate the generation of beneficial tribofilms. Results indicate significant improvement in wear life and surface integrity of the machined surface due to the generation of tribo-films in this machining application. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Dry High speed and wet milling strategies have both been used to machine hardened die and mold H13 tool steel (HRC 45-58). The TiAlCrSiYN-based family of PVD coatings prepared with various architectures (mono-, multi- and multilayer with an TiAlCrN interlayer) were studied to evaluate the coating micro-mechanical properties that affect tool life during dry high-speed milling of H13 tool steel. A systematic design of varying TiAlCrN interlayer thickness within a multilayer coating structure was developed and its influence on coating properties and cutting performance was investigated. A comprehensive characterization of the coatings was performed using a transmission electron microscope (TEM), focused ion beam (FIB), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), room-temperature nanoindentation, a nano-impact, ramped load scratch and a repetitive load wear test. The incorporation of an interlayer into the multilayer coating structure was found to increase the crack propagation resistance (CPRs) to 5.8 compared to 1.9 for the multilayer and 1.6 for the monolayer coatings, which resulted in a 60% tool life increase. The wear test at a load of 1.5 N showed that although the 500nm interlayer exhibited the best coating adhesion, a decline in the H3/E2 ratio was observed to worsen the machining performance. An approximate 40% increase in the tool life was achieved with the 300 nm interlayer by obtaining a balance between mechanical and adhesion properties. To investigate the tool performance during the wet milling of hardened tool steels, the (AlCrN-TiAlN) bi-layer PVD coating was post-treated by WPC (Wide Peening Cleaning) at various pressures and times. Fatigue resistance of the coating following the application of post treatment was observed to improve as the micro-mechanical characteristics (such as H3/E2 ratio, yield stress) were increased. A deterioration in the coating’s adhesion with increasing WPC pressure was also observed as measured by wear test applying a load of 1 N. Through experimentation a balance between fatigue resistance and adhesion was found with tool life being improved by 35% at a WPC applied pressure of 0.2 MPa. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Over the last 50 years, PVD (physical vapor deposition) coatings have played an increasingly important role in manufacturing where tool cost takes up 3% of the total expenses of the production process. Optimization of these coatings can expedite production wherever machining is conducted under extreme cutting conditions and consequent high material removal rates. These considerations assert significant importance on conducting research on PVD coating development specifically for milling of H13 tool steel, the material widely used in the mold and die industry. This research work seeks to enhance the micro-mechanical and adhesion properties of PVD coatings through architectural design and careful process development while relating desired properties to the high-performance milling of H13 tool steel.

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have emerged as a strong and promising candidate to replace internal combustion engines (ICE) due their high efficiency, high power density and near-zero hazardous emissions. However, their commercialization waits for solutions to bring about significant cost-reductions and significant durability for given power densities. Bipolar plate (BPP) with its multi-faceted functions is one of the essential components of the PEMFC stacks. Stainless steel alloys are considered promising materials of choice for bipolar plate (BPP) applications in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) due to their relatively low cost and commercial availability in thin sheets. Stainless steel materials build a protective passive metal oxide layer on their surface against corrosion attack. This passive layer does not demonstrate good electrical conductivity and increases interfacial electric contact resistance (ICR) between BPP and gas diffusion layer GDL in PEMFC. Lower ICR values are desired to reduce parasitic power losses and increase current density in order to improve efficiency and power density of PEMFC. This study aimed to bring about a broader understanding of manufacturing effects on the BPP contact resistance. In first stage, BPP samples manufactured with stamping and hydroforming under different process conditions were tested for their electrical contact resistance characteristics to reveal the effect of manufacturing type and conditions. As a general conclusion, stamped BPPs showed higher contact conductivity than the hydroformed BPPs. Moreover, pressure in hydroforming and geometry had significant effects on the contact resistance behavior of BPPs. Short term corrosion exposure was found to decrease the contact resistance of bipolar plates. Results also indicated that contact resistance values of uncoated stainless steel BPPs are significantly higher than the respective target set by U.S. Department of Energy. Proper coating or surface treatments were found to be necessary to satisfy the requirements. In the second stage, physical vapor deposition technique was used to coat bipolar plates with CrN, TiN and ZrN coatings at 0.1, 0.5 and 1 μm coating thicknesses. Effects of different coatings and coating thickness parameters were studied as manufactured BPPs. Interfacial contact resistance tests indicated that CrN coating increased the contact resistance of the samples. 1 µm TiN coated samples showed the best performance in terms of low ICR; however, ICR increased dramatically after short term exposure to corrosion under PEMFC working conditions. ZrN coating also improved conductivity of the SS316L BPP samples. It was found that the effect of coating material and coating thickness was significant whereas the manufacturing method and BPP channel size slightly affected the ICR of the metallic BPP samples. Finally, effect of process sequence on coated BPPs was investigated. In terms of ICR, BPP samples which were coated prior to forming exhibited similar or even better performance than coated after forming samples. Thus, continuous coating of unformed stripes, then, applying forming process seemed to be favorable and worth further investigation in the quest of making cost effective BPPs for mass production of PEMFC.

Surfaces exposed to wear always transform and typically a layer of new structure and composition is formed. This layer, often called tribofilm, changes the friction and wear properties. Tribofilms formed on ceramic surfaces may consist of products from chemical reactions between the materials in contact and the environment or consist of compacted wear debris. In this thesis, focus has been to understand the friction and wear mechanisms of ceramic surfaces, as well as acquiring knowledge about the properties of the new surfaces created during wear. Ultimately, this understanding can be used to develop ceramic systems offering high or low friction, while the material loss in both cases should be minimised. Such ceramics could improve numerous tribological systems and applications, out of which ultrasonic motors, low-friction ceramic coatings and hip joint replacements have been treated in this thesis. Friction and wear tests, and subsequently various surface analyses have been essential for the knowledge about the friction, wear and tribofilm formation.  For ultrasonic motors of the studied type, the highest driving force is achieved when the friction is high between the alumina components in the friction drive system. The highest friction was here accomplished with a thick tribofilm on the surfaces. The formation of such tribofilms was favoured by dry conditions, and using an initially rough surface, which increased the initial generation of wear debris. In a detailed investigation of the importance of microtopography on tribofilm formation and friction behaviour, a low-friction, PVD coating of TaC/a-C was studied. This coating showed a very low, stable friction. High sensitivity to the microtopography was demonstrated, smooth coating exhibited a faster build-up of a dense tribofilm of fine ground material on the counter steel surface and subsequently a faster running in and friction decrease.  The life span for total hip joint replacements can be prolonged by minimising the wear particles that cause inflammation and subsequent implant loosening. In this work coatings of amorphous/nanocrystalline silicon nitride have shown low wear rate, and hence produce a minimum of wear particles. Furthermore, these particles that are expected to resorb in vivo. This system therefore has potential to reduce problems with inflammation and osteolysis connected to wear particles.