Texturizzazione laser della lega di magnesio AZ31 per migliorare l’adesione nelle applicazioni biomedicali

"Laser surface texturing of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy to improve adhesion in biomedical application Cardiovascular stent have assumed a primary role to solve heart problems related to constraints that lead to the malfunctioning of a hollow organ. The research is shifting more and more towards the creations of less invasive stent having biocompatibility and biodegradability as primary requirements. Metal that best meets both these requirements and also the structural ones is Magnesium and its alloys. The greatest limit to the use of this material comes from its low corrosion resistance that it is manifested at the body pH. The idea at the basis of this work is to cover the Magnesium stent with a biodegradable polymer to increase its resistance to corrosion. The following paper focuses the study on the texturing surface treatments, achievable by a laser beam, in order to optimize the adhesion between the substrate and the polymer. The Magnesium alloy used is AZ31. Studies of surface modification through the mechanisms of the remelting and microdrilling by laser have been performed on the AZ31 surface. The characterization of the selected surfaces in terms of roughness variations, changes in wettability, oxides formation and geometry of the obtained structures, led to the identification of a limited number of conditions that will be further investigated.

Effect of Dilution on Microstructure and Wear Resistance of a Fe-Based Hardfacing Alloy with a High Amount of Carbide-Forming Elements

Hardfacing is a widely diffused technique adopted to increase service life of parts for heavy-duty applications. Even though hardfacing alloys feature optimized chemistry and microstructure for specific service conditions, dilution with substrate modifies the resulting properties along a significant fraction of the deposit thickness. In particular, C and B diffusion to the substrate alters hypereutectic alloys reducing the carbide-forming ability andmodifying the solidification sequence. In the present paper, the effect of dilution on a hypereutectic Fe-C-B based alloy containing Cr and Mo was investigated. The effect of dilution on the reference alloy was studied by producing laboratory castings with an increased amount of Fe, up to 50 mass %. The obtained results were compared with the dilution of the hardfacing alloy cast on steel substrates. The microstructural evolution was analyzed by XRD (X-ray diffraction), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), optical microscopy (OM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), whereas mechanical behaviour was evaluated by hardness measurements and wear resistance by pin-on-disc tests

Sintering behaviour of 3D-printed 18K 5N gold alloy by binder jetting: a preliminary study

Binder jetting is a versatile additive manufacturing technique suitable to produce alloys that are difficult to obtain by powder bed fusion techniques, such as precious metals, due to their high reflectivity and thermal conductivity. In this study, a 18K 5N gold alloy powder was employed in the printing process. Different heat treatments and densification processes were employed to achieve final-stage sintering and remove residual porosity, whilst controlling the evolution of copper oxides by reduction with hydrogen and graphite. Powder, green and sintered samples were characterised at the microstructural level by X-ray diffraction, microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to assess phase transitions and secondary-phase formation. Oxide-free components with a final relative density above 90% were achieved by densification at 830 °C combined with carbon- and CO-induced reduction of tenorite and cuprite. The optimal manufacturing route was chosen to produce a bezel, as a case study for the adoption of this technique in the jewellery industry

Design of Wear-Resistant Austenitic Steels for Selective Laser Melting

Type 316L stainless steel feedstock powder was modified by alloying with powders containing carbide/boride-forming elements to create improved wear-resistant austenitic alloys that can be readily processed by Selective Laser Melting. Fe-based alloys with high C, B, V, and Nb contents were thus produced, resulting in a microstructure that consisted of austenitic grains and a significant amount of hard carbides and borides. Heat treatments were performed to modify the carbide distribution and morphology. Optimal hard-phase spheroidization was achieved by annealing the proposed alloys at 1150 °C for 1 hour followed by water quenching. The total increase in hardness of samples containing 20 pct of C/B-rich alloy powder was of 82.7 pct while the wear resistance could be increased by a factor of 6

Influence of chemically synthesized powder addition on K0.5Na0.5NbO3 ceramic's properties

A new strategy to produce lead-free K0.5Na0.5NbO3 (KNN) piezoceramics with reliable and improved piezoelectric performance is presented for the first time. KNN powders were synthesized using two distinct synthesis routes: a mechanochemical activation-assisted solid-state route (KNNSSR) and a sol-gel modified Pechini method (KNNchem). KNNchem powders were mixed with KNNSSR at different weight ratios (0, 3, 5, 10 and 20 wt%), and the mixtures were conventionally consolidated and sintered at 1130 degrees C for 2 h. It was found that KNNchem powders influence crystal phase, microstructure and piezoelectric properties of the sintered pellets. Gradually increasing KNNchem content promotes the conversion of the undesired phase present in KNNSSR into the stoichiometric one. It is also proved that the addition of KNNchem between 5 and 10 wt% improves piezoelectric properties, eventually leading to a d(33) piezoelectric charge constant value of 113-115 pC/N. These values are among the highest reported for undoped KNN ceramics obtained by conventional sintering

Caratterizzazione ad usura di rivestimenti PVD con e senza laser texturing

Il processo di laser texturing (LST) è una delle tecniche più promettenti nel campo delle microlavorazioni superficialiin quanto consente di ottenere un eccellente controllo della forma e delle dimensioni delle microcavitàprodotte ed è estremamente veloce e senza ricadute dannose per l’ambiente. Recentemente si è assistito allosviluppo di diversi lavori nei quali il laser è stato impiegato per migliorare il comportamento tribologico di componentimeccanici in materiale metallico. Le microcavità, realizzate per ablazione dal fascio laser sulla superficiedi interesse, infatti hanno diversi aspetti positivi da questo punto di vista perché generano un sistema diffusodi microspinte idrodinamiche sulla superficie e agiscono come riserve di lubrificante da una parte e come trappoleper i detriti di usura dall’altra, ritardando così, l’innesco di meccanismi di usura da terzo corpo. Nel presentelavoro si presentano i risultati di una sperimentazione volta a valutare l’effetto dell’introduzione di unalavorazione superficiale di texturing laser sulla superficie di riporti PVD in TiN. Per il texturing è stata utilizzatauna sorgente laser in fibra innovativa ad alta efficienza che ha consentito, una volta ottimizzati i parametridi processo, di ottenere dimensioni controllate delle microcavità, una buona geometria delle stesse e di evitarela presenza di residui di lavorazione anche sui coating ceramici oggetto dello studio. I test di usura in condizionidi strisciamento lubrificato con alto carico applicato e bassa velocità relativa , sono stati condotti sul rivestimentoTiN microlavorato e per confronto sul tal quale e su un rivestimento autolubrificante commerciale,il WC/C. I risultati ottenuti mostrano un marcato incremento delle prestazioni a usura per il rivestimento lasercon texturing (fino al 50% di riduzione del volume di usura) e l’assenza di significativi danneggiamenti del rivestimentoin presenza delle microcavità e delle sollecitazioni di usura applicate. Nel breve futuro si eseguiràpertanto un approfondimento ulteriore per valutare anche l’economia di scala del ciclo di lavorazione

Interventi funzionali dedicati alla modifica della superficie degli ingranaggi: la cementazione e la nitrurazione come pretrattamento di rivestimenti PVD

Per contrastare i meccanismi di danneggiamento degli ingranaggi (usura, fatica da contatto e fatica) èprassi comune intervenire con trattamenti a carico della superficie in grado, non solo di aumentare ladurezza superficiale, ma, anche, di indurre uno stato di compressione in corrispondenza della dentatura.Oltre ai tradizionali trattamenti di cementazione e di nitrurazione sono sempre più frequenti lesperimentazioni dedicate all’analisi degli effetti di rivestimenti sottili quali quelli ottenuti con tecniche PVD.Partendo da questi presupposti, nel presente lavoro è stata valutata la resistenza a fatica di un rivestimentodi nitruro di cromo depositato rispettivamente su di un acciaio da cementazione (16MnCrS5) e su di unacciaio da nitrurazione (42CrMo4) entrambi sottoposti a trattamento termochimico prima del rivestimento.La caratterizzazione delle modifiche superficiali è stata effettuata mediante analisi al SEM, misure dimicrodurezza e di nanoindentazione oltre che di stato tensionale residuo

Corrosion behavior and surface properties of PVD coatings for mold technology applications

Chrome plating is still one of the best solutions to coat martensitic steel used in the molding of plastics and rubbers. However, current stringent regulations on environmental impact call for more sustainable processes. In the present work, some physical vapor deposition (PVD) nitride coatings were produced on X155CrMoV12 steel and characterized in terms of both corrosion behavior and surface properties. Results indicated that titanium-based PVD coatings could be a valuable alternative to chromium-based coatings as they exhibited a good compromise between corrosion and surface properties. AlTiN and TiN PVD coatings exhibited adequate hardness for plastic mold applications, with AlTiN reaching hardness as high as 2000 HV. Moreover, the critical loads and adhesion properties were found to be definitely better than those of chromium-based coatings. From a corrosion point of view, the presence of multilayers in AlTiN did not seem to be beneficial as the breakdown potential for TiN (single layer) was ca. 1.1 V vs. saturated calomel electrode (SCE) compared to 0.85 V vs. SCE for AlTiN in aggressive media (NaCl)