Experimental investigation of the mechanical micro structural and thermal properties of thin CrAIN layers deposited by PVD technique for various aluminum percentages

The thin film of chromium nitride and their derivatives obtained by the filing process physical vapor deposition attract more and more attention from industry given their high resistance to wear. This quality of these coatings may be linked to their good mechanical and tribological properties. Several experimental investigations have led to the development of CrAlN (Chronium Aluminum Nitride) hard coatings by varying the aluminum target bias voltage, in preference to the traditional CrN coating. The present work is based on the investigation of physical and mechanical properties of CrAlN coating deposited on a silicon substrate and the effect of the aluminum proportion on their variation. The results demonstrate that variation in aluminum proportion alters the resulting columnar morphology, porosity and the thermal properties. The correlation between aluminum proportions in CrAlN coatings and his thermal properties revealed that the conductivity and the diffusivity are influenced primarily by size and shape distribution of the pores and secondarily by decrease of the stitch parameter dimension

Experimental investigation of the mechanical micro structural and thermal properties of thin CrAIN layers deposited by PVD technique for various aluminum percentages

The thin film of chromium nitride and their derivatives obtained by the filing process physical vapor deposition attract more and more attention from industry given their high resistance to wear. This quality of these coatings may be linked to their good mechanical and tribological properties. Several experimental investigations have led to the development of CrAlN (Chronium Aluminum Nitride) hard coatings by varying the aluminum target bias voltage, in preference to the traditional CrN coating. The present work is based on the investigation of physical and mechanical properties of CrAlN coating deposited on a silicon substrate and the effect of the aluminum proportion on their variation. The results demonstrate that variation in aluminum proportion alters the resulting columnar morphology, porosity and the thermal properties. The correlation between aluminum proportions in CrAlN coatings and his thermal properties revealed that the conductivity and the diffusivity are influenced primarily by size and shape distribution of the pores and secondarily by decrease of the stitch parameter dimension

Parametric study of the mechanical properties of nanocrystalline TiN/CrN multilayer coatings with a special focus on the effect of coating thickness and substrate roughness

In a plot to improve the performance of steel mechanical parts subject to aggressive friction solicitations, three batches of deposits of TiN and CrN layers on steel substrates with two different roughnesses have been obtained using reactive DC magnetron sputtering. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of varying TiN/CrN multilayer coatings thickness (varying modulated period Λ and interlayer thickness), on their mechanical and tribological properties. The morphological and the structural properties were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The nanoindentation measurements displayed improvement in hardness (> 40 GPa) and Young’s modulus (> 600 GPa) for the coating with Λ ≅ 12 nm (TiN Λ/2 ≅ 7.5 nm + CrN Λ/2 ≅ 4.5 nm) thickness and the higher number (300) of interfaces, deposited on the rougher substrate. Its low coating damage under the scratch test, associated with its estimated adhesion work (Wad), indicated a good cohesive/adhesive strength and improved structural and mechanical properties

Méthode de pénalization basée sur une approche d’adaptation enformalisme résidu distribué ALE pour des objets mobiles en écoulement laminaire

The coupling of anisotropic unstructured mesh adaptation techniques with an immersed boundary method (IBM) called penalization is studied for time dependent flow simulations involving moving objects. To extend Residual Distribution (RD) method to the penalized Navier Stokes equations, a new formulation based on a Strang splitting is developed. To reduce the error on solid boundaries, unstructured mesh adaptation based on an elasticity model is used. Keeping a constant connectivity, the mesh evolves in time according to the solid position, and the new formulation is proposed in an ALE framework.Le couplage des techniques d’adaptation de maillages non structurés anisotropes avec une méthode de frontière immergée (IBM) appelée Pénalization est étudié pour des simulations instationnaires impliquant des objents en mouvement. Pour étendre les méthodes de distribution du résidu (RD) aux équations de Navier Stokes pénalisées, une nouvelle formulation basée sur un splitting de Strang est développée. Pour réduire l’erreur sur les frontières du solide, une adaptation de maillage non structuré est utilisée, basée sur un modèle d’élasticité. Gardant une connectivité constante, le maillage évolue en temps en accord avec la position du solide, et la nouvelle formulation est proposée dans un formalisme ALE

Nano- and micro-scale morghological defects in oxidized a-SiC: H thin films

Amorphous carbon rich a-SiC:H films were deposited on silicon substrates by RF-magnetron sputtering of SiC target in argon/methane gas mixture. The principal focus of this study was investigation of the effect of thermal oxidation on structure and morphology reconstruction in a-SiC:H amorphous network. The density of the films was varied over the range 1.6-2.2 g/cm2 by varying the magnetron discharge power. The local nano- and micro-scale surface morphology and chemical composition distribution were examined by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy equipped with Auger electron scanning system and optical profilometry. It was found that partial oxidation leads to local structure reconstruction accompanied by transformation of mechanical stresses from compressive to tensile. Formation of carbon-enriched nano- and micro-scale regions was observed after oxidation in low density samples. We attrribute these morphological defects to migration and precipitation of carbon species released in the process of oxidation of the SiC amorphous network. The mechanism of tensile stresses generation is also discussed.Science and Technology Center of Ukraine, project No. 5513, National Academy of Science project No. 2-2-15-28 and Arts et Métiers ParisTech (invited professor

The post-mortem resilience of facial creases and the possibility for use in identification of the dead

The post-mortem resilience of facial creases was studied using donated bodies in order to establish the efficacy of crease analysis for identification of the dead. Creases were studied on normal (pre-embalmed) and bloated (embalmed) cadavers at the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHID) to establish whether facial bloating would affect facial crease visibility. Embalming was chosen to simulate the effects produced by post-mortem bloating. The results suggested that creases are resilient and changes were only detected for creases located on the periphery of the face, particularly at areas where the skin is thick, such as at the cheeks. Two new creases not previously classified were identified; these creases were called the vertical superciliary arch line and the lateral nose crease. This research suggests that facial creases may be resilient enough after death to be utilised for human identification