Tutorial on Surface Engineering

Q1:
1) Classify the following metal or alloy coatings as anodic or cathodic coatings
A.
B.
C.

Tin on copper
Tin on mild steel
Zn-Fe intermetallic on steel

2) Which of the following sentences correctly describes the bond characteristics

of galvanized steel
A. An epitaxial layer followed by solidification microstructure
B. A fusion bond between the zinc and steel substrate
C. A metallurgical bond with a few layers of Zn-Fe intermetallics
3) Addition of Si into Zn bath is for:
A. Increase hardness
B. Increase ductility
C. Increase wear resistance
Q2:
1) Electroplating is:
A. Electrochemcial process
B. Chemical process
C. Electrical process
2) Adherence of coating to substrate produced by electroplating is:
A. Epitaxial
B. Diffusive
C. Chemical
3) Which of the following sentences is correct?
A. Electroless plating has a very limited plating thickness
B. Electroless plating can only deposit metal on conductive substrate
C. Electroless plating is an autocatalytic process
Q3:
1) Are the following statements true or false?

A. In ion implantation process, for a given acceleration voltage, Boron will

go deeper than Phosphorus.
B. Ion implantation is a plating process.
2) Choose the best-suited ion-beam technique for the following applications
A. Introduction of Ce into a Ni-Cr superalloy for protection against hightemperature oxidation
B. Coating Zn-10%Ti on steel for improved corrosion resistance in
automotive applications
Q4:
1) A laser beam is:
A.
B.
C.
D.

single colored
white
no color
multi-colored

2) Electromagnetic radiation is known as:

A.
B.
C.
D.

light
electricity
sound
heat

3) A laser beam delivers:

A.
B.
C.
D.

Optical energy
Electrical energy
Mechanical energy
Magnetic energy

Q5:
Choose the best-suited laser surface treatment techniques for the following applications:
1) Improving resistance to erosion of martensitic stainless steel turbine blades
A. Laser transformation hardening
B. Laser shot peening
2)

Improving resistance to fatigue and stress corrosion cracking of turbine

blades
A. Laser transformation hardening
B. Laser shot peening

Q6:
1) Choose the best-suited laser for the following applications:
I.

Alloying of 50 nm of Pd into Ti foil for corrosion protection in hot H 2SO4

solution
A. Excimer laser
B. 1 kW CW CO2 laser

II)

Alloying of 10 m of Mo into 304 stainless steel plate for corrosion

protection in seawater

A. Excimer laser
B. 1 kW CW CO2 laser
2) Dominant alloying mechanism in Case I) is:
A. Liquid state diffusion
B. Marangoni effect
3) Dominant alloying mechanism in Case II) is:
A. Liquid state diffusion
B. Marangoni effect

Q7:
Choose the best-suited laser surface treatment technique for hard-facing engine valve
seats
A. Laser surface melting
B. Laser surface alloying
C. Laser cladding
Q8:
Laser surface melting can be used for the improvement of pitting corrosion resistance of
304 stainless steel, because of:
A. Refinement of microstructure
B. Formation of duplex austenite/ferrite phases
C. Change of surface chemistry
Q9:
Is the following statement true or false?
1. Laser surface melting can always improve corrosion resistance of metallic alloys.

Comparison of Adherence of Coatings Produced by Various Techniques

Coating Process
Hot-dip
galvanising

Electroplating

EB/PVD

Ion Plating

Thermal Spray

Laser Cladding

Laser-assistant
thermal spraying

Adherence
Metallurgical

Remarks
When steel is first placed into molten zinc, a rapid
chemical reaction occurs between its surface and the zinc,
to form several new metal phases at the interface between
the steel and molten zinc via solid state diffusion then the
growth of essentially pure zinc at the external surface, that
result in the generally excellent adhesion of galvanized
coatings on steel.
Epitaxial
If the surface is sufficiently clean and free from oxide, the
first atomic layers generally form an epitaxial deposit on
the substrate. However, such epitaxy does not persist
beyond a few hundred atom layers and, depending on the
time available for surface diffusion and on the grain size of
the substrate, different morphologies result. The initial
epitaxial growth region provides an essentially
metallurgical bond between the coating and the substrate.
Mechanical
In EB/PVD process, focused electron beams generated by
(physical) or electron guns are directed to melt and evaporate target
Metallurgical material. Evaporated atoms then deposit on a substrate to
for special
form mechanical (physical) bonding. However, for some
cases
cases, in order to improve bonding strength, substrate to be
deposited is pre-heated to a certain temperature, to promote
the diffusion process, to form metallurgical bonding.
Compositional The excellent adherence of ion-plated metal coating is
gradient
attributed to the formation of a graded interface between
the film and substrate, even where the two materials are
incompatible. It occurs mainly due to ion bombardment
which generates several important effects, like i) ion
bombardment sputters off superficial oxide or other
contamination from the substrate prior to the
commencement of deposition. and ii) ion bombardment
promotes intermixture of atoms around the critical
interfacial zone by a combination of collisional processes
and radiation-enhanced diffusion.
Mechanical
When molten or semi-molten particles with high velocities
Interlocking impact on the coated surfaces, they solidify on the surface
to form coatings. During solidification, mechanical
interlocking is the main bonding mechanism.
Fusion bond Laser beam melts coating material together with a small
portion of substrate material, and those then mix and
solidify to form metallurgical bond at the interface, leading
to excellent adherence, with a dilution less than 5%.
Fusion bond Part of laser beam energy is used for melting of a thin layer
of substrate; and the other part is used for melting of
powders, to form fusion bond, which is similar to laser
cladding. But the laser beam energy required is much less
than the one in laser cladding.