Materials and Technologies IBC Group | 902 Hendricks Drive, Lebanon, IN 46052 | www.ibccoatings.com

Surface Modification of Aluminum, Titanium and Magnesium Alloys by Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation IBC Materials and Technologies June 2013

Dr. Solomon Berman 765 482 9802 (w) 317 418 3725 (c)

sb@ibccoatings.com

Materials and Technologies

The Need for New Lightweight Alloy Coatings

Environmental regulatory and performance requirements dictate the need for a new class of coatings for lightweight alloys that provide:

• Improved wear performance

• Improved corrosion performance

• Improved Electrical insulation

• New level of Thermal barrier and Thermal conductivity

• Environmentally clean processes

Materials and Technologies

Plasma Electrolytic Technology

Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation

Plasma Electrolytic Diffusion

Plasma Electrolytic Coatings

Plasma Electrolytic Surface Treatment

Plasma Electrolytic Technology

Materials and Technologies

Plasma Electrolytic Processing

Principles of Operation *A.L. Yerokhin et al. / Surface and Coatings Technology 122 (1999) 73–93

Passivating, Anodizing

Materials and Technologies

Heat Exchanger

Centrifugal Pumps

Analog Oscilloscope

Power

Supply

PLC

Temperature Controller

Chiller

Tank

Localized Process Cell

Digital Oscilloscope

Valve

Electrode Specimen

MPO can be conducted in tank or localized processing fixture

Plasma Electrolytic Process Schematic

Materials and Technologies

Plasma Electrolytic Discharge

Counter electrodes on both sides coat both

sides of work piece

Work piece exhibits plasma

discharge during the coating process

Enclosed cell fixture is used to coat

specimens for parameter

development. Electrolyte is

constantly being pumped through

the fixture while coating.

Materials and Technologies

IBC Materials & Technologies’ Ceratough® nano-

ceramic coatings deliver a quantum leap in

performance over anodizing

Non-line-of-sight plasma process converts light

alloy surface into a hard layer of protective

ceramics

Completely environmentally clean process – no

hazardous waste streams

Ceratough-Mg Mg . . . . . .

Ceratough-Al 2XXX, 3XX, 6XXX, 7XXX . . . .

CeraTough® Nano-Ceramic

Coatings for Lightweight Alloys

Ceratough-Ti Ti-6-4 . . . . . .

Materials and Technologies

Ceratough® Process Advantages

No pretreatments required (NaOH soak, caustic etch, de-smutting, etc)

No sealing required

No acids or hazardous byproducts to be scrubbed, vented, respirated or remediated

Ceratough® process uses water-based electrolytes composed of low-concentration silicates, aluminates, metaphosphates, borates, and hydroxides

– These additives are low-cost, safe, and easy to maintain

– Fully spent electrolyte can be washed down the drain with no prior remediation or downstream monitoring

Ceratough® eliminates OSHA & HAZMAT issues for anodizing

Materials and Technologies

How are Ceratough® Coatings Used?

• Advanced protection against wear, fretting and galling

• Extreme protection against corrosion and chemical attack

• State of the art thermal barrier coatings with controlled thermal conductivity

• High electrical insulation properties with controlled electrical and thermal conductivity

• Life extension of repairs parts in conjunction with additive manufacturing processes - Cold spray

- Flame spray

- Laser cladding

- Laser welding

- Friction welding

Base metal –

Aluminum alloy

Ceratough®

Al2O3 Coating

Al2O3 coating on

F357 aluminum

Materials and Technologies

Ceratough® Coatings on Complex Geometries

PE delivers uniform coatings for all manner of hidden/small/complex geometries • Blades / blisks • Disk rim sections • Wire, foil, sheet • Cylinders, blind holes

Ceratough® coating exhibits excellent adhesion and uniformity around corners

Materials and Technologies

Controlling Surface Finish of PEO coatings

50 HZ Frequency 400 HZ Frequency

PEO is able to achieve 1 micron RA surface finish as coated, and 0.1 micron RA with light honing

Materials and Technologies

Micro Structure of Ceratough coating on Cold Sprayed Aluminum on Ti-6-4

Cross section images of ceramic transformation of aluminum cold spray layer on Ti-6-4 substrate

Al2O3 Ceramic Coating

Ti-6-4 Substrate

Aluminum Cold Spray

Materials and Technologies

Microstructure of Ceratough® coatings on 6061 alloy

Materials and Technologies

PEO process filling scratch (.0006” deep)

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Materials and Technologies

Base material 355 alloy Hardness 120-140 HV50

Ceratough® Coating Hardness 1360-1550 HV50

Comparison of Ceratough® Structure for

base 355 material and laser welded 4041

Ceratough® Coating Hardness 1260-1320 HV50

Laser weld 4041 alloy Hardness 100-120 HV50

Materials and Technologies

Performance of Ceratough® Coatings

Materials and Technologies

Ceratough-Ti Coating

Ti-6-4 Substrate

Cross Section of Ceratough-Ti Nano-Ceramic Coating

0 20 40 60 80

Coating Thickness (microns)

80

20

Ceratough-Ti

Titanium Oxide

Ceratough® Ti Coatings

Materials and Technologies

Ceratough® Mg-Alloys

Anodizing Ceratough®

Thickness ~5µm as a primer for paint

~25µm (1mil) for mild corrosion

resistance

~5µm as a primer for paint

~25µm for mild corrosion resistance

50-75µm (2 – 3 mils) for abrasive resistance

Hardness NA Up to 1000-1600 HV for abrasive resistance

Materials and Technologies

0

0.0002

0.0003

0.0005

0.0006

Ceratough-Al Anodize + SFL Anodize

Wear Rate (mm3/Nm)

30X

100X

Wear Performance of Ceratough® Coatings ASTM G133

Fretting wear of AL 7075 T6 Alloy with different treatments

Hard anodized 0.0001597

Hard anodized with MoSi2 solid lubricant 0.00006223

Ceratough® coated 0.000004021

Materials and Technologies

Ceratough® Wear Test Results

Test Method: M50 ellipsoid against test specimens, with oil

Baseline: 4340 steel

Samples: Ceramic Aluminum-Oxide (Al2O3) coated F357 Aluminum

M50 vs Ceratough®

M50 vs 4340

Ceratough® Coatings provide 10X wear improvement over lubricated 4340 steel

4340 exhibits substantial fretting & galling against M50

Ceratough® exhibits virtually no fretting & galling against M50

Materials and Technologies

Ceratough®-Ti Coatings are Low-Friction

Low coefficient of friction, combined with high hardness, enables outstanding wear performance

COF can be further lowered by adding teflon and other particles into the Ceratough® coating

Materials and Technologies

Taber Test Results: 5X less wear vs. anodize

Hard Anodized 355 Alloy Ceratough® coated 355 alloy

Materials and Technologies

Ceratough® Fatigue Test Results

(+) AU5NKZr -no treatment ; (x) Hard Anodizing ; (o) MAD

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

1000 10000 100000 1000000 10000000

No of Cycles

Str

ess (

MP

a)

MPO exhibits similar or slightly better fatigue performance than hard anodizing

5-10% fatigue debit is expected on most aluminum and titanium alloys

Materials and Technologies

• Hard Coat Anodized samples failed

at an average of 29,459 cycles.

• PEO coated samples failed

at an average of 37,449 cycles.

Fatigue Behavior of 7075 T5711 PEO Coated Versus Anodized

The PEO coated samples had

an average 27% longer fatigue

life then anodized ones.

Materials and Technologies

ASTM B117 Corrosion Test Results: Ceratough vs. Hard Anodize

0

16.25

32.50

Corrosion Pitting - # of pits after B117 salt spray 1344 hours

Ceratough-Al Hard Anodize

Materials and Technologies

Summary of Ceratough® Coating Properties

• A new Nano-structured ceramic surface treatment for Al, Ti, Mg and other alloys

• Non-line-of-sight plasma process

• Conformal to surface via diffusion mechanism

• High hardness (800-2000HV)

• Low friction with outstanding wear performance

• High density (95%-99%+)

• No fatigue debit

• High corrosion resistance

• Ceratough® is a green technology – no hazardous waste streams

Materials and Technologies

Application Study: Fuel Pump Repair

Problem:

-Cavitation and gear wear causing premature failure

-Anodize coating provides <50% component life

-No qualified repair method

Solution:

-Repair wear areas with additive manufacturing

-Coat with Ceratough® nano-ceramic coating

Benefits:

-Life cycle cost-reduction through repair and over 5X life extension

-Eliminate environmental remediation costs for Hard Anodizing

*Fuel pump picture for illustration purposes only

Materials and Technologies 28

Application Study:

Aerospace Gearbox

Problem:

-Premature wear of Al & Ti bearing supports mated to M50 bearings – high vibration causes fretting fatigue

-Steel sleeves currently used to prevent wear, add 15-20 lbs

-Undesirable to mask gearbox due to large size

Solution:

-Replace steel sleeves with Ceratough® coated Al or Ti sleeves

-Locally coat supports with Ceratough® nano-ceramic coating

Benefits:

-Life cycle cost-reduction through 10X life extension

-Fuel burn reduction due to weight savings

Localized Coating Fixture for Bearing Sleeves

Materials and Technologies

• Project to increase durability of engine piston heads

• Piston head coated with PEO ceramic Al-Si-O

• Coating resulted in 150°C more reduction in temperature than plasma spray coating

• Thermal conductivity test results:

– Traditional Plasma sprayed zirconium oxide coatings displayed thermal conductivity of 0.45-0.48

– Al-Si-O displayed thermal conductivity of 0.13 – over 300% improvement

Humvee piston with MPO coating

Thick thermal barrier coating created with PEO Process

Materials and Technologies

Summary

• Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO): Next Generation coatings for light alloys

• Nano-structured coatings offer quantum leap in performance for wear, corrosion, hardness and ductility

• PEO is compatible with a wide variety of build-up repairs

• Environmentally clean process with low infrastructure and processing costs

• IBC’s Ceratough-Al coatings are qualified and in use today

30

Materials and Technologies

Contact Information

Company POC Information:

Dr. Solomon Berman

E-mail: sb@ibccoatings.com

Phone: 765-482-9802

Fax: 765-482-9805

Web site: www.ibccoatings.com

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Materials and Technologies 32

Welcome to IBC

Materials and Technologies

Introduction to IBC

• IBC is a small manufacturing business that offers integrated repair solutions for high value components

• IBC develops next-generation, ecologically clean coating processes for harsh environment applications

• Established in 1999 in Lebanon, IN – IBC has grown to 40,000 ft2 of R&D and manufacturing space

• IBC’s team of 45+ engineers and technicians bring years of practical knowledge for integrating and implementing advanced technologies into production

• IBC serves the industrial, automotive, energy and defense markets

Materials and Technologies

IBC Core Capabilites

• IBC’s expertise in developing integrated solutions stems from two core areas:

– Advanced repair methods

• Friction Welding

• Laser Welding and Cladding

• Electro-Spark Deposition

• High Velocity Thermal Spray/Cold Spray

– Advanced surface treatment processes

• Plasma Electrolytic Surface Modification and Coating

• Vacuum Plasma Surface Modification and Coatings

• Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) Coatings

• High Energy PVD Coatings

IBC combines material science expertise with hands-on production experience to successfully integrate extended-life repair solutions