Influence of PEO Electrolyzer Geometry on Current Density Distribution and Resultant Coating Properties on Zr-1Nb Alloy

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the study of the current density distribution effect on plasma electrolytic oxidation process and resultant coatings on a Zr-1Nb alloy. The influence of the distance between the plates simultaneously placed into an electrolyzer was evaluated to assess the throwing power of the PEO process. The current density on the facing surfaces of the plates decreases when the distance between them shrinks. This current density has a notable impact on the resultant PEO coating in terms of the surface morphology parameters and electrochemically evaluated corrosion resistance. The influence of this effect is low on the stages of anodizing and spark discharges (60–120 s of the PEO), and significantly increases on the stage of microarc discharges (120–360 s of the PEO). The coating obtained with a smaller distance between the plates, while having the same coating thickness as the others, exhibits higher wear resistance. New correlations between the current density, diffusion coefficient, time constant of nucleation and the coating thickness in the middle of the facing samples were established; in addition, a correlation of the coating morphology in this area with the roughness parameters RPc, RSm was shown. This study contributes to the development of optimized PEO processes for the simultaneously coated several devices of complex shape, e.g., orthopedic implants.

The Effect of Plasma–Electrolytic Nitrocarburizing of a Medium Carbon Steel Surface on Friction and Wear in Pair with Tin–Lead Bronze

“…Technologies for plasma-electrolytic treatment have found applications in applying protective ceramic coatings onto the surfaces of metals of the valve group, polishing metal surfaces, and forming hardened diffusion layers on steel and titanium alloys [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9].…”