SBIR Phase I: Wear and Corrosion Resistant Engineered Surfaces for Lightweight Metals

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是提高燃油效率和减少交通运输中的二氧化碳排放的能力。轻质金属，如铝、镁和钛，特别适合用于汽车和航空航天部件的合金，因为它们可以将部件的重量减轻30%-70%。然而，涂层这些材料是困难的，因为涂层过程所需的高温削弱了合金。该项目将开发一种新的工艺，在较低的温度下进行涂层工艺，提供高负载能力和增强的耐磨损和耐腐蚀性。这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目利用高压气体氮化介质来实现涂层轻质金属的表面反应，使处理温度降低到450℃或以下。传统的工程表面通常与轻质金属不相容，因为开裂会破坏其功能特性。此外，涂层这些合金带来了挑战，因为它们在相对较低的温度下会变形。这种在高压下氮化的新方法提供了一种化学转化的表面层，为二次表面处理（如类金刚石碳涂层或金属氧化物）做好了准备，这些处理通常在轻质金属上失效。多层方法还通过破坏腐蚀介质的扩散途径提供增强的耐腐蚀性。结合坚硬的下层和较软的上层，具有较低的弹性模量，为轻质金属提供多层表面。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the ability to improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions in transportation. Lightweight metals, such as aluminum, magnesium, and titanium, are particularly desirable for alloys used in automotive and aerospace components, as they could reduce the weight of components by 30%-70%. However, it is difficult to coat these materials because the high temperatures required for the coating processes weaken the alloys. This project will develop a new process to conduct the coating process at lower temperatures, offering high load capacity and enhanced wear and corrosion resistance.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project utilizes a high-pressure gas nitriding medium to enable surface reactions for coating lightweight metals, allowing for lower treatment temperatures at or below 450C. Traditional engineered surfaces are often incompatible with lightweight metals because of cracking that destroys the functional properties. Furthermore, coating these alloys presents challenges because they distort at relatively low temperatures. This novel approach of nitriding at high pressures provides a chemically converted surface layer that prepares the surface for a secondary surface treatment, such as diamond-like carbon coatings or metal oxides, that typically fail on lightweight metals. The multi-layer approach also provides enhanced corrosion resistance by disrupting diffusion pathways of corrosive media. Combining a hard and stiff sublayer with a softer top layer with lower elastic modulus provides a multi-layer surface for lightweight metals.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.