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- Friction layer (4)
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- FIB (3)
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Different wear-resistant coatings produced by physical vapour deposition (PVD) were characterized with the aid of cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). All coating systems were optimized by the producers and exhibited good properties with respect to their special applications. The microstructure, texture and chemical composition of binary and ternary systems produced by the arc process [TiN, CrN, Cr2N (Ti, Cr)N on steel substrates] and magnetron sputtering process [TiN, CrN on steel substrates, (Ti, Al)N on Si-substrate] were investigated. All coatings had a more or less columnar microstructure, which was interrupted by interlayers in some cases. Whereas arc coatings always did show some kind of substrate modification, the latter was not observed after magnetron sputtering. Electron diffraction normally revealed a mono-phase fcc structure, except at sites very near to the interface. Only for the systems CrN and (Ti, Cr)N were different additional phases observed at low nitrogen partial pressures.
The formation of a third body layer on a conventional friction material during braking tests was studied in some detail using TEM, SEM, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. Plate shaped micro-contact areas representing a compositional mix of all components of the tribocouple and exhibiting a nanocry stalline microstructure were identified after a run-in period.
The chemical and microstructural changes occurring during braking simulation tests at the surface of a conventional brake pad material were investigated mainly by scanning and transmission electron microscopy and surface analytical techniques. It can be shown that patches of a third body material develop, comprising a compositional mix of all constituents of the pad and iron oxides from the disk. Milled debris particles still have the crystal structure of barite, the major phase of the pad material, but the grain size is reduced drastically to the nanometer scale. The major wear mechanism is delamination of filler particles from the organic binder, supported by local degradation of the phenolic resin during asperity heating. Quartz crystals are preserved thereby adopting the function of primary contact areas.
The surfaces of a brake pad and rotor were investigated after a run-in period during which a stable coefficient of friction had developed. The Focused Ion Beam Technique (FIB) was used to reveal tribologically induced surface films and for cross-sectional preparation of superficial layers. Additional information was obtained by TEM/EDS of thin lamellae prepared with the FIB and by surface analytical methods (GDOS, XPS and RS). Microscopic contact areas of the pad showed bright contrast in Scanning Ion Microscopy (SIM). This was attributed to severe plastic deformation finally leading to a nanocrystalline microstructure. Metallic particles of the pad, the so-called primary contact areas, were mostly covered with a smooth oxide layer of less than 1 µm thickness. Above this layer a thin (100 nm) partly amorphous film was often observed. The film was not only restricted to the metal particles, but also spread over adjacent regions, suggesting that secondary plateaus had formed. Similar layers and films, although with slightly different composition and structure, were also observed at the surface of the rotor.
A rather new tool, the focused ion beam (FIB) technique, was used to characterise superficial layers at micro-contact areas of a commercial brake pad. The friction material was a polymer matrix composite (PMC) with approximately 50% metal content (semi-metallic) and the counter part was a cast iron rotor. Though the contact areas were not visible as topographic features, they could be identified with the aid of their increased secondary electron emission during FIB-scanning of the surface after tribological activation. Target preparation of micron-sized cross-sections with the FIB enabled the study of superficial layers at predetermined sites at high magnification.
Depending on the constituent of the pad, one, two or three layers were identified. The three layer structure comprised: (i) a 100 nm thick friction film containing nanocrystalline metal oxides and an amorphous phase which was enriched with sulphur, (ii) a nanocrystalline friction layer of compacted wear debris accommodating surface roughness and (iii) a severely deformed layer if the supporting constituent was a metal particle. Though the majority of loose wear particles was iron oxide, the friction film which adhered tightly to the pad surface contained a large amount of copper and sulphur, whereas zinc was transferred to the cast iron rotor.
Ti/TiN multilayer coatings with multilayer periods in the range 550 nm and a final thickness of 2 µm were deposited on steel substrates by cyclic modulation of nitrogen gas flow into the chamber of a PVD sputtering device. Coating characterization was performed by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, glancing-angle X-ray diffraction and instrumental indentation testing. Individual a-titanium and titanium nitride layers were always observed, although for the finer microstructures, the TiN layers were thicker than the Ti layers by a factor three. The plastic hardness of the films increased steadily with decreasing layer spacing, following a HallPetch relationship. Finally, a hardness value of 42 GPa was reached, which is similar to that of a thick TiN monolayer, prepared under the same coating conditions.