PEO of additively manufactured Al10SiMg alloy: Effects of α-Al2O3 particles on energy consumption and wear behaviour
Edgar López–Martínez, M. Mohedano, E. Matykina, R. Arrabal
Abstract
Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) coatings were developed on an additively manufactured Al10SiMg alloy pre-treated with hard anodizing (HA). The influence of α−Al2O3 particles incorporated during PEO was evaluated in terms of energy consumption, coating morphology, composition and wear behaviour. Combining a 20 μm-thick HA precursor and a PEO electrolyte with suspended α−Al2O3 particles resulted in the highest energy savings (∼60%). Wear volume loss measurements and wear track characterization revealed that the PEO coating with added particles (PEOP) outperformed the coating without particles and a conventional hard anodizing layer. This superiority was attributed to the partial sealing of the outer porous layer by the incorporated α−Al2O3 particles as well as the reduced SiO2 content and the formation of a W-rich tribolayer on the wear track surface.