The plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) of a titanium alloy, Ti-15V-3Cr-3Sn-3Al, was performed to develop mechanical applications by improving the tribological characteristics. The behaviors of micro-arcs, bubbles, and coating growth during the PEO process were investigated under three different operating conditions, constant voltage (CV) operation, constant current operation (CC), and short treatment time (ST) operation, to control the surface structure and function by the PEO process. A low friction coefficient was achieved by CV operation at 500 V and by CC operation at 3.0 kA/m². The maximum coating thickness of 6.88 μm was achieved by CV operation at 500 V and 60 s. From the observation of micro-arcs, bubbles, and discharge craters by ST operation, the minimum discharge diameter of the micro-arc was 8 μm, and the discharge craters had a discharge pore size of 0.3 μm in diameter in the center with a petal-shaped burr around the discharge pore. During the PEO process, no bubble bursts around the micro-arcs and no backfilling of the discharge pores by the ejected materials were observed. Thus, the discharge pores remain a porous structure in the PEO coating for Ti. The utilization efficiency of the total charge density by CV operation above 300 V was lower than that by the conventional anodization process. The utilization efficiency of total charge density by CC operation was higher than that by the conventional anodization process.

Reactive plasma spraying is a promising technology for the in situ formation of aluminum nitride (AlN) coatings. Recently, it became possible to fabricate cubic-AlN-(c-AlN) based coatings through reactive plasma spraying of Al powder in an ambient atmosphere. However, it was difficult to fabricate a coating with high AlN content and suitable thickness due to the coalescence of the Al particles. In this study, the influence of using AlN additive (h-AlN) to increase the AlN content of the coating and improve the reaction process was investigated. The simple mixing of Al and AlN powders was not suitable for fabricating AlN coatings through reactive plasma spraying. However, it was possible to prepare a homogenously mixed, agglomerated and dispersed Al/AlN mixture (which enabled in-flight interaction between the powder and the surrounding plasma) by wet-mixing in a planetary mill. Increasing the AlN content in the mixture prevented coalescence and increased the nitride content gradually. Using 30 to 40 wt% AlN was sufficient to fabricate a thick (more than 200 µm) AlN coating with high hardness (approximately 1000 Hv). The AlN additive prevented the coalescence of Al metal and enhanced post-deposition nitriding through N₂ plasma irradiation by allowing the nitriding species in the plasma to impinge on a larger Al surface area. Using AlN as a feedstock additive was found to be a suitable method for fabricating AlN coatings by reactive plasma spraying. Moreover, the fabricated coatings consist of hexagonal (h-AlN), c-AlN (rock-salt and zinc-blend phases) and certain oxides: aluminum oxynitride (Al₅O₆N), cubic sphalerite Al₂₃O₂₇N₅ (ALON) and Al₂O₃. The zinc-blend c-AlN and ALON phases were attributed to the transformation of the h-AlN feedstock during the reactive plasma spraying. Thus, the zinc-blend c-AlN and ALON phases were not included in the feedstock and were not formed through nitriding of the Al.

The surface of most metals is covered with thin native oxide films. It has generally been believed that to achieve bonding, the oxide covering the surface of metallic particles or metal substrates must be broken and removed by adiabatic shear instability (ASI), whether induced at the particle–substrate interface or at the particle–particle interface. The aim of the present research is to investigate the correlation between the remaining oxide amorphous layer and substrate-deformation with the adhesion strength of cold-sprayed TiO₂ coatings towards the bonding mechanism involved. Relevant experiments were executed using stainless steel (SUS 304), subjected to various annealing temperatures and cold-sprayed with TiO₂ powder. The results indicate an increasing trend of coating adhesion strength with increasing annealed substrate temperature. The influence of substrate plastic deformation and atomic intermixing at the remaining amorphous oxide layer is discussed as the factors contributing to the increasing adhesion strength of cold-sprayed TiO₂ coatings.

Welding between ADC12 and SS400 was successfully performed by friction stir diffusion process. The experiments were conducted by a machining center with a cemented carbide tool and welding conditions, such as a rotating speed, welding speed and position of the tool, were optimized. By plunging the rotating tool into the interface with offset, ADC12 and SS400 were welded above 2000 rpm of the rotating speed at the welding speed of 50mm/min. Tensile strength was evaluated for the welded specimens. The specimens fabricated above 5000rpm in the rotating speed were fractured at the weld zone and showed relatively low tensile strength. The specimens, on the other hand, made between 2000 and 4000 rpm were fractured in the portion of the base aluminum alloy. Achievement of more than 100% in joint efficiency was indicated in the present friction stirring process.

The cold spraying of ceramic materials is widely acknowledged as a difficult process because it necessitates the feedstock powder particles experiencing a plastic deformation for deposition on a substrate. The problem arises due to the brittle properties of ceramic powder feedstock such as titanium dioxide (TiO₂), combined with a lack of understanding of the bonding mechanisms. In this study, TiO₂ coatings were deposited onto copper and aluminum substrates and the adhesion strength was evaluated to investigate the bonding mechanism. The influence of substrate hardness and remaining surface oxide layer was investigated by annealing the substrates with various temperatures. The results showed that the adhesion strength of the coatings on the aluminum substrate was higher than the copper substrate. Furthermore, the adhesion strength was decreased with increasing the annealing temperature on both substrate materials. These results indicate that a softer aluminum substrate was advantageous for adhesion. Annealing led to thermal softening the substrate; however, the thickness of the surface oxide layer was increased. Therefore, bonding occurred between the cold-sprayed TiO₂ particle and newly deform substrate surface, which yielded the higher adhesion strength. The main bonding mechanism is metallurgical, similarly to the cold-sprayed metallic coatings.