Enhancing the durability and tribological performance of babbitt alloys is critical for high-stress applications in automotive, marine, and industrial machinery. The present study explores the electrodeposition of chromium coatings on SnSb11Cu6 alloys to improve their microstructural, mechanical, and tribological properties. The coatings were applied through an electrolytic process and systematically characterized using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to evaluate their morphology, composition, and wear performance. The chromium coating exhibited a uniform thickness of 20.2 µm and significantly improved the surface hardness to 715.2 HV, far surpassing the matrix and intermetallic phases of the uncoated alloy. Tribological testing under dry sliding conditions demonstrated a 44% reduction in the coefficient of friction (COF) and a 54% decrease in mass wear for the coated alloy, highlighting the protective role of the chromium layer against abrasive and adhesive wear. To further analyze the frictional behavior, a deep learning model based on a one-dimensional convolutional neural network was employed to predict COF trends over time, achieving excellent accuracy with R² values of 0.9971 for validation and 0.9968 for testing. Feature importance analysis identified coating hardness as the most critical factor influencing COF and wear resistance, followed by matrix hardness near the coating. These findings underscore the effectiveness of chromium coatings in mitigating wear damage and improving the operational lifespan of SnSb11Cu6 alloys in high-stress applications. This study not only advances the understanding of chromium coatings for babbitt materials but also demonstrates the potential of machine learning in optimizing tribological performance.

Cr-based composite coatings with superior wear resistance are in growing demand for high-performance applications in the automotive, aerospace, and general manufacturing sectors. In this study, an Al10Cu alloy produced via powder metallurgy was coated with a chromium/nanodiamond (Cr/ND) composite layer using an electrodeposition process to enhance its tribological performance. The coatings were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The resulting Cr/ND layer exhibited a uniform thickness of 73.5–76.2 μm and markedly improved surface hardness (809.4 HV), representing a 15-fold increase over the uncoated alloy (53.6 HV). Pin-on-disk tribological testing under dry sliding conditions showed complete elimination of detectable mass loss (0.00 mg vs. 0.55 mg for uncoated) within the measurement system resolution, indicating excellent resistance to both abrasive and adhesive wear. XRD analysis revealed the formation of a hexagonal close-packed Cr₂H phase with incorporated nanodiamond particles. To capture and predict the temporal evolution of the friction coefficient, a customized dual-layer long short-term memory neural network—optimized with a look-back window of 3 timesteps and ReLU-activated dense layers—was implemented. The model achieved superior predictive performance on the coated system, with validation and test R² values of 0.9973 and 0.9965, respectively, demonstrating enhanced modeling accuracy for surface-engineered materials. These findings demonstrate a significant advancement in wear protection for aluminum alloys and introduce a robust data-driven approach for real-time friction prediction in engineered surfaces.

Aluminum–copper alloys have garnered significant attention in modern engineering applications due to their exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and thermal conductivity properties. This study investigates the tribological performance optimization of Al10Cu alloys through chromium coating deposition, focusing on coefficient of friction and mass wear analysis in dry sliding conditions. Cr-coated Al10Cu alloys were fabricated through powder metallurgy and electrodeposition techniques, with comprehensive tribological characterization performed using scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, microhardness measurements, and dry sliding wear testing. The chromium coating exhibited exceptional surface hardness of 720.9 HV, representing a remarkable 15-fold improvement over the uncoated Al10Cu matrix hardness. Tribological evaluation demonstrated outstanding wear resistance with the Cr-coated Al10Cu system achieving only 0.10 mg mass loss compared to 0.55 mg for the uncoated alloy, representing an exceptional 81.8% reduction in material removal. Despite a nominal increase in the coefficient of friction from 0.618 to 0.733, the chromium coating effectively transformed the wear mechanism from severe material removal to a controlled mild wear regime. The results establish the Cr-coated Al10Cu system as a highly effective solution for applications requiring extended operational lifespans under dry sliding conditions.