Evaluation of Microstructure, Corrosion and Wear Properties of Inconel 625 Film Deposited on TI6Al4V Surface with Magnetron Sputtering

Several manufacturing industries recognise the value of titanium and its alloys in terms of useful application as petroleum tubes due to the high specific strength, low modulus of elasticity and seawater erosion resistance they offer. However, in a range of aggressive environments with high H2S and Cl− ions, pitting corrosion, can occur. For the purpose of useful surface engineering applications, this study adopted the Radio Frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering approach to a deposit Inconel 625 as the target on titanium grade 5 substrate for an enhanced service operation. The parameters were varied within 100W to 200W power rating, 100⁰C to 200⁰C temperature and 60 to 90 minutes of deposition time. The samples were divided into four categories for tribological test to determine the wear behaviour, immersed in a corrosive medium to evaluate the response and the use of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to analyse morphologically. The results presented that the titanium sample coated at 150W and 100W exhibited enhanced wear and microstructural characteristics compared to the control, but had a reduced corrosion resistance over increased potential. The optimal TI6Al4V sputtered Inconel possessed the corrosion current density (jcorr) of 3.2404E-06 A/cm2 and corrosion rate of 0.03765 mm/year.