Surface engineering techniques used for improving the mechanical and tribological properties of the Ti6A14V alloy

The microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of composite intermetallic layers of the Ti–Al system were investigated. The layers on the two-phase (α + β) Ti6Al4V titanium alloy were obtained using the hybrid method, which consist of two stages. First, the titanium alloy was covered with aluminum layer by magnetron sputtering. In the second stage, coated specimens were treated under glow discharge conditions. The surface treatment makes it possible to obtain the diffusional composite layers which considerably improve the mechanical and wear resistance properties of the material. These properties cannot be achieved using simple methods of surface engineering. The chemical and phase composition of the composite intermetallic layers was investigated. It has been shown that the hybrid method significantly increases the hardness and wear resistance of the titanium alloy and can widen the range of application of the material. Because of the diffusional character of the intermetallic layers they possess good adhesion to the titanium substrate.