Features of microarc oxidation coatings formation technology in slurry electrolytes

A group of electrolytes composed of different powders entered into electrolyte presents a separate direction in microarc oxidation (MAO) technology. This group of electrolytes is most complex and however it has not been sufficiently studied yet. This paper shows that addition of powders of different nature into electrolyte influences both on properties of obtained coatings and on speed of their formation. The MAO-coatings formed in similar electrolytes-suspensions or slurry electrolytes (SE) contain in their composition an essential share of powder material entered into electrolyte as corpuscles of disperse phase (DP). Different nonmetallic combinations are used: oxides, carbides, borides, nitrides of metals and others. The particular conditions of microarc discharge regime (high temperature and pressure in a zone of breakdown) cause a thermolysis of electrolyte together with weighed corpuscles of solid matter, the realization of plasma chemical reactions on oxidizing surface and provide the synthesis of chemical combinations in an oxide matrix. A new composition of slurry electrolyte which allows improving the quality of obtained coatings on the basis of held investigations was developed. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.