SURFACE ENGINEERING FOR WEAR-RESISTANCE

Surface engineering is concerned with all aspects of engineering related to the modification of surface properties of components. A variety of techniques are currently available for modifying the behaviour of surfaces. This paper is concerned with the improvement of one particular property of the surface namely wear resistance, by surface modification techniques. The first part of the paper provides a brief overview of the surface modification technologies and also the various forms of wear typically encountered in the industry. Next, examples of specific components of various operating systems which undergo wear during service are provided. Further, the surface modification technologies employed to eliminate/reduce wear in such cases are also discussed. Finally, in the last section, the recent work carried out at DMRL in the area of surface engineering is described.