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6. Digital and Green Surface Conditioning
6.1 Introduction
Surface engineering is the sub-discipline of materials science which deals with the surface of solid
matter (Fig. 6. 1).
It has applications to chemistry, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering.
Solids are composed of a bulk material covered by a surface. The surface which binds the bulk material
is called the surface phase. It acts as an interface to the surrounding environment. The bulk material
in a solid is called the bulk phase.
The surface phase of a solid interacts with the surrounding environment. Environmental degradation
of the surface phase over time can be caused by wear, corrosion, fatigue and creep.
Surface engineering involves altering the properties of the surface phase in order to reduce the
degradation over time. This is accomplished by making the surface robust to the environment in which
it will be used.
Surface conditioning refers to the process of preparing and improving the surface of a material.
It typically involves removing any unwanted materials or imperfections, such as dirt, rust, or old
coatings, to ensure that the surface is clean and smooth.
Surface conditioning can also involve roughening or texturing the surface in certain applications, such
as to enhance adhesion or lubrication.
The specific techniques and tools used for surface conditioning may vary depending on the application
and the type of material being treated.
Common methods include sandblasting, grinding, polishing, and chemical treatments.
Surface conditioning also refers to processes like thermal treatment of the material surface, nitriding,
carburizing, cementation, galvanization, shot peening, PVD and CVD processes, etc.
Surface engineering techniques are being used in the automotive, aerospace, missile, power,
electronic, biomedical, textile, petroleum, petrochemical, chemical, steel, cement, machine tools and
construction industries including road surfacing.
Surface engineering techniques can be used to develop a wide range of functional properties, including
physical, chemical, electrical, electronic, magnetic, mechanical, wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant
properties at the required substrate surfaces.
Almost all types of materials, including metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites can be coated on
similar or dissimilar materials.
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