Biomimetic surface is an effective ways to promote the performance grade and applied range of materials without alteringtheir substrate.Many improved properties such as resisting fatigue,enduring wear,etc,have been achieved by applyingbiomimetic morphology or structure to some engineering material surfaces.In this paper,aiming to reveal the relationshipbetween thermal cracking behavior and mechanical properties of engineering materials with biomimetic surface,biomimeticspecimens were fabricated using laser technique by imitating the heterogeneous structure on the surface of plant leaves.Theeffect of thermal fatigue cycling on the tensile properties of H13 die steel specimens with different surfaces (several types ofbiomimetic surfaces and a smooth surface) was compared and investigated.As a result,due to the coupling effects of themorphological features on the surface and the microstructure characteristics within unit zone,these specimens with biomimeticsurface exhibit remarkably enhanced Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) and 0.2% Yield Strength (YS) compared with referencespecimens while corresponding ductility remains largely unaffected even heightened,whether the thermal fatigue loads or not.The relative mechanisms leading to these improvements have been discussed.
Zhihui Zhang~1,Luquan Ren~1,Hong Zhou~2,Zhiwu Han~1,Xin Tong~3,Yu Zhao~1,Li Chen~1 1.Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education,China),Jilin University,Changchun 130022,P.R.China 2.Key Laboratory of Automobile Materials (Ministry of Education,China),Jilin University,Changchun 130022,P.R.China 3.The Department of Materials Surface Engineering,Guangzhou Research Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals,Guangzhou 510651,P.R.China
Thermal fatigue and wear both seriously affect the service life of some working parts. Environmental temperature will modify the surface conditions and influences the result of wear. In this research, to come close to working conditions, specimens were tested by a combination of thermal cycles and wear. Different cycles of thermal fatigue was carried out first on the gray iron specimens and subsequently wear test was performed to evaluate the effect of these thermal fatigue cycles. In this case, bionic laser processing was used to enhance the wear performance. The results indicated that bionic laser processing reduces the negative effects from thermal fatigue, such as grain fragmentation and oxidation. Because the initiation and growth of cracks as well as oxidation are suppressed in bionic processed areas. Bionic specimens exhibit high wear resistance compared with the common one. The process described can be considered as an effective method to improve the performance of gray iron in combined thermal fatigue and wear service conditions.
Hong ZhouPeng ZhangZhihui ZhangWenjun QiuYan LiuLuquan Ren
