Effect of boric acid addition to seawater on wear and corrosion properties of ultrashort physical vapor deposited Ti layer on a 304 stainless steel

Abstract AISI 304 stainless steel specimens are deposited with Ti using physical vapor deposition method for 3, 5, and 8 min. Then, specimens are subjected to wear test with 10 and 20 N applied loads in seawater and boric acid reinforced seawater. Optical microscope and scanning electron investigations showed that ultrashort PVD process formed non-uniform Ti deposit zones on the substrate. Abrasive wear mechanism is observed for 10 N applied load and increasing the applied load to 20 N transformed the wear into adhesive which is attributed to counteract dynamic reaction of the surface. Besides, boric acid addition to seawater lowered the wear rate and coefficient of friction for all tests and stick-slip phenomenon is removed in boric acid addition. In corrosion properties, boric acid addition improved the corrosion resistance of the specimens.