Surface Engineering

Subject Code: PI1607

Unit-I

By
Dr. Tushar Banerjee
Assistant Professor
Production & Industrial Engineering
NIT Jamshedpur
 Surface Engineering-Need
• Think of any engineering solid e.g. ball bearing, gear, ship hull or any moving part or any
object exposed to atmosphere are usually likely to fail from the surface or the failure
usually initiates from the surface

• This is because the forces or stresses acting on the surface is higher than that of the
bulk.

• In order to protect the components and extend the service life, instead of working on
the bulk volume, many a times is worthwhile to work on the surfaces, and that is called
surface engineering

• Surface engineering involves tailoring the microstructure, chemical composition and

thereby the properties of the surface in the surface/near-surface region. The near-
surface region can be few millimeters and as small as few nanometers.

• Surface Engineering can be done by three routes

- Removal of unwanted layer – machining (decrease in dimension)
- Addition of an extra layer – surface coating/cladding etc. (increase in dimension)
- Modifying the structural and composition of the surface without addition or removal
of any layer (no change in dimension)
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 Surface Engineering-Need

Gears Oil Carrying Pipelines Bearings

Crater Wear

Flank Wear

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 Surface Engineering-Definition
The American Society of Metals (ASM) handbook defines surface engineering as
“treatment of the surface and near-surface regions of a material to allow the surface to
perform functions that are distinct from those functions demanded from the bulk of the
material”

Surface Engineering is a multidisciplinary activity intended to tailor the properties of the

surfaces of engineering components so that their function and serviceability can be
improved.

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Surface Dependent Properties
Material Properties

Sharing of Responsibility Between

Bulk and Surface

Bulk Surface
Properties Properties

Strength Hardness

Ductility Chemical Inertness/Anti-

oxidation property
Toughness
Anti-friction Property
Wear Resistance
Thermal Insulation
Anti-corrosion 5
 Applications
 Aerospace Components
 Extrusion Dies
 Bearings
 Gears
Bearings Gears
 Cams and Cam followers
 Mechanisms under
vacuum
 Sliding or Rotating
Components
 Cutting Tools
Screws and Nuts

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Cutting Tools