Surface engineering is the sub-discipline of

materials science Materials science is an interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries. The intellectual origins of materials sci ...

which deals with the

surface A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is ...

of solid matter. It has applications to

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

, and

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

(particularly in relation to

semiconductor manufacturing Semiconductor device fabrication is the process used to manufacture semiconductor devices, typically integrated circuits (ICs) such as microprocessors, microcontrollers, and memories (such as Random-access memory, RAM and flash memory). It is a ...

Solids Solid is a state of matter where molecules are closely packed and can not slide past each other. Solids resist compression, expansion, or external forces that would alter its shape, with the degree to which they are resisted dependent upon the ...

are composed of a bulk material covered by a surface. The surface which bounds the bulk material is called the

surface phase A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is t ...

. It acts as an interface to the surrounding environment. The bulk material in a solid is called the

bulk phase Bulk can refer to: Industry * Bulk cargo * Bulk carrier * Bulk liquids * Bulk mail * Bulk material handling * Bulk pack, packaged bulk materials/products * Bulk purchasing * Baking * Bulk fermentation, the period after mixing when dough i ...

. The surface phase of a solid interacts with the surrounding environment. This interaction can degrade the surface phase over time.

Environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

of the surface phase over time can be caused by

wear Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology. Wear in ...

corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...

fatigue Fatigue is a state of tiredness (which is not sleepiness), exhaustion or loss of energy. It is a signs and symptoms, symptom of any of various diseases; it is not a disease in itself. Fatigue (in the medical sense) is sometimes associated wit ...

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. It provides a cost-effective material for robust design. A spectrum of topics that represent the diverse nature of the field of surface engineering includes plating technologies, nano and emerging technologies and surface engineering, characterization and testing.

Applications

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. It is also possible to form coatings of newer materials (e.g., met glass. beta-C₃N₄), graded deposits, multi-component deposits etc. The advanced materials and deposition processes including recent developments in ultra hard materials like BAM (AlMgB compound)are fully covered in a recent book . Chattopadhyay:Green Tribology,Green Surface Engineering and Global Warming,ASM International,USA,2014 In 1995, surface engineering was a £10 billion market in the United Kingdom. Coatings, to make surface life robust from wear and corrosion, was approximately half the market. In recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in surface engineering from age-old electroplating to processes such as vapor phase deposition, diffusion, thermal spray & welding using heat sources, such as, laser,plasma,solar beam.microwave;friction.pulsed combustion. ion, electron pulsed arc, spark, friction and induction. ef:R.Chattopadhyay:Advanced Thermally Assisted Surface Engineering Processes,Springer, New York, USA,2004 It is estimated that loss due to wear and corrosion in the US is approximately $500 billion. In the US, there are around 9524 establishments (including automotive, aircraft, power and construction industries) who depend on engineered surfaces with support from 23,466 industries. There are around 65 academic institutions world-wide engaged in surface engineering research and education.

Surface cleaning techniques

Surface cleaning, synonymously referred to as dry cleaning, is a mechanical cleaning technique used to reduce superficial soil, dust, grime, insect droppings, accretions, or other surface deposits. (Dry cleaning, as the term is used in paper conservation, does not employ the use of organic solvents.) Surface cleaning may be used as an independent cleaning technique, as one step (usually the first) in a more comprehensive treatment, or as a prelude to further treatments (e.g., aqueous immersion) which may cause dirt to set irreversibly in paper fibers.

Purpose

The purpose of surface cleaning is to reduce the potential for damage to paper artifacts by removing foreign material which can be abrasive, acidic, hygroscopic, or degradative. The decision to remove surface dirt is also for aesthetic reasons when it interferes with the visibility of the imagery or information. A decision must be made balancing the probable care of each object against the possible problems related to surface cleaning.

Environmental benefits

The application of surface engineering to components leads to improved lifetime (e.g., by corrosion resistance) and improved efficiency (e.g., by reducing friction) which directly reduces the emissions corresponding to those components. Applying innovative surface engineering technologies to the energy sector has the potential of reducing annual -eq emissions by up to 1.8 Gt in 2050 and 3.4 Gt in 2100. This corresponds to 7% and 8.5% annual reduction in the energy sector in 2050 and 2100, respectively. Despite those benefits, a major environmental drawback is the dissipative losses occurring throughout the life cycle of the components, and the associated environmental impacts of them. In thermal spray surface engineering applications, the majority of those dissipative losses occur at the coating stage (up to 39%), where part of the sprayed powders do not adhere to the substrate.

References

* R. Chattopadhyay, ’Advanced Thermally Assisted Surface Engineering Processes’ Kluwer Academic Publishers, MA, US (now Springer, NY), 2004, , E-. * R. Chattopadhyay, ’Surface Wear- Analysis, Treatment, & Prevention’, ASM-International, Materials Park, OH, US, 2001, . * Sanjay Kumar Thakur and R. Gopal Krishnan, ’Advances in Applied Surface Engineering’, Research Publishing Services, Singapore, 2011, {{ISBN, 978-981-08-7922-8.

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